This is Volume IV of XII – Faith Power or Your Inspirational Forces

Personal Power Series:

Volume I. Personal Power or Your Master Self

Volume II. Creative Power or Your Constructive Forces

Volume III. Desire Power or your Energizing Forces

Volume IV. Faith Power or Your Inspirational Forces

Volume V. Will Power or Your Dynamic Forces

Volume VI. Subconscious Power or Your Secret Forces

Volume VII. Spiritual Power or The Infinite Fount

Volume VIII. Thought Power or Radio‑Mentalism

Volume IX. Perceptive Power or The Art of Observation

Volume X. Reasoning Power or Practical Logic

Volume XI. Character Power or Positive Individuality

Volume XII. Regenerative Power or Vital Rejuvenation

 

Volume IV – Faith Power or Your Inspirational Forces

 

The Power of Faith
The Psychology of Faith
Expectant Attention
The Secret of “Faith‑Cures”
Faith and the Subconscious
Faith and Enthusiasm
Faith and Mental Power
The Attractive Power of Faith
Faith in Yourself
Faith in the Infinite

 

 

The Power of Faith

In This book you are asked to consider the facts concerning the presence and manifestation of a most potent form of Personal Power, and, therefore, of that Universal Principle of POWER of which all Personal Power is the direct or indirect expression and manifestation. This form of Personal Power is one of the five great elements or factors involved in the expression and manifestation of Personal Power in general— the others being, respectively, Ideative Power, Desire Power, Will Power, and Compensative Power. This particular element or factor of Personal Power is equal in importance, efficacy, and power to either of the elements or factors which we have just mentioned—it is their peer and equal in every respect. Its name is Faith Power.

You may experience a sense of surprise, mingled with incredulity, when you hear Faith Power mentioned as an equal of Ideative Power, Desire Power, Will Power, and Compensative Power—particularly of Will Power. You may, indeed, approach the consideration of this particular phase of Personal Power with mental reservations, and with lurking doubt concerning the value and importance, the power and efficacy, of Faith Power in this special connection. This, because to you the idea of Faith has heretofore represented certain things, and involved certain meanings, which were not associated in your mind with the activities of the practical world of men and action. To you, Faith has doubtless been a term properly applied in sermons and theological books, but which has but little or no practical place or meaning is the world of action and deeds—in the world in which most of us live most of our time, and perform most of our actions.

But we hasten to assure you that the Faith Power which forms the subject-matter of this book, is not at all the kind of Faith Power which you have in mind, and of which you are uncertain so far as is concerned its efficacy and power in practical everyday life. We assure you that the Faith Power of this book is something having a most intimate and important relation to Personal Power along practical lines, and is something which, in the current phrase, “you need in your business.” Moreover, we are certain that you will admit the truth of this contention by the time you finish the study of this book—or even when, much earlier in the study, you discover just what we mean by Faith and Faith Power.

The term “Faith,” and the concept embodied in the term, has undergone a process of evolution in which several distinct stages are in evidence, and has finally been subjected to a division into several distinct concepts each of which has its own particular meaning, import and significance.

Originally, it seems to have been employed solely for the purpose of indicating fidelity to promise or duty—faithfulness, fealty, honesty, integrity, truth, constancy. Thus, one was said to act “in good faith,” to be “faithful to his trust,” to be “faithful and true”—in short to manifest the quality of “faith” in the direction of honesty of purpose, steadfastness, constancy and loyalty toward that or those to whom one was bound by duty, promise or honor.

In time, the term took on the additional meaning of “firm belief, and confidence, particularly in regard to moral or religious precepts or doctrines.” Faith, in this usage, became the term indicating a lively and firm belief in and assurance of the truth of presented facts, doctrines, dogmas and propositions, particularly in absence of immediate and personal knowledge of their truth. In this sense, the term indicated a certain surrendering of the rational demand for immediate and certain intellectual conviction, in favor of the claims of real or assumed authority. Thus, the faithful believer expressed and manifested a “faith” concerning certain dogmas and authoritative teaching of which he had, and could have, no immediate knowledge, and which in many cases seemed to be beyond his understanding, and even contrary to his actual experience. Thus, Faith became the expression of a belief based upon confidence in and reliance upon authority rather than upon logical reasoning or actual knowledge.

Later, from the combination of the two older concepts, there arose a new concept—a new meaning—involved in the old term, Faith. Faith, in this new meaning, consisted of (1) confidence, (2) earnest belief or conviction of truth, and (3) hope, or expectation of the realization of the object of faith. In this meaning, Faith may be defined as: “Earnest belief in the power of certain causes to produce certain effects; an abiding confidence that such effects will be so caused; and a confident expectation of the happening of such caused effects.” Here, you will see, there is a mingling of the original concepts of Faith and Hope, respectively.

Hope, alone, indicates “a desire for some good, accompanied by at least some expectation, confidence or trust that it is obtainable or will be obtained.” But Faith, in the later meaning, took over this concept of Hope, and added to it the “firm and earnest belief, trust, confidence and expectation, of the fulfillment of the Hope. Moreover, it indicated that not only the “good” which was the object of Hope may be “confidently expected,” but that, likewise, a “bad” thing may be the subject of the confident expectation. In this way “the bad thing feared,” as well as the “good thing desired,” might become the object of the “confident expectation and belief”—the object of Faith, in fact.

Analyzing this last conception and meaning of Faith, seeking to eliminate the non-essential factors and elements, and to preserve all the essential ones, we find that at the last we have left merely the concept of “Confident Expectation and Expectant Belief.”

Think over the above mentioned concept for a few moments, and you will see that Faith, in this usage, is identical with “Confident Expectation.” The term, Confident, means: “Having full confidence, belief, and expectation; sure, certain, positive.” The term, Expectation, means: “State of expecting, or looking forward to, something that is believed about to happen or occur, or to come about; the act or state of awaiting confidently some approaching event.” Here, you see, there is the idea of

(1) a firm belief, accompanied by (2) the firm conviction of the realization; it is a combination of Faith and Hope raised to their highest degree of certainty.

In the several books of this series, the general subject matter of which is the recognition, realization, and manifestation of Personal Power, frequent reference is made to The Master Formula of Attainment, which consists of the following elements: (1) Definite Ideals, or the mental attitude of “knowing exactly what you want”—of creating and maintaining strong, clear, definite ideas, ideals and purposes; (2) Insistent Desire, or the mental attitude of “wanting it hard enough”— the strong, authoritative element of Desire manifesting itself; (3) Confident Expectation, or the mental attitude of undoubting Faith, unfailing Hope, in the success of your efforts, and the realization of your Ideals and Desires; (4) Persistent Determination, or the mental attitude of Indomitable Will, persisting in its determination that you shall succeed in the attainment and realization of your Ideals and Desires; and (5) Balanced Compensation, or the mental attitude of willingness to “pay the price” of attainment.

In other volumes of this series we have considered in detail the respective elements of Ideative Power, Desire Power, Will Power, Compensative Power. In the present volume we shall direct your attention to that additional element of Personal Power—the Power of Confident Expectation, which is properly termed Faith Power.

Though perhaps not so familiar to the general reader as are the other four elements mentioned, this element of Faith plays a part equal to that of any of them, mighty as their power undoubtedly is. He who leaves out of the calculation this element of Faith, is discarding or neglecting to use one of the five great instruments of Personal Power, each of which is equal in importance to the other—such a one is robbing himself of one-fifth of his available Power, and that missing part may bring to him defeat in place of victory.

We shall not attempt to decide, or to explain, just why Faith, or Confident Expectation, should play such an important part in the activities of Personal Power. Such an attempt would take us to the very heart or centre of POWER—the Universal Principle of Power—itself; and even there it might be difficult to find that which we seek. Enough for the present purpose is for us to state that extended and careful investigation establishes the truth of this contention concerning Faith Power—and to point out to you the evidences of its presence and strength. The “just why” phase of the subject is quite difficult; but the “just how” phase is easily stated and explained. Faith Power meets the test of Pragmatism.”—it works,” and produces results when properly applied.

By reason of your familiarity with the idea, you will readily admit that the man in whom has been kindled the fierce Flame of Desire, will brush aside obstacles, and surmount obstructions in his path—and if you have learned the “inside facts” you will also realize how such a man will attract to himself that which fits in with his Insistent Desire. In the same way, you will readily admit that the man of the Persistent Will will cut and bore through the obstructing rock of circumstances, and reach his goal—circumstances themselves seeming to fall in with the purpose of such a Will.

But when it comes to ascribing similar virtues and power to Faith—to admitting that Faith Power is equal in force and efficacy to either Desire Power or Will Power—your unfamiliarity with this phase of the subject may cause you to withhold your judgment and assent. Yet, as you will presently discover, Faith Power is as strong, efficacious and powerful as is Desire Power, or as is Will Power. We insist upon this fact, not for any academic reasons, but simply and solely because we wish you to realize this important truth to the end that you may set it to work for you in your own manifestations of Personal Power.

We have referred above to the several elements of the Master Formula of Attainment. Let us now examine in further detail these elements, leaving the third element, that of Confident Expectation, for the last.

1. Definite Ideals. One must know as certainly, as positively, as dearly, and as definitely as possible “exactly what he wants.” The man who lacks this clearness of direction cannot be expected to walk straight toward the object of his desires. Many men, otherwise well equipped mentally, fail to obtain or to attain success, simply because they do not know “exactly what they want.” Lacking a specific and definite goal, they wander along by-paths and side-roads, traveling often in a circle. The definite aim is necessary if the straight road to attainment is to be traveled. The better one knows “exactly what he wants”—the more clearly he is able to visualize and picture it in his mind— the straighter and more direct will be his path to it, and the less will be his danger of becoming confused and bewildered, and of becoming “side-tracked.” This proposition is axiomatic— self-evident.
2. INSISTENT DESIRE. One must insistently desire that which he wants—must “want it hard enough”—in order that his full powers of application and endeavor may be awakened, aroused and called into action. The men who, as the Americans say, “get there”—or, as the French say, who “arrive”—are not those of faint wishes or wants, of feeble desires and cravings, but rather those who are filled with the ardent urge of desire and longing— with the fierce lust of “wanting that which they want, when they want it.” The world is filled with “pink tea” wishers—and their names comprise a large portion of the list of the failures. The small list of the really successful individuals is filled with the names of those who “wanted it hard enough.” In order to attain a thing, you must “want it the worst way,” as the saying goes; you must “want it so hard that it hurts.” Otherwise, your energies and powers of will are not called forth. This, also, is axiomatic—self-evident.
3. PERSISTENT DETERMINATiON. One must persistently will, determinedly resolve, and firmly apply one’s full powers of Will to the attainment of that which one knows that he wants, and which he wants “hard enough” to cause him to “pay the price” of attainment. This final stage of mental power must be present and applied, else the whole enterprise fails. This element, perhaps, is the one most strongly emphasized in the popular opinion and thought on the subject—so strongly, in fact, that the other elements are often under-emphasized. The need of the “strong will” is universally recognized—and the handicap of the “weak will” is universally admitted. One must “will to will,” if he would attain success. This, also, is axiomatic—self evident.
4. Balanced One must obey the Law of Compensation—the Rule of Balance—manifest in all Nature. He must be prepared to “pay the price, of attainment in the form of (a) diligent work; (b) service to others; and (c) relinquishment of desires, aims, and performances opposed to the subject or object of his Definite Ideals, Insistent Desires, and Persistent Determination. This also is axiomatic—self-evident.Now, let us return to the consideration of the third element, i. e., that of Confident Expectation:
5. Confident Expectation. One must confidently expect to realize that which he knows definitely that he wants, which he earnestly and insistently desires, which he persistently and determinedly wills to attain, and for which he is willing to “pay the price.” In the measure that he does this, he also opens the draft of his mental furnace in which burns the Flame of Desire, and as a consequence, he generates a greater supply of the Steam of Will. Doubt is the shutting-off of the drafts of the furnace, which results in the deadening of the Fire of Desire, and the decreasing of the supply of available Steam of Will. Faith is the stimulation of Desire and Will; Doubt, their deadener; and Unfaith, the destroyer of both. Let us, however, drop all figures of speech and proceed to consider concrete examples.

In your own experience you have known the power and energy of the Desire and Will which have come to you by the introduction of the element of Faith into the mental equation. When you have become tired and wearied, so much so that your desires have burned low and your volition has become less intense, you have discovered something which re-aroused your Faith in the outcome, your Hope in the attainment—your Confident Expectation, in short—and lo! your desires once more asserted their power, and your will again sprang back to the task. On the other hand, when you have been going along nicely, and have seemed to be succeeding, a series of depressing circumstances, the appearance of unfavorable conditions, have caused Faith to droop and Doubt, Distrust, and even Unfaith to manifest itself. When this has occurred, you have found that you “lost heart”—and to “lose heart” means that your Desire loses its insistent urge, and your Will loses its persistent application and determination.

Again, you have been pursuing some plan, have been building upon some idea in which you had Faith, have been selling goods in which you believed, and have been doing well in that direction. Then, alas! Doubt and Distrust have crept in; you lost your Faith in the idea; you lost confidence in the goods handled by you; and, as a consequence, “the bottom dropped out” of the thing, and you found your Desire weakening and your Will losing its power of application and its determination. Most of us do our best when we “believe in” the thing which we are doing; and but few of us can do creditable work if we “don’t believe in it.” Thus, Faith is found to exert a tremendous influence over Desire and Will, in either direction. Faith can truly say, “They reckon ill, who leave me out!”

We feel that we are justified in asking you to regard as axiomatic—self-evident—these statements concerning Faith, or Confident Expectation, just as truly as you so regard the similar statements made concerning Thought, Desire and Will, respectively. We feel that we are warranted in asking you to admit to an equal place of importance with Thought, Desire and Will this element or factor of Personal Power known as Faith, or Confident Expectation, even though you have not previously recognized its importance and power. Moreover, we feel that we need not apologize to you when we ask you to analyze your own mental and emotional make-up for the purpose of discovering whether you have not, heretofore, omitted this important element from your characteristic mental attitude; or, at least, whether you will not do well to take it into greater account in the future.

Before proceeding to the elaboration of this idea of Faith or Confident Expectation, however, we wish to call your attention to a fact of even as great importance as those just presented to you. We allude now to the positive effect of Faith, or Confident Expectation, wrongly applied. You have seen and undoubtedly now realize, that Doubt, Distrust, and Unfaith exert a strong negative influence in the direction of deadening the Fire of Desire, and restricting the Steam of Will; but you have probably failed to realize that this Doubt, Distrust, and Unfaith may become transmuted into an active Faith and Confident Expectation in the wrong direction, and may thus become an active power working to produce failure, non-success, and defeat. Faith may, and does, cause “mine own to come to me”; but, reversed in its direction, it may, and does, often cause the condition of “that which I have feared hath come upon me.”

Analyzing Faith as you have done, and finding that its essence is Confident Expectation, viz., the belief and expectation of the happening or coming-about of things, you will readily perceive that if that Confident Expectation is directed to something bad rather than good, something “feared” instead of “desired,” it may work with equal effect though in the wrong direction. Confident Expectation of evil—the Fear of dreaded results— is as truly Faith as is the Confident Expectation and Hope of good and desired things; though very few persons even begin to realize this fact—this very important fact of life and action. This realization brings to mind many corroborative facts—facts serving to support it—which go far toward explaining many things in your personal experiences which have heretofore perplexed you greatly, and which have been laid aside by you as beyond explanation.

Leaving aside for later consideration in this book the psychological (or even “spiritual”) causes which operate to produce the above state of affairs, we wish here to call your attention to certain general facts concerned with the operation of this law and mental action.

You are more or less aware of the Law of Attraction in the mental world by means of the operation of which ideas, things, men, conditions and environment are correlated to your habitual thoughts and general mental attitude, and by means of which such things are attracted to and drawn toward you, or you toward them. This is no longer deemed to be “moonshine” and idle fancy; too many practical men have discovered its truth, and applied its principles successfully, to allow of this old accusation. Despite the sometimes fanciful theories employed to interpret and explain this class of facts, the facts themselves are most real and far from fanciful.

Well, then, we wish to remind you here—or perhaps to inform you for the first time—that this is a rule that “works two ways—in either direction.” Faith, i. e., Confident Expectation, if directed toward evil and feared things, operates with as much force as if directed toward good and desired things. It serves to fill the mind with visualized pictures of the undesirable things, in place of those desired; it arouses the negative aspect of Desire, which is Aversion—and which has a force of its own, sometimes operating in the wrong direction; it arouses the negative aspect of Hope, which is Fear—which has a strong attracting power in the wrong direction. In short, it reverses the entire mental and spiritual machinery of the individual, and causes his forces to travel in the wrong direction—in the same way and with the same power with which they travel in the right direction when energized by Faith and Confident Expectation of the right kind. Negative Faith, i. e., Doubt, Distrust, and Unfaith, sometimes transmutes itself into positive Faith—but Faith in the wrong set of things, in the wrong direction. So, you see, it is of the utmost importance to you that you should learn the laws of Faith Power, and to acquire the art of running its machinery properly, in the right direction, and to avoid the reversed process above indicated. There is much more to this subject of Faith Power than you have imagined.

The Psychology of Faith

The general conception of Faith—the idea of Faith held by most persons—is that it is an emotional state independent of, if not indeed actually contrary to Reason. This idea arises by reason of the tendency to view Faith only from one particular angle. If Faith were subjected to an “all around” view, the observer changing his position and shifting his viewpoint in his observation, it would be seen that while Faith often seems to transcend Reason and to be independent of its reports, yet it is not contrary to or opposed to Reason, and, in fact, depends largely upon Reason for its direction and application.

Faith, in its essence and fundamental substance, may be said to be beyond Reason—to transcend Reason. Yet, without the employment of Reason and experience, Faith degenerates into mere blind credulity. While not dependent upon Reason for its basic foundation, and while not having Reason as its fount and spring, yet Faith must needs employ Reason as its useful instrument of manifestation and expression, and must use the sign-posts of Reason as guides pointing out the road over which it travels.

It is equally true that Reason must be based upon Faith, for, of itself it has no ultimate foundation. Reason and Faith are not antagonistic, when they are rightly understood: rather are they brothers-in-arms, each helpful and useful to the other. The ideal is the well-balanced coordination and correlation of Reason and Faith.

Intellect, of which Reason is a manifestation and form of expression, is an instrument evolved by Life, or Spirit—call it what you will—for special purposes. In its own field it is supreme. But its own field is a limited one—though this fact is not generally recognized. There are other fields of mentation in the vast domain of Life or Spirit. When Intellect is pushed beyond its limits it becomes dazed and confused, and seems to lose its normal powers.

As Bergson has strikingly pointed out to us, there are things which Reason, of itself, can never know—yet which, when discovered by Intuition, require the use of Reason to manifest efficiently; likewise, though Intuition knows these things by reason of its essential nature, very often the knowledge is not raised into consciousness until Reason demands to be furnished with it.

When Reason recognizes this fact, and is willing to call upon Intuition for these reports, and to apply them when thus revealed, then, and then only, does Reason rise to its greatest heights of attainment.

So, in the same way, only when Intuition recognizes Reason as its most effective instrument of manifestation does Intuition proceed properly and efficiently along the road of practical accomplishment.

The intellectual pride which seeks to banish Intuition from the field of Thought, and which strives to make Reason the sole occupant of that realm, is as one-sided and as illogical as is that anti-intellectual tendency which would exalt Intuition and Faith to the position of absolute rulers of the domain of Thought, denying to Reason any right of entrance to it. These are twin-errors—each one insisting upon gazing at but one particular side of the shield while refusing to walk around it so as to perceive its reverse side.

The truth of the matter as indicated in the above statements is not generally recognized. There are many, of course, who see that Faith is more or less inefficient unless Reason is called in to aid and direct its expression and manifestation. The examples of the effect of blind credulity and unreasoning Faith are numerous, and are readily recalled as illustrations of the need for Reason in the manifestation of Faith. The intellectualists seem to have the matter all their own way, at first sight; but a little closer examination will reveal the other side of the question—the twin-truth. For when we demand to be shown the roots, bases, and foundations of Reason, we are reluctantly pointed to what?—Faith!

All deductive reasoning is based upon a premise or proposition—the Major Premise is the sacred truth upon which the deduction is made. There is always the tacit assumption that the truth of the Major Premise is axiomatic, i. e., self-evident and not requiring proof, argument, or demonstration. If this be admitted, the subsequent reasoning is mechanical, and almost mathematical in its certainty.

But when one claims that the person asserting the premise or proposition is “begging the question,” i. e., assuming without warrant, the truth of the premise, or tacitly implying that it is accepted or not disputed—when the objecting one states, “I dispute your Major Premise”—then the trouble begins. The Burden of Proof, in Logic, rests upon the person advancing the premise or proposition, and he then may be called upon to “prove” the truth of his premise or proposition.

When such person attempts to furnish such proof, and to support it by logical argument, he simply shifts his position a step or two backward. When that step is reached, he halts, and re-commences his argument—how? By advancing another premise or proposition—usually another Major Premise which he assumes to be axiomatic, or self evident. If this be objected to, he must again retreat and erect another line of entrenchments; and so on, and so on.

If his opponent be sufficiently persistent and determined, this retreat is continued indefinitely, unless the first man disgustedly discontinues the argument, and refuses to “play”— this, of course, being his right, and in no way being a confession of defeat or in any way a victory for the skeptical opponent: the discussion simply is “off” in such case.

All this brings us to the point where we perceive that sooner or later we reach a stage in reasoning in which there is something “taken for granted,” something “assumed for the purposes of the argument,” something which has not as yet been proved, but which is to be employed as the basis of the proof of something else—in short, something which is based on Faith, expressed or implied. That basis of Faith, however, need not be blind Faith, or unreasoning credulity—it should, indeed, not be so. It may be, and usually is, something which seems “reasonable” and not inconsistent with Reason—but, nevertheless, it is accepted by an act of Faith, as Logic defines that term, for it is not positively known, nor has it been “proved” logically. There is no escape from this conclusion, disagreeable as it may be to the extreme intellectualists; the better the logician, the more freely will he confess to this fact of logic—it is usually only the amateurs who seek to dispute it.

Leaving the field of Formal Logic, and entering that of the Practical Logic of everyday thought and life, we find the same state of affairs existing. The most important reasoning of practical everyday life is based upon Faith. We do not know positively that the sun will rise tomorrow morning—all that we know is that in the history of the race the sun always has risen in the morning, and we “believe” that it will continue the practice on the morrow; but we do not “know” absolutely that such will be the case, we cannot prove it absolutely by argument—even by mathematics—unless we admit the existence of Universal Law, or the Law of Causation, whereby “the same causes, under the same conditions, will produce the same effects.”

You may object to all this as silly—but, instead, it is the strictest application of the rules and laws of logical thought. Of course, you say that we “know” that the sun will rise tomorrow morning, and may even tell to a second the time of its rising. Certainly we “know” this—but we know it only by an act of Faith. That Faith, moreover, is the belief that there exists Universal Law—that “natural things act and move under Law”—that “the same causes, under the same conditions, produce the same results.” That law, and every other natural law, is to us merely an hypothesis, well established by experience, observation, and experiment, it is true—but still an hypothesis, a “guess,” an assumption based upon Faith. The conviction of “knowing” is really intuitive—it is an act of Faith. The Faith, it is true, is directed by Reason—but in its essence it still is Faith!

Science, that supposedly cold intellectual school of thought, has its foundations in Faith—though it is usually thought to turn its back upon Faith, and to stand upon the “solid rock” of Reason and Intellect. Its “laws,” at the last, are merely “the way things work,” which means “the way that observed things have been found to work in the past”—the “habit of procedure observed by Nature.”

The Law of Causation is a tremendous statement of Faith. The laws of Chemistry; the laws of Physics; these are statements of Faith. The molecules and atoms of matter have never been perceived by the senses—they are “unknown” so far as sense-knowledge is concerned. Things act “as if” molecules and atoms exist, so we assume that they do exist—we take them on Faith. The keenest minds in Science admit this—they frankly state that “of the ultimate nature of things we know absolutely nothing.”

Science adopts hypotheses by acts of Faith; when subsequent investigations shake the faith in them, they are discarded in favor of others likewise based on Faith. Faith blended and harmonized with Reason—but not blind Faith or unreasoning credulity—is the Faith of Science. The combined hypotheses of Science, raised to the dignity of “principles” and “laws” in many cases, constitute the Creed of Science, i. e., that which begins with the statement: “I believe in,” etc. This Creed, like all others, is a Confession of Faith—Faith directed and regulated by Reason, it is true, but still Faith.

Philosophy, like Science, is based on Faith—Faith rationally interpreted, but still Faith. Philosophy holds as axiomatic, self-evident, the contrary of which is unthinkable, the basic proposition that “From Nothing, no thing can arise, flow or proceed,” and its corollary: “Had there ever been a time in which Nothing was, and no thing was in existence, then no thing would be in existence now.” But it does not positively “know” that such is the fact; it cannot prove that Something cannot arise from Nothingness. All that it knows is that it cannot think such a thing to be possible, and that it has had no experience with anything of that sort. You may say that it knows this truth “intuitively”—and so it does, as a fact, just as it knows many other things intuitively; but that which is the report of Intuition is a report arising from fields of mentation outside those of Reason—though the reports are not necessarily conflicting with or opposed to each other. All “intuitive knowledge” is belief based upon Faith, at the last.

Geometry is an “exact science”—yet it is based solely upon certain laws and principles which are accepted by Faith, for they cannot be proved absolutely by Reason. The Laws of Geometry are articles of the Creed—of the Confession of Faith—of Geometry. Geometry begins With a series of “I believes”; these are called axioms, self-evident facts requiring no proof, and assumed to be truth. Yet these are all “I believes,” not “I knows”; for they cannot be proved as universal truths. They act “as if” they were universal truths—everything tested by them indicate their correctness; yet until each and every thing in the universe is so tested, until infinite space is measured, there can be no positive “proof” that they are universal laws and truths. In fact, there are certain schools of “transcendental geometry” which have found quite different, and often quite contradictory laws which act “as if” they were true.

This does not mean that there is no truth in such laws and the conceptions based upon them; we would be insane to ignore them in our practical life. Moreover, this does not mean that men do not “know” these things to be true—they do “know” them to be true so far as they may be conceived, but the “knowing” is intuitive, not purely intellectual: Intellect discovers them through its reasoning processes, and Intuition reports the conviction of their truth. They represent acts of Faith— Faith rationally interpreted. This may be a hard saying to many of us, but it is one made by the keenest minds of the race. The most certain laws of Physics, Chemistry, and Geometry are, in the end, based upon Faith, rationally interpreted. Such Faith is justifiable—that is freely admitted and approved of; but we insist that Faith must be accorded its proper place in the consideration, and not merely bidden to stand in the ante-room of thought while Intellect is made the honored guest, the “lion,” in the reception room.

In the ordinary affairs of life and action you act according to Faith. You do this so naturally and instinctively, so constantly and habitually, that you are not aware of it. You start on a railroad journey. You buy your ticket, having faith that the train will start from the station named on the time-table, and approximately on the time noted in it. You have faith that it will proceed to the destination promised. You do not “know” these things from actual experience—for you cannot so know what lies in the future: you take them for granted, you assume them to be true, you act upon Faith.

You take your seat. You do not know the engineer or the conductor—you have never seen them, nor do you even know their names. You do not know whether or not they are competent, reliable, or experienced. All that you know is that it is reasonable to suppose that the railroad company will select the right kind of men for the task—you act upon Faith, upon Faith rationally interpreted. You have Faith in the company, in the management, in the system of conducting the matter, in the equipment, etc., and you stake your life and wholeness of body upon that Faith. You may say that you only “take a chance” in the matter; but, even so, you manifest Faith in that “chance,” or else you wouldn’t take it. You wouldn’t “take a chance” of standing in the path of a rushing express train, or of leaping from the Eiffel Tower, would you? You manifest Faith in something—even if that something be no more than the Law of Averages.

You place your money in a bank; here again you manifest Faith—Faith rationally interpreted. You sell goods on credit to your customers—Faith again. You have Faith in your grocer, your butcher, your lawyer, your physician, your clerks, your insurance company. That is to say, Faith of some kind, or of some degree—else you would not trust anything whatsoever to them. If you “believe” that a man is dishonest, incompetent, or insane, you do not place confidence in him, nor trust your affairs or interests to him; your Faith is in his “wrongness,” and not in his “rightness”—but it is Faith, nevertheless. Every “belief” short of actual, positive knowledge, is a form or phase of Faith.

You may say that these things denote, not Faith, but rather Confidence or Expectation of some degree. This is merely changing the terms but not the meaning. In the preceding section of this book we have shown you that the very essence and substance of the present usage and meaning of the term and concept, Faith, is “Confident Expectation.” The expectation may not be very pronounced, the confidence may be limited, but, nevertheless, it is Confident Expectation of some kind, form, phase, or degree. Even the “belief” that some undesirable and feared thing may happen is the negative phase of Faith. Fear is a form or phase of Faith—of Faith mingled with the negation of Hope. Fear and Hope are both forms or phases of Expectation; when raised to the degree of Confident Expectation they are markedly forms of Faith.

You have the Faith that if you step off a high building into space, you will fall and be injured, perhaps killed: this is your Faith in the Law of Gravitation. You have a similar Faith in certain other physical laws—you have the Confident Expectation that evil results to you will follow certain courses of action concerning these physical laws. You have Faith that poisons will injure or destroy your physical body, and you avoid such. You may object that you “know” these things, not merely “believe” them; but you don’t “know” anything directly and immediately until you experience it—and you cannot experience a future happening before its time. All that you can do concerning each and every future experience is to “believe” certain things concerning it— and that “belief” is nothing else but Faith, interpreted more or less rationally and correctly.

You do not “know” certainly and positively, by direct experience, or by pure reason, a single thing about the happenings of tomorrow, or of some day next week, or of the corresponding day of next year. Yet you act as if you did possess such knowledge—but why? Simply because of your Faith in the Law and Order of the Universe; of the operation of the Law of Causation, whereby effects follow causes; of the Law of Probabilities, or the Law of Average; or of some other Natural Law. But your knowledge of and belief in such Laws are but forms of your Faith, i. e., Confident Expectation that “things will work out according to the rule observed in past actions.” You cannot get away from Faith in your thoughts and beliefs concerning the present and the future, any more than you can run away from your shadow in the bright daylight.

Without Faith rationally interpreted, without Confident Expectation in at least some degree, there could be no rational action or procedure. All human intercourse and communication, all human coordination and correlation between individuals, all dealings between man and man, all enterprises designed and carried on by man, and all the plans and purposes of the race of men—all these, each and every one of them, are based on some form of Faith, of Faith more or less rationally interpreted. We know certainly only the events of the present moment; or of the past—the events and happenings of the future, even of one moment hence, we know only by and through Faith more or less directed and guided by Reason. We live by Faith—we act through Faith.

From the foregoing, and the reflections aroused in your mind by the consideration of it, you will perceive that Faith has as true and as sound position and place in the psychology of the human being as have Reason and Intellect. Faith is not an alien intruder—it is a native of the mental realm which it inhabits, and its claims to citizenship are quite well founded. In its place, and within its normal limits, its work is as useful as is that of Intellect or Reason; outside of that place, and beyond those limits, however, its work is as ineffective, or even as harmful, as is that of Intellect which so transcends its normal field of activity. The mind may be “debauched by arrogant Intellect,” as well as “outraged by unreasoning Faith.” It is only in the well-balanced, thoroughly harmonized, combination of Faith and Reason, Intellect and Intuition that the human mind manifests its highest efficiency and performs its best work.

Intellect and Reason are comparatively late comers to the mind; in the history of mental evolution. Instinct (which is a phase of, or reflection of Intuition) was there long before Reason. Faith, by reason of its relation to Intuition, is more deeply rooted in the mental soil than is Reason—hence its wonderful power, manifested often in the very face of Reason. By reason of this relation to the most elementary and essential, fundamental and basic facts of mental substance and process, Faith has a motive-power and an attractive-power closely resembling that of Desire and Will. Indeed there are many thinkers along the lines of esoteric philosophy who indicate that the element of Faith, or Confident Expectation, plays a much more important part in the activities and accomplishments of Desire and Will than is apparent to those who view only the exoteric phase of the subject.

As we proceed with this consideration of Faith Power, in the present instruction, you will perceive many instances of this elemental power of Faith; and of the results arising from it. Faith not only blazes the trail which is followed by us in subsequent travels of Will; it also digs the channels through which flow to us the currents of things, events, happenings and persons from the outside world. Well did the ancient sages accord to Faith an equal position in the Mental Trinity with Desire and Will, respectively. “Insistent Desire, Confident Expectation, and Persistent Determination”—Desire, Faith, and Will: truly a Trinity of Personal Power!

Without the Confident Expectation, there will be no kindling of the flame of Insistent Desire—no application of the steel of Persistent Determination. Unless Faith expresses itself in the Confident Expectation of the obtaining or attainment of the thing desired and willed, then will Desire find it difficult to “want it hard enough,” and Will will find it impossible to “persistently determine to obtain it.” Desire and Will depend upon Faith for their Inspirational Forces—by means of the latter, the Energizing Forces of Desire and the Dynamic Forces of Will are inspired and vitalized, and have the Breath of Life breathed into them.

Expectant Attention

Psychologists have noted the effect of, and realized the important part played by that mental state known as Expectant Attention. Expectant Attention is that concentrated direction of attention toward some action, event or happening which the individual expects to occur, i. e., to which he looks forward, with more or less confidence and belief, as likely to occur or to come to pass. This mental attitude, you will note, is a form or phase of Faith or Confident Expectation such as we have considered in the foregoing sections of this book.

It is an axiom of psychology that the laws of Attention operate so as to cause the individual to perceive far more clearly the objects or facts toward which his attention is specially directed, and to perceive far less clearly those objects or facts which are outside of the field of his special attention. In fact, Attention always proceeds by manifesting a selective action. In such selective action it more or less unconsciously (or, rather, subconsciously) brings and holds in the field of consciousness those objects which have attracted its notice, and shuts out of that field those objects which have not so attracted the same.

Out of the multiplicity of sights and sounds which knock at the door of consciousness at almost every moment of your life, you select those which fit in with the general subject, idea, or line of thought to which your attention is directed, and at the same time reject the consideration and perception of those not so fitting in with such. If you are especially interested in violin music, you will hear clearly the notes of the violins, while the remainder of the instruments manifesting sound in the performance of a large orchestra are relegated to the “fringe of consciousness” and are perceived only as a general background. Another person would ignore the violins and would hear only the notes of his favorite instruments. In the same way, at a theatrical performance where a number of persons are on the stage at the same time, you are apt to see the actions and to hear the words of your favorite actor, while those of the others are far less distinct in your consciousness. Likewise, you read from the pages of a book only that which is associated with your previous ideas concerning its subject: hence the old saying, “We get from a book only what we give to it.”

The professional magician understands and employs these laws of Attention. He manages to direct your attention to one of his hands, and to hold it there, while his other hand performs the baldest and boldest kind of deception upon you without detection. Or, he manages to direct your attention to some other part of the stage, while under your very eyes (though unobserved by you) he makes certain changes which are necessary for the successful performance of his feat. Pickpockets and swindlers take advantage of this same state of affairs; they cause us to direct our attention to some other thing or place, while we leave unguarded the receptacle containing our possessions. We are all keenly awake to that to which our interested attention is directed, while we are all more or less asleep concerning the things from which such attention is diverted.

This rule applies not only to your perception of objects through the senses, but also to your thoughts concerning any subject. You may imagine that you are exercising your reasoning powers judiciously, impartially and without bias, but in most cases you are considering only the facts, data and arguments which are in accord with your preconceived notions, beliefs and prejudices in the matter. You tend to see only that one particular side of the question—that one set of facts—that one line of argument, the opposite aspect or phase being practically ignored by you. Or, even if you are particularly careful not to fall into this error, you at least tend to overemphasize the favorite set of facts or arguments, and to underemphasize the other and opposed group.

Moreover, once having made up your mind concerning a subject, you fall into the habit of unconsciously or subconsciously selecting from your world of experience those facts and data which serve to corroborate your own belief, and those which serve to contravert the opposite belief. You find on all sides facts, data and arguments sustaining your position, and overturning the opposite contention. You tend to become blind to undesired and unwelcome facts, data and arguments, though you may not realize this unless you are especially watchful over your mental processes. From the same experience, however, you would gather a similar array of desired evidence on the other side were you committed to the views of that side of the case. When we say “you,” we mean “all of us” as well. Our subconscious minds are strong partisans; they eagerly search for and select the desired objects of thought, and determinedly shut the door to the opposite class of objects.

The axiom of psychology, “Attention follows Interest,” is exemplified by common experience. We tend to perceive that in which we are especially interested, and to ignore that which is uninteresting. The man interested in trees perceives a world of facts while walking through a park, which facts are totally unperceived by the average man. The man interested in stone arrow-heads finds them in walking through a field, though others pass them by unobserved. As John Burroughs has told us, the man with the walking-fern in mind finds walking-fern in every bit of woods, while the rest of us are not aware of its presence there. In short, all of us tend to perceive in the outside world that which corresponds with what already exists in our inner mental world.

You, yourself, have often experienced the operation of this law of the mind when once you have become interested in some new subject, idea or set of facts. While up to that time you have never observed any special facts or data connected with that which has become your object of interest, now you will have come to the conclusion that the whole world is apparently becoming aroused to an interest in that particular subject, just as you have been. You will feel this to be so because now every newspaper, magazine or book which you pick up seems to contain special references to that subject, and items of interest concerning it; likewise, you will hear the subject discussed in the trains and street-cars, in the clubs, and wherever a number of persons meet and enter into conversation. On every hand you find something which “fits into” this subject of your new interest.

But, the fact is that the change is not in the outside world—it is in yourself. That which is within your mind is seeking for, and finding, that in the outside world which agrees and harmonizes with itself. Another person not so interested, or even you, yourself, were you not so interested, would be almost, if not indeed totally unaware of these same interests on the part of others, even in the same places, conditions and surroundings. A new object of interest on your part acts like a pair of colored spectacles—you see the outside world of things and happenings tinted in harmony with your glasses. Technically stated, your Attention follows your Interest, and in so doing it manifests its characteristic selective power.

The application of the mental laws just called to your attention is quite important in view of their practical effects upon your everyday life. By reason of these laws, the degree of your success in any particular line of work depends materially upon the degree of interest which is aroused in you concerning such work. If your interest is keen, then you will perceive and discover on all sides, in every day of your life, certain facts, data and other things which will serve the purposes of that work— you will find yourself dwelling in a world surrounded by such facts. If, on the contrary, you manifest little or no interest in your work, but perform the same almost mechanically, then this world of helpful things, ideas and facts will not exist for you—you will dwell in another world. There will be nothing in you to call out of the outer world that which is in harmony with itself.

The above-mentioned psychological laws, and their effects may be stated briefly as follows:

1. You perceive only that toward which your attention is attracted and directed, and only in the degree to which that attention is so called forth;
2. Attention follows Interest, and is called forth by it only in a direct ratio to the degree of that Interest: therefore you perceive only that in which you are to some degree interested, and only according to the measure of the degree of Interest manifested;
3. Your world of perceptive experience is created by your Interested Attention, by reason of the fact that such Interested Attention selects from the outside world such facts as are in agreement with its inner states, and rejects those facts which are opposed to such; (4) the same state of affairs is manifested in your mental world of memory, recollection, and selection of ideas—you select and perceive those which accord with your Interest, and reject the opposite class.

Now, the above brings us back to our consideration of the subject of Expectant Attention, which, as we have said, is a phase of Faith or Confident Expectation. Expectant Attention is a very potent and active form of Interested Attention. In it you not only are interested in an object, subject or state of affairs, but, in addition, you “believe” in certain conditions or facts, and “expect” that certain results will occur by reason of their presence. You not only have your Attention directed toward the thing by reason of your Interest in it, and see that which is in accordance with this, but you also “expect,” i. e., confidently believe, that certain events will happen or come to pass concerning those things, or proceeding from them.

The cat watching at a mouse-hole, or the dog digging out a woodchuck, manifests the keenest and most active kind of attention imaginable. This, not only because the animal is intensely interested in the object of obtaining his prey, but also because he hopes to capture it, “expects” to secure it—because he “believes” that he will get it in the end. If the animal did not so keenly believe and expect the successful result, his interest and attention would lack that intensity which is now present; and his energies would not be so actively called forth and manifested.

This rule is equally true of human endeavor. When you believe in the probability of a successful outcome of an undertaking, you experience the keenest interest in the work leading to it; your work is in direct relation to that expectation. If, on the contrary, you entertain grave doubts of the efficacy of your efforts and work, your energies will slacken, your interest will abate, and your attention will relax—and, as a consequence, your work will become less effective. Again, if you not only doubt and question the successful outcome, but also go so far as to actually “believe” that the effort will result in failure, then your interest will become dead, your attention weak, and your work of the poorest and most ineffective quality. More than this, if your “belief,” and “expectant attention” be that of the certainty of failure, then you will actually find yourself unconsciously working with that idea in mind, and toward that end—you will be deliberately (though subconsciously) “riding to a fall.”

What has been said above concerning the effect of Interest, Attention and Expectancy, upon the conscious activities of your mind, is trebly true concerning your subconscious activities. The subconscious mind is peculiarly liable to be affected by “beliefs” of the kind noted, to “suggestions” in accordance with these coming from your conscious mentality. It accepts as true your beliefs and convictions, your confident expectations, your earnest hopes concerning the probable result of courses of action or existing causes—and it proceeds to manifest its powers in the direction so pointed out to it. Accordingly, it blinds the Attention to facts, ideas and conditions running contrary to your beliefs and expectations, and it renders keen your powers of perception of those facts, ideas, and conditions which agree with your beliefs and expectations.

The subconscious mentality is very active—it works even while you sleep, and while you are thinking of other things— and, though in the first place it is influenced greatly by your conscious thoughts and beliefs, it eventually acquires control over the latter to a marked degree. Inasmuch as over seventy-five percent of your mental operations are performed on the sub-conscious planes of mentation, you will see that this subconscious mentality is capable of influencing your mental attitude, and your mental direction of effort, to a very considerable extent. Accordingly, you will realize how important it is to have your “beliefs” and “expectant attention” under control, and to have them working in the right direction.

Let us give you a few illustrations of the above-stated principle, drawn from the experiences of everyday life experiences on the physical plane, but in which the subconscious mental influence is manifest. These illustrations may be deemed trivial by those who fail to perceive that the principle operating in them is also involved in far more important happenings and action. We ask you to accept these as simple illustrations of a far from simple general class of phenomena.

Several years ago, one of the writers of this book knew a young man who was an expert bowler. He was a very careful player, with mind and muscles well under control, with great powers of concentration on his play, and with nerves not easily “rattled.” When questioned carefully by the writer concerning the mental operations leading to his careful play, he gave some very interesting and instructive answers.

Among other things, he said that he attributed his successful play largely to his gradually acquired habit of arousing a mental state of certainty, assurance, and confident expectation that his aim would be perfect. He said that sometimes it was rather difficult to arouse that feeling; as he expressed it, “it is sometimes slow a’coming,” but that he would wait a few moments until “it came.” This “coming,” as he called it, was manifested by a certain “sort of ‘click’ in my mind,” which was the signal to send the ball forward. When that “click” came, he “just knew for certain” that his aim was perfect. The Confident Expectation, or Expectant Attention, served so to coordinate his mental calculation and his muscular effort that success was assured.

He told the writer that early in his bowling experience he was subject to being “rattled” by the remarks and chaffing of opposing players, and, so, often failed to make a “strike” which ordinarily was quite easy. He said that he managed to overcome this difficulty by cultivating the power of shutting out from his consciousness the remarks of others. He added, however, that even quite late in his experience he lost a game by reason of having accepted the adverse suggestion of a bystander. As nearly as the writer can recollect the conversation, he used the following words in describing this occurrence:

“I was at a close stage of the game, and I could win only by putting the ball between the 1 and 2 pins, which ought to have been easy for me to do, judging from my past record. Just as I was about to bowl, a friend of my opponent said, quietly, as if to his friend: ‘Just watch him hit the 4 pin.’ Somehow, or someway, there crept into my mind the idea that I was going to hit the 4 pin, which was about the worst thing I could do just then. I can’t say that I was exactly afraid; but I got the notion that I was going to hit that 4 pin in spite of myself—I actually believed and expected it. I aimed with my usual care, straight between the 1 and 2 pins, and then let the ball go. I never could tell how it happened, but my ball rolled right toward that 4 pin, and struck it fair and square. And so, instead of making a ten strike I got only a split. That fellow sure hoodooed me, all right. I never knew how he did it, but do it he did.”

Here was evidently a case of misdirected Expectant Attention—Faith reversed! He believed and expected the bad shot, and, although he used his habitual care, his subconscious mind manifested his belief and unconsciously to him influenced his muscular action at the critical moment. His “click” of certainty in ordinary cases was the result of the same psychological principle. In either case, in each case, the subconscious mentality was striving to make true in outer action the inner belief. It was a case of “Thought taking form in action”: of the response of the physical muscles to the subconscious mental state.

We understand that baseball players report a similar state of affairs. They often “just know” the probable result of their batting, or of their catching of the ball in the field—they experience that certain state of Expectant Attention which is a phase of Confident Expectation, and their muscles become a perfectly coordinated machine. Again, when a player allows himself to be “rattled” by the shouts from the benches—when he allows the adverse suggestions to obtain lodgment in his subconscious mind—then the Faith is reversed, and “that which he fears comes upon him.” In either case there is manifested in action the mental picture formed in the mind of the player. The ideal tends to become real; Expectant Attention creates the ideal, and the subconscious mentality performs the action.

The writer was once told by an ex-manager of noted pugilists that a similar condition is found to exist among prizefighters. He said: “If a boy believes that he is going to be licked, then licked he is in advance of the match. If, on the contrary, he feels in his heart that he is the better man, then his chances of success are enormously increased. There’s a whole lot of this mind-stuff in ring fighting, believe me!”

The writer personally met with a similar case, occurring twenty years ago—in the days of bicycles and cable-cars. He was riding on the “grip-car,” on the front part of the bench of the open car then used. Hearing the gripman using strong language, he looked ahead, and there saw a young colored man riding a bicycle and trying to cross the street on an angle, just in front of the car. Ordinarily there would have been no difficulty in his making the crossing—there was plenty of room and plenty of time for it. But when the gripman swore at him, and called out “Look out, there, you’re going to run into the car,” the young man’s hand seemed to turn in spite of himself, and he (seemingly deliberately) turned his wheel and ran straight into the car. When picked out of the wreck of his bicycle, badly shaken up but uninjured, he was asked why he turned his wheel toward the car. He answered: “I dunno, I dunno; I ‘speck dat wheel just got skeered and runned away with me.” The real truth was that his Expectant Attention was active, and the wheel acted just as he looked for it to act—his subconscious mentality performing the action. Many old-time bicycle riders will understand and appreciate this illustration—they “have been there” themselves!

The same principle may be seen in operation in the actions of children; children are very apt to take on the suggestions of their elders, and to act upon them subconsciously even when they “don’t want to.” We have witnessed the unfortunate result of the admonition: “Look out, Myrtle, you’ll drop that vase; look out, its slipping now!” Of course, “bang” went the vase! Again: “Look out, Johnny, be careful; you’ll slip off the banister!” Johnny accepts the suggestion, his subconscious mentality believes it, and the action follows.

We once saw a little boy walking along the top of a high brick wall; he made the trip backward and forward several times without trouble. But when, finally, a grown-up shouted a warning of danger, coupled with the assertion that the boy would fall off, the boy’s Expectant Attention was aroused, and down he came. A leading tight-rope performer has stated in a newspaper interview that if he entertains the thought that he will fall, he is almost certain to become “wobbly,” and then needs to exert considerable will-power to maintain his balance.

The above recited illustrations of the effect of Confident Expectation, in its phase of Expectant Attention, in these little simple matters of everyday experience, are likewise illustrations of the operation of the same psychological principle—the principle of Faith in its many forms—in many far more important, and far more complex, matters of life and action. As we proceed in our consideration of the subject in this instruction, you will perceive this same universal principle at work along many different lines, and in many different forms, phases and aspects of its power.

For the present, we ask you merely to bear in mind this statement: The entire set of mental processes, conscious, subconscious, and unconscious, tend to proceed in the direction of Expectant Attention, or Confident Expectation, which is a phase of Faith. The mind, consciously, subconsciously, or unconsciously, strives to build around itself a world corresponding to its beliefs, and to act along the lines of its beliefs, even when such a world or such actions are not desired. Hope and Fear, when expressions of Confident Expectation, or Expectant Attention, are potent motive powers, particularly along subconscious lines of mentation.

The Secret of “Faith-Cures”

By Faith-Cure is meant “the cure of disease by the exercise of faith in some external force or power, or in the force or power inherent in the mental or spiritual nature of the mind or soul of the individual.” The following definitions, given by authoritative reference works, will perhaps bring out still more clearly the essential elements and meaning of this concept and term:
Among the many phases and forms of the application and manifestation of the mental principle of Faith Power is that important phase or form known generally as “Faith-Cure.” The consideration of the phenomena arising from the application and manifestation of this phase or form of Faith Power is well worth while, not alone because of their importance on their own account, but also because of the fact that in such consideration there is brought to light the operation of the potent force inherent in such general principle itself.

“Faith-Cure, or Faith-Healing, is a form of ‘mind cure’ characterized by the idea that while pain and disease really exist they may be neutralized and dispelled by faith in Divine power; the doctrine of Christian Science holds, however, that pain is only an illusion and seeks to cure the patient by instilling into him this belief.”

“Faith-Cure is a term applied to the practice of curing disease by an appeal to the hope, belief, or expectation of the patient, and without the use of drugs or other material means. Formerly, Faith-Cure was confined to methods requiring the exercise of religious faith, such as the ‘prayer cure’ and ‘divine healing,’ but has now come to be used in the broader sense, and includes the cures of Mental Science; also a large part of the cures effected by patent medicines and nostrums, as well as many folk practices and home remedies. By some, it is held to include also Christian Science, but the believers in the latter regard it as entirely distinct.”

Careful investigators and researchers along these lines are now generally agreed that the cures undoubtedly made by the various practitioners of the numerous schools and forms of Faith-Cure (under their different names and theories of cure) have as their underlying effective principle the mental condition or state of Faith; this principle operating so as to call forth the innate power of the mental-physical organism to resist and to overcome the abnormal conditions which manifest as disease. Thus, all cures wrought by the mental forces of the individual, under whatever name or method, are, at the last, Faith Cures.

That this innate power to resist and overcome disease actually exists in the human organism is now admitted by the best authorities; it is known as “the protective and recuperative power of the organism,” or else as the “vis medicatrix naturae,” or “the healing power of Nature.” The power is known to dwell in that part of the mental equipment of man known as “the subconscious mentality,” which has direct control and supervision of many of the physical processes, and which is absolutely in charge of the “involuntary processes” by means of which the most important functions of the body are performed.

This innate power of the organism, so lodged in the subconscious mentality, is found to respond readily to the ideas accepted as true by the individual—to his “beliefs,” in short. These beliefs are forms of Faith, at the last. The belief and Faith of the individual in the effect and influence of any energy, force or power is capable not only of effecting cures of diseased conditions, but also of inducing and bringing about such conditions in the first place. That belief, “Expectant Attention,” Confident Expectation—in short, Faith—is capable of causing the manifestation of conditions of physical disease, is now too well established to admit of doubt; advanced schools of therapeutics recognize this fact, and impart instruction based upon it. That the same kind of mental conditions act in the direction of curing disease is now practically admitted by the same schools.

Science, after extended investigations of the subject, now holds that the truth (or lack of it) involved in the respective particular religious, metaphysical or philosophical theories advanced by the different Faith-Cure schools, really have nothing whatsoever to do with the curative principle really employed— except that the plausibility of such theories may tend to arouse and maintain the belief and Faith—the Expectant Attention and Confident Expectation—of the patient, thereby setting into operation the innate healing powers of the organism through the activities of the subconscious mentality. The fact that the various opposing schools, with their widely differing and often absolutely opposing sets of theories, are found to make cures in about the same proportion to the cases treated, is held to point conclusively to the existence of this common and universal element of Faith as the real factor of the cures.

It is admitted by practical psychologists that the Expectant Attention, the Confident Expectation—the Faith—of the average person is more keenly aroused and more firmly held by the attractive religious or metaphysical explanations offered by many of these schools of Faith-Cure than by the coldly scientific explanation furnished by scientific observers; such attractive explanations and theories appeal more strongly to the imagination, and thus more easily set in force the activities of the subconscious mentality. But when Science administers its “masked suggestion” in sufficiently attractive guises, it produces results equally efficient.

The glowing verbal pictures painted by the quacks, the charlatans, and the patent-cure promoters among the “material remedy” practitioners, as well as by the exploiters of nostrums and “patent medicines,” however, are quite attractive to the average imagination—and, as a consequence, many “cures” are made in this way. In all of such cases, be it noted, the theory and the method are merely incidental—the principle of Faith-Cure is the active factor in the cure. It is not a matter so much of “just what” is believed in and is the object of Faith, as it is of “just how much” it is believed in and becomes an object of Faith. The theory and method, the instrument and vehicle, of the treatment is merely the capsule in which the active and potent force of Faith is hidden.

Faith-Cure, in its many forms, is as old as the race; it has been practiced from time immemorial. Formerly practiced by the “medicine men” of the tribes, through incantations, magic ceremonies, charms, etc., it gradually was taken over by the priesthood of the various early religions, and its instruments were prayers, sacred rites, sacred objects, etc. The history of “Mental Medicine” is filled with innumerable forms of the application of this potent force of Faith and Confident Expectation—of Expectant Attention, as the scientific writers call it. The same principle operated through the instrumentality of various strange drugs and medicines in the history of Material Medicine, as reference to the medical textbooks show beyond a doubt.

The “Encyclopaedia Britannica,” in its article on “Faith Healing,” says: “In the Christian Church the tradition of faith-healing dates from the earliest days of Christianity; upon the miracles of the New Testament follow cases of healing, first by the Apostles, then by their successors; but faith-healing proper is gradually, from the third century onwards, transformed into trust in relics, though faith-cures occur sporadically at times. Catherine of Siena is said to have saved Father Matthew from dying of the plague, but in this case it is rather the healer who was strong in faith.

“With the Reformation, faith-healing proper reappears among the Monrovians and Waldenses, who, like the Peculiar People of our own day, put their trust in prayer and anointing with oil. In the 16th century we find faith-cures recorded of Luther and other reformers; in the next century of the Baptists, Quakers, and other Puritan sects; and in the 18th century the faith-healing of the Methodists in this country was paralleled by Pietism in Germany. * * * In the 19th century Prince Hohenlohe, canon of Grosswardein, was a famous healer on the continent; the Mormons and Irvingites were prominent among English-speaking peoples; in the last quarter of the 19th century faith-healing became popular in London, and Bethshan homes were opened in 1881, and since then it has found many adherents in England.

“Under faith-healing in a wider sense may be included (1) the cures in the temples of Aesculapius and other deities in the ancient world; (2) the practice of touching for the king’s evil, in vogue from the 11th to the 18th century; (3) the cures of Valentine Greatrakes, the ‘Stroker’ (1628­1683); and (4) the miracles of Lourdes, and other resorts of pilgrims, among which may be mentioned St. Winfred’s Well in Flintshire, Treves with its Holy Coat, the grave of the Jansenist F. de Paris in the 18th century, the little town of Kevelaer from 1641 onwards, the tombs of St. Louis, Francis of Assasi, Catherine of Siena, and others.

“From the psychological point of view, all these different kinds of faith-healing, as indeed all kinds of faith-healing, as indeed all kinds of mind-cure, including those of Christian Science and hypnotism, depend upon suggestion. In faith-healing proper not only are powerful direct suggestions used, but the religious atmosphere and the autosuggestions of the patient co-operate, especially when the cures take place during a period of religious revival or at other times when large assemblies and strong emotions are found. The suggestibility of large crowds is markedly greater than that of individuals, and to this greater faith must be attributed the greater success of the fashionable places of pilgrimage.”

In general accounts of the phenomena of Faith-Healing, such as the one above quoted, you will generally find two points needing more detailed comment, namely, (1) the point that cures are made even when the patients “do not believe” in the healing power invoked; and (2) the easy reference of the basic cause to “Suggestion”—the statement often being made that “it is merely Suggestion.” Let us consider these two points in a little further detail.

In the first place, the person subjecting himself to these healing agencies always has some degree of “belief” and Faith in the possible efficacy of the agency employed, else he would not take the trouble and spend the time and money necessary to take the treatment. This Faith may be merely “a sneaking belief,” but it is always there. Particularly where money is involved this element must be present; for one does not part with money for treatments which he feels certain will do no good—there is always some hope, belief and Faith present. Even the man who sneers at the idea of his warts being cured by a “powwow” has at least a faint hope of some possible good accruing to him, else he would not bother with the matter at all. This faint hope, belief, or Faith, is taken up by the subconscious mentality and is there intensified, magnified, and concentrated.

It may be stated as a positive and invariable principle that: “Without some degree of Faith and Hope, some degree of Expectant Attention, there can be no Faith-Cure.” This belief, hope, and Faith may be hidden, and apparently rejected by the conscious mentality—but its seeds and roots are present in the subconscious mentality, and begin to grow and send forth shoots and sprouts under the power of the Expectant Attention.

In the second place, to “explain” the phenomena of Faith-Cure by the statement, “It is merely Suggestion,” is but to give the phenomena a new name. Affixing a new term is not a true “explanation.” Of course, Faith-Cure is “Suggestion”—but what is “Suggestion?” Analyzing the phenomena attributed to Suggestion, and reducing the idea of Suggestion to its essential elements, we find that Suggestion consists of: (1) placing a strong idea in the mind—grafting it on the mind, as it were; (2) arousing the Expectant Attention of the results implied or indicated in the suggested idea; and (3) setting into operation the activities of the subconscious mentality in the direction of bringing about the result pictured by the Expectant Attention, which in turn has been aroused by the suggested idea. There you have the whole idea of Suggestion in a nutshell!

The “suggested idea” may be one of disease, as well as of healing; it may be deliberately or otherwise grafted on the mind by another person, or it may arise through the “auto-suggestion” of the person himself, made up of the material of ideas or suggestions that he has “picked up” in his experience with the world: in each case, and in all cases, the “suggested idea” is an idea which strikes the mind with force, and which seems “quite reasonable,” i. e., worthy of some belief. The Expectant Attention may be that of either Fear or of Hope, as we have explained to you before; its characteristic element is “holding in mind with the idea that it will come to pass, happen or occur, in some way.” The action of the subconscious mentality we have previously described to you; its action is that of accepting the suggested idea, manifesting the Expectant Attention even more powerfully and more consistently than does the conscious mentality, and setting about to make the idea come true, to realize the expectation, to make “come about” that which is ideated and expected.

You will find these elements in all cases of Suggestion, just as you will find it in all cases of Faith-Cure. Suggestion is the underlying element in Faith-Cure, to be sure; but Suggestion itself is merely a name employed to describe the mental activities to which we have referred. To say that “Faith-Healing is merely Suggestion,” does not “explain” the matter, unless it is stated or admitted that Suggestion is a means of arousing certain mental activities. “Suggestion” is an excellent term, when rightly understood; but it must not be employed as a “fetish,” or as an easy manner of dismissing certain important phenomena. Suggestion is made up of (1) Strong Ideas or Mental Pictures, and (2) Expectant Attention arising from Confident Expectation—and the latter is Faith. When this combined Idea-Faith is planted in the subconscious mentality of the person, it begins to grow, sprout, and to bring forth leaves, blossoms, and fruit in action and physical form.

Now then, all phenomena of Faith-Cure, and of Suggestion as well, are seen to depend upon the presence and action of the element or principle of Faith Power in the mentality of the individual. This Faith Power, however, is a much greater thing than mere Healing-Power, great as is the importance of this particular and special phase of its manifestation. Healing-Power is merely one of many phases of the force and power of Faith Power; merely one of its many forms of manifestation. The study of this phase of the whole subject, and the application of the valuable principles involved in it is well worth while; but at the same time you should not allow yourself to rest content with this one phase or form of its manifestation. The whole is always greater than any one of its component parts.

What is the great lesson to be learned from the consideration of the wonderful phenomena of Faith Power in its phase of Faith-Cure, or of Healing-Power? The answer is that there are two elements involved in that lesson, viz., (1) that there exists and is active a great natural principle, inherent in your natural mental-physical organism, which tends to produce decided and marked effect upon your physical body, either in the direction of disease or that of health and the cure of disease, and that this power is at your disposal and command, and to a great extent under your own control; (2) that this great principle is but a phase or form of a still greater universal principle of your being, which greater principle operates in the direction of setting to work forces which tend to materialize in objective form that which exists in your mind in subjective form, i. e., as Idea and Faith combined, correlated, and coordinated: this greater power, like its lesser and specialized form, is available for your use—it responds to your demands when properly made, and submits itself to your general direction of Idea and Faith.

By an application of the first of the above-stated elements of this greater principle of your being, and of Nature as a whole, you may keep yourself in health, strength, and general desirable physical well-being; or you may bring about by it a gradual return to health and physical well-being, if you have lost these; again, if you allow this principle to be directed wrongly and abnormally, you may lose your physical well-being and health, and may start on the downward path of disease, the end of which is an untimely death. Your physical condition is very largely dependent upon the character and kind of the Ideas and Ideals which you permit to be planted in your mind, and by the degree of Expectant Attention, or Faith, which you permit to vitalize these Ideas and Ideals.

Briefly stated, the course to be followed by you in this matter is as follows: (1) Encourage Ideas and Ideals of Health, Strength, and Vitality—the ideas of Physical Well-Being—to take lodgment in your mind, there to send forth their roots, sprouts, blossoms, and fruit; cultivate these Ideas and Ideals, and vitalize them with a goodly amount of Expectant Attention, Confident Expectation and Faith along the lines of these conditions which you desire to be present in yourself; see yourself “in your mind’s eye” as you wish to be, and “confidently expect” to have these conditions manifested in you by your subconscious mentality; (2) never allow yourself to hold the ideas of diseased abnormal conditions, and, above all, never allow yourself to cultivate the mental habit of “expecting” such conditions to manifest in your body—cultivate the attitude of Faith and Hope, and discard that of Fear; (3) if your mind has been filled with these negative, harmful and destructive mental elements of Idea and Expectancy, and if your body has manifested Disease in response to them, you should proceed to “kill out” these noxious mental weeds by a deliberate, determined and confident cultivation of the right kind of Ideas and Ideals, and states of “Expectancy”; it is an axiom of advanced psychology that “the positives tend to inhibit and to destroy the negatives”—the weeds in the mental garden may be “killed out” by the careful and determined cultivation of the positive plants of Hope, Faith and Confident Expectation of the Good and Desirable.

As to the application of that greater principle of Faith Power, of which Faith-Cure and Healing-Power is but one phase of manifestation, we say to you that we are now leading you, step by step, in the direction of a full understanding of the nature and power of that greater principle, and of its practical and efficient application. The consideration of its power in the phase of Faith-Cure or Healing-Power is important for you, because it causes your mind, conscious and subconscious, to awaken to a realization of the presence and power of this principle of Faith Power as a whole, and furnishes you with concrete examples of that presence-power, and of its manifestation in the everyday, practical life of the individual. Faith Power is present and active—it is potent and powerful—and it is friendly to you if you recognize and realize its existence; it is ready to serve you, and to serve you well, provided that you call upon it properly and furnish it with the proper channels through which to flow in its efforts to manifest itself. This is the great truth back of the special lesson of Faith-Cure!

Faith and the Subconscious

In the preceding section of this book we indicated to you the influence of Faith or Confident Expectation upon those faculties of the mind, or those great fields or planes of mental activity, which are generally grouped under the classification of “The Subconscious.” In that presentation, however, we considered only those subconscious mental activities which are concerned with the preservation or the restoration of physical well-being. Faith, however, influences and directs the subconscious mentality in many other ways than in that of Faith-Cure or Faith-Healing along the lines of Mental Therapeutics, as you will see as we proceed with this instruction.

The Subconscious—that great field or plane of mental activity—is the seat of far greater power, and the source of far deeper and broader streams of mental force, than the average person even begins to realize. In that field, or on that plane, are performed over seventy-five percent of man’s mental activities.

Our subconscious mentality has well been compared to the great mountain-like elevations of land under the surface of the ocean—abiding there in substantial form and serving as a support and base for that which appears above the surface, though invisible to the ordinary observer; the islands which appear above the surface representing the important, though comparatively limited area and extent of the conscious mentality.

Others, with equal force, have compared the conscious mentality to the comparatively small area of a mighty iceberg floating through the seas of the Arctic region, the subconscious mentality being represented by the far greater substance and body of the iceberg which is submerged beneath the waters, and which is invisible.

Again, the conscious mentality has been compared to the comparatively small section of the light spectrum which is visible to the human eye, which section includes the various light-waves ranging from red to violet—the subconscious mentality being represented by that enormous field of the infra-red rays on the one side, and the ultra-violet rays on the other.

Our mental world is far more extensive than we usually conceive it to be; it has great comparatively unsounded depths, and equally grand comparatively unsealed heights: the explored and charted areas of our conscious mentality are incidental and subordinate to those broad areas of which even the brightest minds of our race have merely explored the borderland, the expanded uncharted interior of the strange country still awaiting the exploring expeditions of the future. Our position in relation to this great Terra Incognita of the mind is similar to that of the ancient civilized world toward the earth as a whole; we are as yet awaiting the Columbus who will explore the Western Continent of the mind, and the Livingstones and Stanleys who will furnish us with maps of the mental Darkest Africa.

Yet, even the comparatively small explored areas of the Subconscious have revealed to us a wonderful land—a land filled with the richest raw materials, precious metals, wonderful species of animal and plant life. And our daring investigators have discovered means of applying and using some of the wonderful things which have been discovered in even that borderland of the new mental world.

The past fifty years have been very fruitful for the race in this direction. We have learned not only of the existence of this new land filled with wondrous things, but we have also learned much concerning the nature of those things; and, what is still better, we have learned much concerning the best methods of converting those things to our own uses. We have as yet much more to learn along these lines, but what has been already learned has revolutionized our conceptions of the mind, and has opened up to our conscious use great mental powers, the very existence of which were formerly unsuspected.

We shall not enter here into a detailed consideration of the fields and planes of the Subconscious realm of the mind, nor into a full description of what has been found to abide in those regions. We have considered these matters and subjects fully in that volume of this series which is entitled “Subconscious Power,” to which book we refer you if you are desirous of studying in further detail these subconscious faculties of the mind and the most efficient methods of applying and using them. In the present volume we are concerned almost entirely with the consideration of Faith Power in its effect upon the mind as a whole, the conscious planes as well as the subconscious; but inasmuch as Faith Power performs such a large part of its activities on the planes or in the fields of the Subconscious, we find it necessary to make constant reference to the latter in our consideration of Faith Power.

While it is true that Desire is the motive-power of all human action, conscious and subconscious, and that without Desire (conscious or subconscious) there could and would be no such action; and while it is true that Desire and Will go out toward Idea, and that without Idea (conscious or subconscious) there would be no moving of the mind to action: still it is equally true that the measure of the degree and the direction of such activity is dependent very largely upon the degree of Faith, Confident Expectation or Expectant Attention manifesting in the individual.

This is true concerning the activities of the conscious mentality—it is doubly or trebly true of the activities of the subconscious mentality. In fact, the subconscious mentality has been discovered to be very “set in its beliefs,” and to hold steadfastly to them when once they have taken lodgment within it; so much so, in truth, that it will often balk and rebel when the conscious mentality strives to set it to work in opposition to its fixed beliefs and habits of action. It is often found to be necessary to “re-educate the Subconscious,” when it has been filled with erroneous beliefs and ideas, before it can be set to work in a new direction—a direction opposed to its old beliefs and ideas.

Certain fields, at least, of the subconscious mental activity- certain of the subconscious mental faculties, at least—remind the scientific observer very much of the mind of the child. That is to say, like the mind of the child it is quite open to original impressions, and quite disposed to exercise Faith and belief concerning ideas presented to it, provided that these ideas do not conflict with those already accepted by it; but, also, like the mind of the child, it will hold fast to these ideas when they have been accepted as truth and forcibly impressed upon it, and will find it difficult to accept or act upon ideas opposed to them. Like the child mind, also, it readily forms habits of belief, thought, and action, and when these are once “set” it requires much work to change them or to reverse their action.

We have evidences of this fact in our everyday lives—you, yourself, can testify to its truth. Like nearly every other person, you have found yourself strongly influenced by silly, irrational, superstitious ideas, notions and habits of thought and action, long after you have thoroughly convinced yourself that such superstitions have no basis in fact or in truth. Your conscious mentality frees itself from the bonds of the superstition, but when you come to the test you find within yourself, deep down in your mental and emotional being, a distinct, definite and positive tendency to act according to the old belief or notion. You feel the pull of the Subconscious upon your Will, and it often requires the greatest exercise of Will-power to overcome that subconscious influence. The subconscious mentality must be “re-educated” before it will cease to protest and pull against your conscious reasoning mind.

You, in all probability, have still some pet superstitions— notions which your reason pronounces to be absolutely ridiculous in their untruth and lack of reality—which, when it “comes to the pinch,” cause you to feel quite uncomfortable if you attempt to act contrary to them. It has well been said that while we laugh at the pet superstitions of others, we hug close to those of our own which are equally ridiculous. We pride ourselves on our rational actions, and our intellectual habits of thought and belief, but when it comes to walking under a ladder, sitting at a table with thirteen persons present, doing things on Friday, breaking a mirror, etc., etc., we show plainly the force of this old pull and influence of subconscious belief and Faith. And, if we act contrary to these, in spite of ourselves we find Expectant Attention being directed toward the result feared by the subconscious elements of our mental being.

It is amusing to those who are free from those particular superstitions, and quite interesting to the scientific observer, to note that so many intelligent, well-informed, rational persons will hesitate to return for some forgotten thing after they once have left the house; or that they will “knock wood” after having made some statement expressing success, freedom from trouble, etc.; or that they will show visible concern and distress when they spill salt at the table, or break a mirror, or do something else which their subconscious mentality believes to be a “hoodoo.” As for sitting at a table of thirteen guests, some of the very bravest and most intelligent will feel that it “is all wrong,” and will sigh with relief when an extra guest is pressed into service to break the evil spell.

Yet, in each of these cases, the person will frankly acknowledge that he has no rational or intellectual belief in the evil omen— he knows that there is absolutely “nothing to it”—but he “feels queer about it,” nevertheless, when he comes to the point of “flying in the face of it.” These persons are like the man who said that in the daytime he absolutely scorned the idea of ghosts, but that in the middle of the night he believed implicitly in them. These queer contradictions of human nature are accepted as matters of fact by most of us, though they are usually regarded as beyond rational explanation. However, when the action of the subconscious mentality is recognized, a new light is thrown upon the subject, and the perplexing mental duality is explained—the two sides of the mental shield are perceived and known to be just what they are.

But these hidden beliefs of the Subconscious, and its direction of action in accordance with them, are not confined to those superstitions concerning “unlucky” things and evil omens. Quite as strong, and quite as active, are the subconscious beliefs and notions about “lucky” things and good omens. The principle is the same in each case, though the direction is opposite. Many very intelligent men secretly feel that certain things are “lucky” for them, or that certain things act as charms bringing them success and good luck in their undertakings. Many a man has a sneaking belief in the efficacy of a horseshoe over the door, though he may pretend that it has been placed there “just for fun”; you will discover the strength of the subconscious belief if you attempt to remove the symbol. You would be surprised to learn how many otherwise intelligent persons carry “lucky-stones,” “lucky coins” or other “charms” held to bring success or to avoid the opposite.

Not only this, but the Subconscious entertains deep-rooted convictions and beliefs concerning the general success or non-success of the individual. The person who has constantly impressed upon his subconscious mentality that he is “unlucky,” and that “Fate is against me,” has created a tremendous power within himself which acts as a brake or obstacle to his successful achievement. He has created an enemy within himself which serves to hold him back, and which fights against every inner effort in the direction of success. This hidden enemy hampers his full efforts and cripples his activities.

On the contrary, the person who believes that “luck is running my way,” and that “things are working in my favor,” not only releases all of his latent energies but also actually stimulates his full powers—along subconscious lines as well as conscious. You have probably had the experience of feeling that things were going against you, and as a result your enthusiasm and interest then burned very low; later you became convinced by some little circumstances that “my luck has turned,” and as a result your spirit manifested itself in keener desire and determined will. If you have not had this experience yourself, you have doubtless perceived it manifesting in other persons under your observation.

Many men have become so convinced of their propitious Destiny that they have overcome obstacles which would have blocked the progress of one holding the opposite conviction. In fact, most of the men who have used their failures as stepping-stones to subsequent success have felt within themselves the conviction that they would triumph in the end, and that the disappointments and temporary failures were but incidents of the game.

Men have believed in their “stars,” or in the presence and power of something outside of themselves which was operating in the direction of their ultimate triumph. This has given to them an indomitable will and an unconquerable spirit. Had these same men allowed the conviction of the operation of adverse and antagonistic influences to take possession of their souls, they would have gone down in the struggle—and would have stayed down. In either case, however, the real “something” which they have believed to be an outside thing or entity, has been nothing more nor less than the influence and power of their own Subconscious—in one case pulling with them, and in the other pulling against them.

The man with his Subconscious filled with belief and Faith in his non-success, and in the inevitable failure of his efforts— the man whose Confident Expectation is that of non-success, failure and inability, and whose Expectant Attention is directed toward such an outcome and the incidents and circumstances leading up to it,—is like a man in the water who is swimming against the stream. He is opposing the strong current, and his every effort is counteracted and overcome by the adverse forces of the stream. Likewise, the man whose Subconscious is saturated with the conviction of ultimate victory and final success—whose Confident Expectation is directed toward that end, and whose Expectant Attention is ever on the look-out for things tending to realize his inner beliefs—is like the swimmer who is moving in the direction of the current. Such a man not only is not really opposed by the forces of the stream, but, instead, has these forces at work aiding him.

The importance of having the Faith, Confident Expectation and Expectant Attention of the Subconscious directed toward your success, achievement and successful ultimate accomplishment—and the importance of not having these mighty forces operative against yourself—may be realized when you stop to consider that in the one case you have three-quarters of your mental equipment and power operating in your favor, and in the other case you have that three-quarters operating against you. And that three-quarters, in either case, not only is working actively during your waking hours, but also “works while you sleep.” To lose the assistance of that three-quarters would be a serious matter, would it not? But far more serious is it to have that three-quarters actually working against you—having it on the side of the enemy! This is just what happens when the Subconscious gets into action under the influence of wrongly directed Faith, Expectant Attention and Confident Expectation.

The ideas, plans, inner suggestions, hints, “hunches” and other strange mental states which are constantly rising from the depths of the Subconscious to the surface of conscious thought, are potent factors in the mental work, achievements and accomplishments of the individual. To the man of Hopeful Confident Expectation these point out the road to increased efficiency and progress. To the man of Fearful Confident Expectation they point out the dangers, obstacles, hindrances, defeating influences and the other things which paralyze man’s will and cause his spirit to sink and his heart grow heavy with discouragement. The spirit, the soul, the heart of the man are colored by these subconscious influences; and, in turn, they tend to provoke action and movement in the direction corresponding to the state of belief indicated by that color. The inner state manifests in the outer action—the ideal tends to become real—the materialization proceeds in the shape and form of the visualization.

Expectant Attention plays an important part in this manifestation of the Faith and Confident Expectation of the Subconscious. We have pointed out to you that Attention is attracted to, and drawn out by those objects and subjects which are the subject of its interest and belief; and that it ignores objects and subjects contrary to these. So true is this that if two men of equal mental powers and intellectual efficiency were subjected to precisely the same conditions and set of circumstances—were caused to undergo the same general experiences, in fact—each might obtain entirely opposite results were their respective subconscious mentalities filled with opposite conditions of Faith and Confident Expectation.

The Expectant Attention of each man would cause him to perceive things which were imperceptible to the other man of equal mental power and intelligence; one would see the thorns, the other the roses; one would see the hole, the other the body of the doughnut; one would see only the things making for failure, the other the things conducive to his success. Each would see that for which he was looking—and would be looking for that which his Confident Expectation believed would be found, and to which accordingly his Expectant Attention would be directed. This is why one man would be able to say, in the end: “And lo! mine own hath come to me”; and the other, “That which I feared hath verily now come upon me!”

But this is not all. In other books of this series we have called your attention to the power of the mind to attract to itself the things of the outside world which are correlated to its thoughts. In the books, “Personal Power,” and “Thought Power”, respectively, we have gone into details concerning this subject which is merely referred to at this place. That such Law of Mental Attraction exists is now admitted by many of the world’s most careful thinkers—it is no longer held to be a vague and fanciful notion held by a few visionaries. Whatever may be the theory held to be underlying it—and there are many such—the presence and power of this Law must be admitted by all unprejudiced persons. Its results and effects form evidence found at every turn—evidence which is valid and incontrovertible.

This Law of Mental Attraction, being mental in its essence and in its form of action, must operate on all planes of the mind—and, indeed, has been discovered so to act. The mind has many planes of activity, and as we have said, at least three-quarters of its operations are performed below or above the plane of ordinary consciousness. The Subconscious plays a most important part in the operations of this Mental Law of Attraction—the forces under this Law are largely set in motion and activity by impulses coming from the region of the Subconscious. This being the case, you may realize how important it is for you to so train, educate, re-educate and direct your subconscious mental faculties that they may he filled with the Faith of Hope, and not the Faith of Fear—that your Confident Expectation may be directed forward, and not backward—that your Expectant Attention may see the helpful things, and not those which hinder and pull back.

Get busy with your Subconscious. Train it, educate it, re-educate it, direct it, incline it, teach it, suggest to it, along the lines of the Faith in Success and Power, and not those of the Faith in Failure and Weakness. Set it to work swimming with that current. The Subconscious is much given to Faith—it lives on Faith, it acts upon Faith. Then see that you supply it with the right kind of Faith, and avoid as a pestilence that Faith which is based on Fear and is grounded in Failure and Despair. Think carefully—and act!

Faith and Enthusiasm

Faith is the underlying principle of that remarkable quality of the human mind which is known as Enthusiasm. It is its essence, it is its substance, it is its actuating principle. Without Faith there can be no manifestation of Enthusiasm. Without Faith there can be no expression of the activities of Enthusiasm. Without Faith there can be no exhibition of the energies of Enthusiasm. Without Faith the quality ofEnthusiasm remains dormant, latent and static—Faith is needed to arouse it, to render it active, to cause it to become dynamic.

Moreover, the Faith required for the manifestation and expression of Enthusiasm must be positive Faith—Faith in the successful outcome of the undertaking—Faith exhibiting its positive phases—Faith in the attainment of that which is desirable and which is regarded as good. You can never manifest Enthusiasm toward that which you confidently expect to be a failure, nor toward that which you feel will bring undesirable results and effects. Negative Faith has no power to arouse Enthusiasm: the presence of Positive Faith is necessary to awaken this wonderful latent mental or spiritual force.

Enthusiasm is a mental or spiritual force which has always been regarded by mankind with respect—often with a respect mingled with awe. To the ancients it seemed to be a special gift of the gods, and by them it was regarded as animating the individual with almost divine attributes of power, and as causing him to absorb a portion of the essence of the divine nature. Recognizing the fact that men under the influence of Enthusiasm often accomplish almost superhuman tasks, the ancients came to believe that this added power and capacity arose from the superimposition of power from planes of being above that of humanity. Hence, they employed terms to define it which clearly indicated their belief in its transcendent nature.

The term, “Enthusiasm,” is directly derived from the ancient Greek term meaning, “to be inspired by the gods.” The two compositive elements of the original term are, respectively, a term denoting “inspiration,” and one denoting “the gods” or “divinity,” the two terms in combination meaning literally “inspired by the gods.”

The present meaning of the term, in its English usage, is: “(1) Inspiration as if by a divine or superhuman power; or, (2) enkindled and kindling fervor of soul; or (3) ardent and lively zeal or interest.” The term, “Enthusiast,” formerly was employed in the strict sense of “One moved or actuated by Enthusiasm”; but it has gradually acquired the corrupted meaning of “visionary, fanatic, zealot, or one carried away by zeal or fanaticism”; this latter meaning having arisen by reason of the intemperate actions and expressions of persons carried away by zeal or fanaticism, lacking the balance of Reason and Logic.

The implied discredit arising in this way has in some degree extended to the term, Enthusiasm, itself; this is much to be regretted, for the term has an honorable history and in its true meaning indicates a most important and valuable quality of the human mentality. It should be needless for us to add here that in the present consideration of the subject we are employing the term Enthusiasm only in its true sense and with its most approved meaning and implication.

It is interesting to note that in the history of the term, “Enthusiasm,” the word has been almost invariably associated with the idea of “Inspiration.” The latter term originally meant, “breathing in,” and in its figurative sense it indicated a “breathing in” of divine or superhuman power. As we have pointed out to you, Enthusiasm originally meant “to be inspired by the gods.” Later, the definition was extended to include the “inspiration” of great writers, poets, artists and orators; thus, Socrates speaks of the inspiration of the poets as a form of Enthusiasm.

In its present usage the term, Enthusiasm, has come to mean, “a lively, ardent, wholehearted interest in or devotion to a cause, subject, or object,” and the word, Inspiration, is employed to indicate “an elevating, quickening, enthusiastic interest, which stimulates and animates the intellect and the emotions of the individual.” The two expressions, Enthusiasm and Inspiration, respectively, have travelled hand-in-hand through the centuries; even today, in the more or less figurative and metaphorical employment of these words, we find that the quality of Enthusiasm is held to manifest and express itself in that “quickening stimulation of intellect and emotions” which denotes Inspiration in such modern usage.

Here the student of psychology finds another instance and illustration of the general rule according to which modern psychology employs the present knowledge of the Subconscious to account for much that was formerly attributed to supernatural, or at least superhuman influences and power. Enthusiasm and Inspiration which the ancients believed to be the result of the “breathing in” of divine or supernatural essence, or the superimposition of supernatural or superhuman power, are now held to be the result of the aroused and quickened activities of the Subconscious—of that wonderful region of the mentality of man from which emerges so much of the greatest importance to him.

In the Subconscious of man there abide many wonderful powers of mind and will. It would seem that man has “merely scratched the surface” of his mental capacity and power; and that great stores of power remain beneath that surface, as yet untouched, awaiting the “tapping” of the mental tools of the individual. At times, under great stress and under great necessity, the individual seems to “contact” these hidden storehouses of power, and, accordingly, he is able to perform work which ordinarily is far beyond his power of accomplishment. At such times we say of him that he “is veritably inspired,” and he seems, indeed, to have “breathed in” some strange potent influence which magnifies his powers and efficiency. But, the necessity over, the individual usually loses his new power, and sinks back to his ordinary condition; he has not as yet learned how to maintain or retain the “contact” once accomplished. .

William James, in his celebrated essay, “The Powers of Man,” called attention to this comparatively common occurrence, i. e., that of the sudden inrush of increased power in times of necessity. He compared it to the “second wind” which comes to the person who has overexerted his ordinary physical powers. Such person after feeling exhausted and fatigued to such an extent as almost to be compelled to cease his efforts—when he is “all out of breath”—suddenly experiences a feeling of relief, and finds that his “second wind” has come to him, and that he is thereby enabled to make a fresh start.

Professor James held that man not only possesses the power of developing a “second wind” in physical exertion, but that also he has the power of developing a mental “second wind” in much the same manner. He points out to his readers that often when a man is compelled to perform mental work under an increased strain by reason of unusual necessity, and when as the result of such effort, he finds himself on the verge of complete exhaustion, then, in many instances, he seems to tap a deeper stratum of mental energy, and lo! his mind takes on a new freshness and manifests renewed power. The mental “second wind” thus attained, he is able to make a fresh start. James held that not only is the mental “second wind” capable of development, but also that there is the possibility of the development of a “third wind,” a “fourth wind,” and so on—the limit not being as yet known.

Others who have used the James’ theory of the mental “second wind” as a foundation for further speculation and experiment, have sought to locate the storehouse of this latent “second wind” of the mind. They have pointed out that it must be “stored away” somewhere, for it could not have proceeded from nothingness. These psychologists, and others, are practically in general agreement in the belief that this hidden storehouse is located in the great regions of the Subconscious, and that its stores are possible of being drawn upon only when the Subconscious is aroused, stimulated or “quickened” by great interest—when it is “inspired” by great feeling—in short, when it is filled with Enthusiasm!

The above-stated conclusion agrees with our own general experience—with your own personal experience, in fact. You have found that when you become quite intensely interested in a subject, object, study, pursuit, or cause, so that your Enthusiasm is thoroughly aroused, then there comes to you a highly increased and greatly intensified degree and amount of mental energy and power. At such times your mind seems to work with lightning-like rapidity, and with a wonderful sense of ease and efficiency. Your mental powers seem to be quadrupled—your mental machinery seems to have some miraculous oil poured into the proper place, thus removing all friction and allowing every part of the mechanism to move smoothly and easily and with wonderful speed. At such times you feel, indeed, actually “inspired.” You feel that a new world of attainment would be opened to you if you could but make this mental condition a permanent one.

This increased sense of mental power, this increased ease of mental work, this increased capacity for accomplishment, all these are manifestations and expressions of that “second wind” which is one of the qualities of the Subconscious, and which is called forth whenever and wherever you can manage to arouse your Subconscious faculties to a sufficient extent. You will find by exercising your powers of remembrance that in the cases mentioned you have been conscious of a greater or less amount of Enthusiasm, i. e., of a lively quickening of interest in the matter before you and toward which you have directed your concentrated attention. This Enthusiasm has so stimulated and vitalized your intellectual and emotional powers that your reserve force of mental energy has been drawn upon and you have become conscious of an inflow of efficiency and capacity in the performance of the task, duty or work before you. You may readily see how and why the ancients believed this to be the action of a supernatural or superhuman power which was “breathed in” by them and which was in effect Inspiration.

Looking around you in your world of practical everyday work and effort, you will see why business men and other men of affairs regard as an important factor of successful work that mental quality known as “enthusiastic interest” on the part of the persons performing that work. This “enthusiastic interest” in the work or task is found to call forth all the mental and physical powers of the worker. He not only puts into his task every ounce of his ordinary capacity, but he also draws upon that hidden reserve force of his Subconscious mentality and adds that to his ordinary full energy. When he approaches the fatigue limit his “enthusiastic interest” carries him on, and before long he has “caught his second wind” and obtained his fresh start.

Ask any successful sales-manager for a list of the essential characteristics of the successful salesman, and on that list you will find this capacity for or habit of “enthusiastic interest” occupying a prominent place. This, not only because of its highly important effect upon the work of the salesman himself, but also because “Enthusiasm is contagious,” and the lively, quickened interest of the salesman tends to communicate itself to the subconscious mentality of his customer.

In the same way the Enthusiasm of the public speaker, orator, advocate or statesman energizes and quickens his entire intellectual and emotional nature, thus causing him to do his best, likewise communicating itself to his audience by means of “mental contagion.” The man with “his soul afire” tends to fire the souls and hearts of those around him. The spirit of the enthusiastic leader, foreman, or “boss,” is “caught” by those under him.

Enthusiasm is clearly a manifestation of the emotional phase of man’s mentality, and it appeals directly and immediately to the emotional nature of others. Likewise, it is clearly a product of the subconscious mentality, and accordingly it appeals directly and immediately to the subconscious mentality of others. Its effect is characteristically animating, energizing, inspiring, “quickening.” It not only stirs the feelings and sets fire to the spiritual nature, but it also stimulates and vivifies the intellectual faculties. The “live wires” in the world of men are those individuals who possess the quality of “enthusiastic interest” highly developed, and habitually manifested when the occasion calls for it. Overdone, it defeats its object—the Golden Mean must be observed; but lacking it the man is what is known in the idiom of practical men as a “dead one.”

As we have previously pointed out to you, Enthusiasm without Faith is a mere term having no real substance or meaning. Or else it is a sham, a counterfeit, a “bluff”, or perhaps a hysterical imitation of the real mental quality. The man of true Enthusiasm does not “gush,” nor is he a visionary or a fanatic—these are the signs of the abnormal development or manifestation of this valuable quality. The man of true Enthusiasm is characterized by his abiding Faith in his proposition or subject; by his lively interest in it; by his earnestness in presenting it and working toward its accomplishment; by his untiring, indefatigable efforts on its behalf. Faith, however, is the foundation upon which all the rest is built; lacking Faith, the structure of Enthusiasm falls like a house-of-cards.

The more Faith a man has in that which he is doing, toward which he is working, or that which he is presenting to others, the greater will be the manifestation of his own powers and capacity, the more efficient will be his performance of the work, and the greater will be his ability to influence others and to cause them to see things in the light of his own earnest belief and interest. Faith arouses and sustains Enthusiasm; lack of Faith deadens and inhibits it; Unfaith and positive Disbelief kill it. It is clear that the first step toward the cultivation and development of Enthusiasm is that of the creation of Faith in the subject or object toward which you wish to manifest and express Enthusiasm.

If you have no Faith in the subject or object of your activities, then you will never be able to manifest Enthusiasm concerning that subject or object; and if you are unable to manifest at least a fair degree of such Enthusiasm, then you will never be able to express your full energies or to manifest your full powers in those activities. Finally, if you are unable to express your energies to the full and to manifest your powers adequately in those activities, then you will never be able to attain the full measure of success in your work connected with that particular subject or object. If you cannot arouse Faith and Enthusiasm in your work, you would do well to change your work so as to have it cover that in which you can arouse Faith and manifest Enthusiasm.

Faith, however, is not all that is involved in Enthusiasm. Added to Faith there must be a keen interest in the subject or object toward which you have directed your Expectant Attention. Interest adds zest to your activities, and renders pleasant the tasks which without it would be monotonous drudgery and slavish toil. Interest transforms toil and work into a labor of love. When you are deeply interested in a task, you “like” to perform the work connected with it. Interest arouses the creative instinct in the heart and soul of the worker; and all true creative expression is pleasant, and is capable of affording satisfaction to the worker. The best work is not that work performed merely by the hands—nor even that in which the head adds its work to that of the hands; it is only when the heart takes its place in the working partnership, and adds its power to that of head and hands, that the really creditable and worthy work of the individual is performed.

Interest may be aroused and maintained by an intelligent observation of the subject or object of the work. Everything is capable of arousing interest if you will look deep enough and long enough for its interesting qualities and properties. The discovery of interesting facts or qualities in anything creates new interest—this new interest attracts still newer interest, and this still further interest, until finally you find yourself quite deeply engrossed by the subject or object. There is an emotional satisfaction in the discovery of new facts and qualities in anything under your observation; and there is a similar pleasure in discovering improved ways of performing a task. Interest developed to a sufficient extent leads directly toward Enthusiasm.

Interest, however, is quite difficult to arouse concerning anything in which you have no Faith. Lack of Faith is a negative mental quality, and it serves to deaden all the mental powers which are involved in the consideration of and thought concerning a subject or object. Still more harmful is a positive Unfaith in a subject or object—a positive belief that the thing is not worthy, not good, not worth while, not honest, not destined to succeed, or, rather, destined not to succeed. Disbelief, or belief directed toward the undesirable qualities or prospects of a thing, quickly deaden all interest in that thing; and, interest absent, the thing becomes hateful, and all work connected with it grows loathsome. Faith being absent, Interest dies; and, Interest dying or dead, there can be no Enthusiasm felt, expressed or manifested.

Lack of Faith, however, or even positive Unfaith, often may be overcome by a careful and extended examination and consideration of the subject or object in question. Your lack of Faith, or even your positive Unfaith concerning that subject or object may arise from an imperfect knowledge concerning it. Before discarding a thing as incapable of arousing and maintaining Faith in your mind concerning it, you should examine it from every angle and from every point of view, so as to be sure that you really understand it “down to the ground floor.” Do not allow your prejudices to exert an undue influence upon you—this is a most common mistake and fault. Get your facts right before you act. You may discover new facts which will change your whole mental attitude toward the thing in question; and you may thus find a firm foundation for a new Faith in it.

But, having observed every precaution, and having tested the thing from every angle and viewpoint, and having finally come to the positive and certain conclusion that there is not and can never be any Faith in you concerning that thing, then there is but one course for you to pursue—and that course is to get away from that thing as soon as you can do so with due regard for your duties toward yourself and to others who may be interested with you in the thing. Time and labor bestowed upon a thing in which you have no Faith, and toward which you feel sure that you can never entertain Faith, is time and labor wasted. Get out and take hold of something in which you have, or can have, Faith—toward which and concerning which you feel that you can manifest and express Enthusiasm!

Life without Faith and Enthusiasm is a living death—persons living that life are mere walking corpses. If you would be “a live wire” instead of “a dead one”, you must begin to arouse and develop Enthusiasm in your heart and soul. You must cultivate that keen and quickened Interest, and that lively and earnest Faith in what you are doing, and in the things to which you are giving your time and work. You must mentally “breathe in,” and “inspire,” that Spirit of Life which men for many Centuries have called “Enthusiasm,” and which is the twin-sister of Inspiration. Then will you know the exhilaration of that “enkindled and kindling fervor of soul”—that “ardent and lively zeal”—the mark of true Enthusiasm.

Faith and Mental Power

In the volume of this series entitled “Personal Power,” and in several other volumes of the same series, we have repeatedly called the attention of our readers to the fact that the powers and energies of the mind are called forth under the influence of those mental activities known respectively as (1) Ideation, (2) Desire, and (3) Will.

First, there must be present in the mind a strong, clear, definite idea and mental picture of the object toward which the mental energies and powers are to be directed and applied. Second, there must be present in the mind a strong, insistent, burning desire, longing and craving for the attainment of the object toward which the mental energies and powers are to be directed and applied. Third, there must be present in the mind a strong, determined, and persistent will that there shall be attained that object toward which the mental energies and powers are to be directed.

These three mental factors operate in the direction of arousing and maintaining in action the mental powers and energies necessary for the accomplishment of the particular work required for the attainment of the object of attention, desire and will. If any of the three be but weakly manifested, or practically absent, then there will be a corresponding weakness in the action of the mental powers and energies. In effective mental action there must always be the clear, definite idea of that which is sought after; the ardent, insistent desire for it; and the strong, persistent will for its attainment. Underlying these three there must always be that strong, lively, unfailing Faith which serves as the base and foundation of the entire structure.

Not only does Faith serve as the base and foundation of the mental structure just mentioned, but its influence must also ascend to and permeate that which rests upon it. Faith not only supports and sustains, but it likewise correlates and coordinates the three mental factors, and also animates, energizes, stimulates and inspires them. When we examine the matter closely we perceive this action and influence of Faith upon each of the three aforesaid mental factors involved in all successful activities and performances of the mind of man. Without the presence and action of Faith there is a weakening and deadening of Ideation, of Desire, and of Will. Quickened Faith increases the efficiency of each and every one of these three mental factors, in their individual or their coordinated existence.

Let us now consider in a little closer detail the action and influence of Faith upon these three several mental factors involved in the successful manifestation of Mental Power.

Faith in Idealization In this instruction the term “Idealization” is employed in the sense of “the act of creating the ideal (mental) form, pattern, design or mold of that which you desire to materialize in objective reality.”

In the volume of this series entitled “Personal Power,” we present the idea of Idealization as follows: “Ideals, clearly defined in outline and sharply defined in configuration, well energized and vitalized by an inflow of Will Power, tend to materialize themselves in objective reality, by means of (a) building up a corresponding ethereal pattern, outline, design or mold, around which is deposited the substance of materialization; and (b) by means of attracting to itself the persons, conditions, things, and environmental factors which aid in the process of materialization. Materialization is the act or process of investing with material form, or material properties, that which has previously existed in idealized form or condition.”

In the same volume are given the following suggestions concerning the materializing of the Ideal Form—the “form in the seed”—which you desire to manifest in the form of plant, flower and fruit:

“(1) Idealize the desired things, happenings, or conditions just exactly as if they were existent and active at that particular moment—right ‘here and now’ before you;

“(2) Idealize yourself as you wish to be or to do;

“(3) Idealize others as you wish them to be or to do;

“(4) Idealize happenings as you wish them to occur;

“(5) Idealize conditions as you wish them to be;

“(6) Idealize environment as you wish it to be;

“(7) Idealize your power, strength or ability as you wish them to be.”

It is of paramount importance in all cases in which you wish to accomplish something by the power of your mind, whether along exoteric or esoteric lines of activity, that you should first create in your mind a clear, strong, definite idea, ideal, or mental picture of the thing or condition which you wish to create or bring into material form in the objective world. The importance of this creation of a clear, strong, definite idea or ideal of that which you wish to attain, accomplish, or gain possession of, cannot easily be overestimated. From the simplest task to the greatest achievement, the materialization is rendered far easier of accomplishment, and far more effective in its results, by reason of the previous existence of a strong, clear, definite mental idea, ideal or form. The Ideal Form must always precede the Material Form.

We shall not extend our consideration of Idealization in this place, for it has been covered fully in other volumes of this series. Our purpose here is merely that of pointing out to you the fact that it is most difficult, if not indeed actually impossible, to practice Idealization effectively unless there first exists in your mind a firm, earnest, steadfast Faith concerning the possibility of the accomplishment, or of the bringing to pass of the desired thing or condition.

Faith so directed clears the path of the idealizing activities— it removes all obstacles and hindrances to their action—it enables the mind to form clearly the idea or mental image, and to endow the same with the appearance of reality. Doubt, Distrust, or feeble Faith, on the contrary, interfere with the process of Idealization, and renders the ideal or mental picture hazy, indefinite and indistinct. Unfaith, or Faith extended in the opposite direction, tend to distort the ideal form, if not, indeed, to cause it to take on the form of the opposite to that which is desired.

Feeble Faith, or Distrust and Doubt—and still more, Unfaith or wrongly directed Faith—cause you to feel that all effort toward attainment is futile, useless, and “not worth while.” They cause the poison of “I Can’t” to enter the mind—and the battle is lost before it is begun. The creative imagination and the ideative faculties refuse to create strong, dear definite ideas or ideals of that which they feel can never be accomplished or gained. On the contrary, when you feel that there is a strong probability or “chance” of the successful accomplishment or attainment, when Confident Expectation manifests itself— when the “I Can and I Will” spirit asserts itself within you—then your mind eagerly performs the work of Idealization, and your creative imagination vividly pictures the mental forms which you desire to manifest in material, objective form and effect.

So, right here in the first stage of the manifestation of Personal Power—in the stage of Idealization—you are confronted with the necessity of developing and maintaining Faith and Confident Expectation, and with the necessity of inhibiting Doubt, Disbelief, Distrust, Unfaith or Faith wrongly directed. Before you can materialize that which you wish, you must first know exactly what you wish—must know it in clear ideal form, the more definite and clearer the better. Faith aids in this Idealization, while Doubt, Disbelief, Distrust, Unfaith or Faith wrongly directed, will tend to paralyze your ideative powers by means of the insidious introduction of the feeling of “What’s the use?” “It can’t be done,” “I don’t ‘believe it,” “It is impossible”—these, in themselves, being ideas, ideals or mental pictures opposed to the accomplishment or attainment of the desired thing, and which, like all other ideals will strive to become real, and to take on material, objective form.

Here is the principle in concise form: Faith encourages and promotes effective Idealization; Doubt, Unfaith, Distrust and Disbelief, retard and render ineffective the process of Idealization.

Faith in Desire

Desire is the second factor of Mental Power. You must not only “know definitely exactly what you want,” and manifest it by means of Idealization; you must also “want it hard enough,” and manifest it in Insistent Desire. Desire is the flame and fire which create the steam of Will. The Will never goes out into effective action except when drawn forth by active and sufficiently strong Desire. Desire furnishes the “motive” for Will; Will never becomes active in absence of a “motive.” When we speak of a man having a “strong will,” we often mean really that he has strong Desire—Desire strong enough to cause him to exert every ounce of power and energy in him toward the attainment or accomplishment of the object of Desire.

Desire exerts a tremendous influence upon all of the mental faculties, causing them to put forth their full energies and powers and to perform their work efficiently. It stimulates the intellect, inspires the emotions and quickens the imagination. Without the urge of Desire there would be but little mental work performed. The keynote of Desire is “I Want”; and to gratify and satisfy that “want” the mind puts forth its best energies. Without Desire, you would do but little thinking, for there would be no motive for such. Without Desire you would perform no actions, for there would be no moving-reason for such. Desire is ever the “mover to action”—to action mental as well as physical.

Moreover, the degree and the intensity of your work, mental or physical, is determined by the degree of Desire manifested in you concerning the object or end of such work. The more you want a thing, the harder will you work for it, and the easier will such work seem to you to be. The task performed under the influence and incentive of strong Desire will seem much easier than would the same task performed without such influence and incentive—and infinitely easier than would the same task appear if its end and object were contrary to your Desire. No argument is needed to establish these facts—they are matters of common knowledge, and are proved by the experience of everyday life.

In the volume of this series entitled “Desire Power,” we have given our readers the following general rule concerning the effects of Desire upon actions and performance of work, and consequently upon the attainment and accomplishment of one’s ideals:

“The degree of force, energy, will, determination, persistence and continuous application manifested by an individual in his aspirations, ambitions, aims, performances, actions and work, is determined primarily by the degree of his Desire for the attainment of these objects—his degree of ‘want’ and ‘want to’ concerning that object. * * * So true is this principle that some who have studied its effects have announced the aphorism: ‘You can have or be anything you want—if you only want it hard enough.’”

We shall not go into a detailed consideration of the effect and force of Desire at this place: we have considered it in other volumes of this series. Our purpose here is merely that of calling to your attention the important fact that without Faith it is practically impossible for you to manifest strong, ardent, insistent Desire. If you are filled with Doubt, Distrust, Unfaith or Disbelief in a thing, or concerning the successful accomplishment or attainment of anything, you will not be able to arouse the proper degree of desire for that thing or for its accomplishment and attainment. Lack of Faith, or, still more, positive Disbelief, tends to paralyze the Desire Power; it acts as a brake or as a damper upon its power. Faith, on the contrary, frees the brakes of Desire, or turns on the full draft of its fire.

Desire, in order to be efficient, must be insistent, urgent, imperative, refusing to be denied. It must be that eager longing, craving, seeking, striving which will not rest content unless satisfied or gratified. It must be (as we have repeatedly stated in the various volumes of this series) the same kind of craving and fierce demand that is capable of arousing a “want” or “want to” equal to that of the drowning man’s desire for air, the desert-lost man’s desire for water, the starving man’s desire for food, the mother animal’s desire for the welfare of her offspring, and the wild creature’s desire for its mate. Such a degree and intensity of Desire is practically impossible without the existence of a strong, earnest Faith, and a high degree of Confident Expectation.

Here is the principle in concise form: Faith encourages and sustains, promotes and maintains Desire in its highest degree of efficiency; Doubt, Disbelief, Distrust and Unfaith retard and restrict, inhibit and paralyze this efficient manifestation of Desire.

Faith in Will-Action

Will-Action is the third factor of Mental Power. You must not only “know clearly just what you want,” and see it in your “mind’s eye” in ideal form—you must not only “want it hard enough,” and arouse its power to a degree of insistence and demand which will not brook denial or defeat—you must also call into service the persistent, determined, indomitable application of the Will, which will hold your energies and powers steadfastly and relentlessly to the task of accomplishment and attainment. You must “will to will”, and must make your Will will itself in the act of willing.

Will is perhaps the most mysterious of all of the mental powers. It seems to dwell on a mental plane alone by itself. It lies nearer and closer to the “I AM I” or Ego, than does any other phase of mentality. It is the principal instrument of the “I AM I”—the instrument which the latter employs directly and immediately. Its spirit is Persistent Determination—its essence is Action. Whenever you act, then do you employ your Will. Will Power is the dynamic phase or aspect of Mental Power. All other mental force is more or less static—it is only when the Will becomes involved in the process that Mental Power manifests its dynamic phase or aspect. Wise men have held that “All Power is Will Power at the last”; and that, “All activities are forms or phases of Will-Action, at the last.” In the Cosmos, as well as in the individual, Will Power is the essential and basic phase of Power.

While it is true that Will goes out only in response to Desire, consciously or unconsciously present and active; and while it is likewise true that Will always moves toward an Idea previously existent in the mind; it is also true that Will is greatly encouraged in action and in efficiency by the presence and power of an earnest Faith or Confident Expectation, and that its action is retarded, restricted, weakened, or perhaps absolutely inhibited by an absence of Faith, or by the presence of Unfaith, Doubt, Distrust or Disbelief.

You may satisfy yourself concerning the influence of Faith upon the Will by means of the consideration of a few simple hypothetical cases. For instance, you may be admiring a distant star, and speculating concerning its scenes and possible inhabitants. You feel a strong desire to know something about that distant object. You feel that you would like to travel through space until you reach its scenes; or that you would like to reach out and draw it toward you that you might inspect it. Yet you make no move toward flying through space; nor do you extend your hand (like the infant reaching for the moon) and attempt to grasp it. Why not? Of course, simply because you have no Faith that such attempts would be successful; you manifest positive Doubt, Distrust and Disbelief concerning the idea; and your Will is not called into action concerning it.

Upon the same principle, though the case is not such an extreme one, your Will does not move into action concerning many other familiar objects, being “inhibited by your positive Disbelief concerning the possibilities of its accomplishment. Again, if you have only a faint degree of Confident Expectation of the possible or probable outcome of an undertaking, then your Will moves but feebly toward action concerning that undertaking. If you feel that “the chances are all against me,” or that “I haven’t a chance in the world of doing this”, then your Will is practically paralyzed so far as is concerned any action directed toward the accomplishment of that thing. In the degree that you doubt or disbelieve in the efficacy of an action, so will be the degree of the weakening, restriction or inhibition of your Will-Action concerning that thing.

The converse of the above proposition is likewise true. In the degree that you have Faith in an undertaking or course of action, and in the degree of your Confident Expectation of the successful result of action in that direction, so will be the degree of the ease, efficiency and force of your Will-Action in that direction. The greater your Faith and your Confident Expectation, the greater will be the ease and efficiency of your manifestation of Will-Action concerning the object of your Faith and Expectant Attention. Here is the principle in concise form: Faith encourages and stimulates Will-Action and Persistent Determination; Doubt, Distrust, Disbelief and Unfaith restrain, restrict, retard and inhibit Will-Action and Persistent Determination.

Faith in Combined Idea-Desire-Will From the foregoing, you will realize that in order to manifest your Mental Power to its full degree of efficiency, or even to an approximate degree of effectiveness it is necessary that you should experience and entertain at least a very considerable amount of Faith, and a lively degree of Confident Expectation concerning the object, subject, achievement or attainment toward which your Mental Power is to be directed. If you have not this degree of Faith and Confident Expectation you cannot expect to be able to manifest an effective degree of Mental Power in the case.

In the event of finding yourself in such a position, you must either (a) strive to arouse, develop and cultivate a true Faith and a rational Confident Expectation concerning the object of your endeavors; or else (b) to withdraw from the attempt because you fail to find a rational and valid basis for such Faith and Confident Expectation. To continue the attempt without Faith, and without at least a very fair degree of Confident Expectation, is to violate the essential laws of your own mental and spiritual being.

However, as we have pointed out to you before, it is not proper to withdraw from a task or a pursuit or undertaking because of lack of Faith and Confident Expectation, until you have thoroughly examined the matter in the light of reason free from prejudice, nor until you have satisfied yourself that there is no valid and true basis for Faith in the thing in question. However, the fact remains undisputed that without Faith and Confident Expectation your Mental Power will refuse to manifest itself actively and efficiently. Your “heart” must be in the undertaking or task, or your “head” will not do its best work therein—and your “hands” will follow the lead of the “head.” Efficiency comes from the exercise of Head, Heart and Hands!

The Attractive Power OF Faith

In addition to the influence exerted by Faith over and upon those phases of Mental Power which manifest in the more familiar activities of Thought, Desire, and Will, which you have considered in the preceding section of this book, Faith also plays an important part in those less familiar activities of the mind which operate in the direction of affecting and influencing the things, conditions and persons in the outside world. This is particularly true concerning that phase or form of Mental Power which manifests along the lines of the Law of Mental Attraction.

While the orthodox and more formal schools of psychology do not as yet openly admit the validity of the phenomena of Mental Power to which we have just referred, nevertheless there exists a large and rapidly growing body of careful thinkers, experimenters, and observers who have thoroughly satisfied themselves of the reality of such phenomena, and of the validity of the teachings concerning the mental laws governing them.

That Thought travels in subtle waves, currents, and streams of vibratory energy which extend far from the brain of the persons originating them; that these vibratory thought-waves or thought-currents affect and influence other persons and things; that Thought is contagious and awakens corresponding mental vibrations in others at a distance; all this has now come to be accepted as truth by millions of persons all over the world, and though not as yet formally accepted and taught by the orthodox, conservative schools of psychology, the general hypothesis is accepted as true by great numbers of very careful thinkers, and the body of experimental and practical proof supporting it is increasing rapidly in size and importance.

One of the most interesting, and at the same time most important and practical phases of this general class of mental phenomena is that which is known as Mental Attraction, or Thought Attraction—the Attractive Power of Thought manifesting along the lines of the Law of Mental Attraction. It is with this particular phase that we are specially concerned in this consideration, rather than that of Thought Power in general. We have considered the general subject of Thought Power, Thought Vibration, etc., in that volume of this series entitled “Thought Power”; in the present volume we are concerned with Thought Power only so far as it is associated with Faith Power— and the Attractive Power of Thought is closely linked with that of Faith Power, as you will see as we proceed with the present consideration of the subject.

The Attractive Power of Thought, manifesting along the lines of the Law of Mental Attraction may be stated as follows: (1) Thought, in the form of subtle vibratory force, travels in constantly widening circles from the centre represented by the brain of the individual; (2) these thought-waves coming in contact with the minds of other persons tend to set up corresponding vibrations there, manifesting what has been called “the contagion of thought”; (3) these thought-vibrations of the individual manifest that general law of Thought by reason of which Thought continually strives (a) to manifest itself in action, and (b) to materialize in objective form that which exists within itself in ideal form; (4) these thought-vibrations operating as above stated, tend to attract and draw to the individual the objects and conditions of the outside world which are correlated to the thought of the individual, or else to attract and draw the individual to such correlated objects or conditions.

The Attractive Power of Thought, sometimes called “The Drawing Power of the Mind,” operates along the lines of what is known as the Law of Mental Attraction, as we have said. This Law of Mental Attraction operates along certain general lines of manifestation, though exhibiting numerous special phases or forms of such manifestation. Its general principle of operation is well expressed by the term “Correlation.” Correlation means “reciprocal or mutual relation”; and “relation” meaning “connection, kinship, alliance, attachment or affinity.” Correlation, then, means: “Mutual or reciprocal relation, connection, kinship, alliance, attachment or affinity.” Things which are correlated are tied or linked together by mutual affinity, kinship, alliance or similar connection.

One of the cardinal principles of Mental Science is that Thoughts and the Things represented by them are correlated, i. e., linked and connected by subtle ties or bonds of attachment, affinity or kinship. The second principle of Mental Science is that correlated things tend to attract each other; thus the things of the outside world tend to attract the thoughts which are correlated to them, and the thoughts tend to attract the things to which they are correlated. Thus there is set up a process of mutual attraction or “drawing to”; things attracting and drawing to themselves correlated thoughts, and thoughts attracting and drawing to themselves correlated things, conditions, happenings or persons. The same mental law also operates so as to draw to the individual the thought-currents of others which are correlated to his own by reason of similar rate of vibrations; or of common nature of the thought.

Thought Attraction has been compared with the action of the magnet—and, indeed, the mind is a powerful magnet attracting and drawing to itself those things which are in harmonious vibration with it. It has also been compared to the action of Gravitation—and the analogy is quite striking. The Law of Mental Attraction might well be called the Law of Mental Gravitation. Gravitation is “that attraction or force by which all bodies or particles in the universe tend toward each other.” Not only does the earth attract the tiny particle of matter, but the latter also attracts the earth; not only does the sun attract the earth, but the latter also attracts the sun; not only does the earth attract the moon, but the latter also attracts the earth, as is evidenced by its pulling-force upon the earth’s tides. There is the mutual and reciprocal “pull” of Gravitation in force between all material things.

The Law of Mental Attraction, or Mental Gravitation, acts along lines very similar to those of the action of physical Gravitation. There is present and active the mutual and reciprocal “pull” between Thoughts and Things, and between Thoughts and Thoughts—Thoughts, however, are Things at the last analysis. This principle extends even to so-called inanimate objects: this mystery is explainable under the now well-established law that there is Mind in everything, even in the apparently inanimate objects of the universe, even in the atoms and particles of which material substances are composed. We shall not argue this last point here—it has been considered in detail in other volumes of this series: we are stating here merely the general fact.

Just as “birds of a feather flock together,” so do the thought-waves and thought-currents of different individuals draw together, and also are attracted to the different individuals manifesting the same general character of thoughts. There are “affinities” in the world of thought-vibrations, just as there are “affinities” between chemical substances and between individual living creatures. We not only draw to us thought-vibrations in harmony with our own, but we also draw to ourselves other persons whose general thought-vibrations are similar to our own. The negative phase of attraction—that phase known as “repulsion”—operates along the same general lines as the positive phase.

The following lines, quoted from that volume of the present series, entitled “Thought Power,” will give you in short form a general idea of the more complex operations of the Law of Mental Attraction:

“Not only do you attract thought-vibrations, thought-waves, thought-currents, thought-atmospheres, etc., of a harmonious character, and to which your thoughts have a natural affinity; you also attract to yourselves (by the power of Thought Attraction) other persons whose thoughts have an affinity and harmony with your own.

In the same way you attract to yourself (and are attracted toward) other persons whose interests run along the same general lines as your own.

“You draw to yourself the persons who may be necessary for the successful carrying out of the plans and purposes, the desires and ambitions, which fill your thoughts most of the time; and, in the same way, you are drawn toward those into whose plans and purposes you are fitted to play an important part. In short, each person tends to attract toward himself those other persons whom he ‘needs’ in order to materialize his ideals and to express his desires—providing that he ‘wants hard enough’ and providing that the other persons are in harmonious affinity with his plans and purposes.

“There are other, and still more subtle, phases of the operation of Thought Attraction which must be noted here, although they involve the operation of certain powers of the mind, and of Nature, which are but little understood by the great masses of persons. We have reference here to the fact that by Thought Attraction not only other thoughts, not only other persons, are attracted to oneself, but also that the conditions, environment and circumstances necessary for the effective expression and manifestation of one’s thoughts are often brought into being for him; they can scarcely be said to have been attracted to him—rather does it seem that he is attracted to and by them. There is evidently a correlation established between these things and one’s thoughts—subtle natural forces are called into operation in order that there may be a coordination of ‘the person, the time, the place, the conditions, the opportunity,’ required for the expression and materialization of the thought.”

Persons who have had their attention directed toward the operations of the Law of Mental Attraction, and who have learned to apply the principles of its manifestation in their own affairs in life, observe many wonderful instances of its power in the happenings of their everyday life. Books, newspaper items, magazine articles bearing on some subject which is prominent in their thoughts, all these come to hand in an almost uncanny way. Persons who fit into the general scheme of the thought-plan come into one’s life. Peculiar “happenings” come to pass in the same way. Things arise which “fit in” with the general idea. Unexpected circumstances arise which, although often at first sight seemingly obstructive and undesirable, in the end are found to dovetail perfectly into the whole scheme of things. No wonder that many persons having these experiences are at first inclined to attribute them to supernatural or superhuman influence—but they are in full accordance with Natural Law, and are a part of the Powers of Man, when rightly understood.

It is undoubtedly true that clear Idealization and Insistent Desire, combined with the Persistent Determination of Will, give power, energy, and force to the Attractive Power of Thought in the cases just recited. Thoughts characterized by strong, clear-cut ideas and ideals, inspired by Insistent Desire, and stiffened by Persistent Will, are far more effective in Thought-Attraction than are thoughts of the opposite character. But the factor of Faith or Confident Expectation plays an equally important part in the process. Here, as in every other manifestation of Mental Power, or Personal Power of any kind, the factor of Confident Expectation is most important, and one which must always be pressed into service and never overlooked or undervalued.

As we have repeatedly stated in this book, Faith and Confident Expectation is the great stimulator and energizer of Mental Power; and Doubt, Disbelief, Distrust and Unbelief are the great weakeners, depressants, and inhibiting forces of the mind. The Attractive Power of Thought is highly increased by the presence of a lively Faith and spirited Confident Expectation; it is greatly decreased, weakened, hampered and often almost entirely inhibited by the presence of marked Doubt, Disbelief, Distrust and Unbelief. The general law concerning Faith and Confident Expectation is as fully and actively operative in the phenomena of Thought Attraction as in any of the other phases of Mental Power.

When your thoughts concerning an object, a plan, an undertaking, a course of action, is strongly colored by Faith and Confident Expectation, they are given an active, forceful attractive quality. They may be said to be “inspired” by that confident, expectant, hopeful mental attitude, and are accordingly filled with life and spirit. On the contrary, when your thoughts of this nature are colored with Doubt, Distrust, Disbelief and Unfaith, they lack life and spirit, and are weak and ineffective. When that Unfaith is of such a pronounced character as to be actually a Faith in the futility of the plan, and a Confident Expectation of its ultimate failure, then the thoughts, strong enough to produce effects and results, tend to attract the opposite of that desired, in short, to attract the undesirable results instead of the desirable effects.

You may understand this better by realizing that the effect of transmitted thought-vibrations is almost precisely similar to the effect of one’s mental attitude manifested in a personal interview. You need no argument, no illustrations, to convince you of the different effect produced upon you, and in you, on the one hand, by the confident, hopeful, expectant, optimistic mental attitude of the person seeking to interest you in a plan or an undertaking, and on the other hand, by that of the person with a similar purpose whose mind is filled with Doubt, Distrust, Unfaith and Disbelief in the thing which he is presenting to your attention and which he is advocating.

In such instances, you fairly “catch” the mental vibrations of either of these classes of persons, and you are distinctly aware of the mental reaction which they induce in you. The first class produces an effect which may be called “inspiring”; the second class, an effect which may be called “dispiriting.” The one class invites success and cooperation; the other class invites failure and a refusal on your part to fall in with the idea presented. In either case the effect produced upon you is correlated with the character of the thoughts prominent in the mind of the other person.

Some persons, in such an interview, are so filled with faith, hope, confidence and belief in their plans and propositions, and in the successful outcome of the interview, that it requires an effort on your part to refuse this to them. Others, under similar conditions, manifest merely a luke-warm and colorless mental attitude—they seem to lack conviction concerning the merits of their proposition, and to entertain grave doubts of their ability to attract and hold your attention and interest, let alone to arouse your desire and to obtain a judgment in their favor; it is quite easy to say “No!” to such persons, for you are convinced that they feel, in their hearts, that such “is just what I expected.” Others have such a degree of Doubt, Unfaith, Disbelief and lack of confidence in the proposition, and in the outcome of the interview, that it amounts to Faith and Confident Expectation of being “turned down cold” at once—their mental ears are pricked ready to catch your emphatic “No!”—here you find refusal to be the line of the least resistance. You know this from actual experience.

Well, then, this same principle operates in the case of Thought Attraction by means of the transmitted thought-vibrations of the individual. There are present in such case the conditions which attract and those which repel. The thought-vibrations of the individual are really that individual himself, so far as is concerned the particular degree of Thought Attraction. They produce the same effect at long-range that are produced at short-range in the personal interview. The principle is the same in either case. Your mental attitude and the character of your thoughts determine the effect to be produced in the long-distance mental calls, just as truly as in the short-distance ones. The same causes are present and active, and, of course, the same effects and results follow. Wherever Mental Power is present and active, it acts according to the same principles, irrespective of the distance from the person exercising it; space does not change its character or its laws of operation.

This being understood, you will see that it is not sufficient for you to arouse your Faith and Confident Expectation concerning an undertaking, project, plan, idea, object or subject merely when you are actually in the presence of persons who are considered likely to serve your purposes in the matter. You must also create and maintain a habitual mental attitude of Faith, Belief and Confident Expectation in the things in which you are interested, and in which you hope to interest others. You must not allow Doubt, Distrust, Disbelief and Unfaith to overcome you during the hours in which you are away from the other persons in the case. And, above all, you must never allow yourself to fall into the Slough of Despond—into the mire of positive Doubt, Distrust and Disbelief concerning your projects—lest you start into operation, in the wrong direction, the power of Faith and Confident Expectation.

Your Mental Atmosphere is not confined to your immediate position in space; it extends in all directions, and is filled with vibrations, waves, currents, whirlpools and swirlpools of Thought Power—and these influence and produce effects upon other persons whose thoughts are turned upon similar objects, or upon yourself and your undertakings. Remember, always, that “Thought is contagious”—at long range as well as at short range, over long distances as well as in your immediate vicinity.

If you have a lively Faith in your undertakings, and a firmly established Confident Expectation of their success, then others in the general line of interest will tend to “catch” this mental attitude. Just as true is it that if you entertain marked Doubt toward your proposition or undertaking—if you are filled with Distrust, Disbelief and Unfaith regarding it—then such other persons will tend to “catch” these mental vibrations, and will act accordingly. First, be sure that the undertaking is a proper subject or object of Faith and Confident Expectation, and then deliberately and determinedly cultivate, develop and maintain such mental attitude concerning it, until it becomes “set” and habitual. If you cannot do this, you will do well to drop your connection with the thing, and to turn your attention to something toward which, and concerning which, you truly feel Faith and Confident Expectation, and are able to manifest the proper mental attitude toward it.

The more complex phases and forms of the manifestation of Thought Attraction, namely, those phases and forms which are concerned with the attraction of circumstances, happenings, conditions and environments, while more difficult to explain satisfactorily in simple terms, nevertheless are governed by the same general underlying principles of the Law of Mental Attraction. The mental forces are set into activity by Desire; they move out toward the object of clear and strong Idealization; they are held firmly to the task by Will; and, last but not least, they are largely dependent upon Faith and Confident Expectation for their color and effectiveness.

Your conditions and environment, the circumstances and happenings which come to you, are very largely the result of the operation of the Law of Mental Attraction—and they are accordingly, to a great extent, manifestations in objective, material form of your mental ideas, ideals and pictures, the force and nature of such manifestation depending largely upon the degree of Faith and Confident Expectation possessed and expressed by you in your thought upon these subjects and events—or upon the degree of Doubt, Disbelief, Distrust and Unfaith, those negative phases of Faith which serve to slow down the action of Faith Power, or perhaps even to reverse its machinery.

You create environment, conditions, circumstances, events, assistance, means to ends, by Mental Power operating along the lines of the Law of Mental Attraction. Mental Attraction, like all forms or phases of Mental Power, is the transformation of the subjective Ideal into objective Reality—the thought tends to take form in action, the mental form tends to take on objective materiality and substance. The Ideal is represented by the clear, strong, definite mental picture or ideal form manifested in Idealization; Desire furnishes the flame and heat which generate the steam of Will needed in the creative process; but the Idealization is impaired and weakened, the Desire dies away, the Will loses its determination, unless Faith be there to create the Confident Expectation. The less the Faith and Confident Expectation, or the greater the Doubt, Disbelief, Distrust, Unfaith and Lack of Confidence, the weaker is the Idealization, the weaker the Desire, and the weaker the Will Power manifested.

Without Faith, there can be no Confident Expectation; without Faith, the Fires of Desire die away; without Faith, the Steam of Will ceases to be generated; and thus Attainment becomes impossible. Whenever you think of the Law of Mental Attraction, think of Faith—for Faith is its very soul—its inspiration.

Faith in Yourself

In the foregoing sections of this book we have asked you to consider the subject of the importance of developing and maintaining Faith in the subjects and objects, the undertakings and propositions, which constitute the basis of your endeavors and work—and also that of the Confident Expectation concerning the successful outcome of your endeavors in their behalf, when these actually have been undertaken. In the present section we ask you to develop, maintain and manifest Faith in Yourself, and Confident Expectation concerning the outcome of your expression of Personal Power, in thought, will, and work.

Important as is the maintenance of the confident, expectant mental attitude toward the objects and subjects of your endeavors, and toward their successful outcome, even still more important is the intelligent, intuitive mental attitude of Faith and Confident Expectation concerning Yourself, your possession of Personal Power, and your ability to manifest efficiently your latent, innate powers and energies in actual objective performance. You, the individual, are the base and ground, the coordinator and correlator of your active forces and energies, and the creator of the world which constitutes your environment; and YOU are the proper subject of the manifestation of your earnest Faith and your most certain Confident Expectation.

Among the many characteristics and qualities which make for success of the individual there is none more fundamental, essential and basic than that of Self Confidence and Self Reliance—both of these terms being but expressions of the idea of Faith in Oneself. The man who has Faith in himself not only brings under his control and direction those wonderful powers of his subconscious mentality, and the full power of his conscious mental faculties and instruments, but also tends to inspire a similar feeling in the minds and hearts of those other individuals with whom he comes in contact in the course of his pursuit of the objects of his endeavors. An intuitive perception and realization of one’s own powers,and energies, capacity and efficiency, possibilities and capabilities, is an essential attribute of the individual who is destined to success.

A study of the world of men will disclose the fact that those men who eventually succeed, who “arrive” ultimately, who “do things,” are marked by this deep intuitive Faith in themselves, and by their Confident Expectation of ultimate success. These men rise superior to the incidents of temporary defeat; they use these failures as stepping-stones to ultimate victory. They are living expressions of Henley’s “Invictus”—they, indeed, are the Masters of their Fate, the Captains of their Souls! Such men are never really defeated; like rubber balls, they have that “bounce” which causes them to rise triumphantly after each fall—the harder they are “thrown down,” the higher do they rise on the rebound. Such men are always possible—nay, probable and certain—victors, so long as they maintain this intuitive Faith in Self, or Self Confidence; it is only when this is lost that they are really defeated or destroyed.

The failures in life are discovered usually to be either (1) those who have never manifested this Faith in Self, or Self Confidence; or else (2) those who have permitted themselves to lose the same under “the bludgeonings of Chance.”

Those who have never felt the thrill of Faith in Self, or of Self Confidence, are soon labeled by their fellows as lacking the elements of successful achievement—the world soon “gets their numbers” and places them where they belong. Their lack of Self Faith and Self Confidence is felt by those with whom they come in contact; the world lacks Faith in them and has no Confident Expectation of their success.

Those who once have had this Self Faith or Self Confidence, but who have lost it by reason of temporary failure or set-backs, are in even a still worse condition; this, because while the “never-had-it” class have merely a lack of the inspiriting quality, these “had-it-but-lost-it” individuals actually have now a positive Unfaith, Distrust, and Disbelief in themselves and their abilities—they believe that “luck is against me,” and they actually entertain Confident Expectation that “the worst is yet to come.” They have set the Law of Mental Attraction operating against them, instead of for them. Their only hope is to reverse their backward-running mental engine, and once more to get that “I Can and I Will” spirit.

The study of the life-story of the successful men in all walks of life will illustrate this principle to you so forcibly that, having perceived it, you will never again doubt its absolute truth. In practically every case you will find that these successful men have been knocked down, and bowled out, many times in the early days of their careers—often even later on in life. But the knock-out, though perhaps dazing them for a short time, never robbed them of their gameness, their will-to-succeed. They always arose to their feet before they were counted out; and they always grimly, but resolutely, faced Fate. Though their “heads were bloody; they were unbowed,” as Henley triumphantly chants. Fate cannot defeat such a spirit; in time, Destiny recognizes the fact that “here is a man”—and being feminine, she falls in love with him and bestows her favors upon him.

If you will examine carefully the variety of “confident” men in the world around you, you will find that they may be grouped into two general classes. The first of these classes is made up of the vainglorious, egotistical, conceited men—the braggarts, the boasters, the cheap persons who are enamored by their own personality, and who delude themselves, as they seek also to delude the world, into the belief that they are really great and wonderful men. They are conceited, not self-believers. They are filled with vanity, not with true self reliance and self respect. They are the peacocks and apes of the world of men, not its lions and eagles. They are base counterfeits of the self reliant, self confident men of the true type. They are but laths painted to resemble iron. They are “false fronts,” possessing no real stability or power, and having nothing serving to “back them up.” The world soon discovers them to be (in the slang phrases so expressive of the spirit of the idea)—”two spots trying to be aces,” or “four flushers.” Yet, at least for a time, they often manage to fool persons—but sooner or later they crumple, shrivel and fade from view.

The second class of confident individuals is made up of men who pay but little attention to the superficial aspects of personality—except, perhaps, to employ such as their tools and instruments in working upon the world of superficial observers. Instead, they have a deep underlying Faith in “That Something Within” which they have discovered to be the centre of their power and being. The “I AM I” looms large in their mental vision—but that “I” is the great “I” of true individuality, and not the insignificant “i” of superficial personality. These men distinguish and differentiate between the “John Smith, grocer, age 46,” part of themselves, and that mysterious “I AM I” which recognizes that the outer mask of personality is merely that of the part they are now playing in the Great Game of Life—in the Cosmic Drama.

The truly great and successful men in all walks oflife intuitively recognize that the elements of personality (which the masses of the public seem to think constitutes the real individuality of the successful man) are at the best but petty and trifling things— things worn about the individuality as one wears his everyday garments—and that the real individual, himself, is hidden from the sight of the lovers of superficiality, though being the most real thing in the world to the true individual himself. The true individual has the most intense Faith in his “individuality,” but regards his “personality” as merely something necessary for his personal manifestation and presence, and never as “the thing-in-itself” of his being.

This statement will appear meaningless to those who are unable to distinguish between the “inner individuality” and the “outer personality”—between the “I” and the “Me,” as some have expressed it. But all who have caught even the faintest glimpse of the Real Self—who have entered into the dawn of the “I AM I” consciousness—these will know what we mean, and will strive toward a fuller realization and manifestation of “That Something Within.” That moment in which the soul first experiences this consciousness of “I AM I,” it is born into a new world—a world in which Faith in itself becomes an intuitive perception, and in which the Confident Expectation of the realization of that Faith becomes an habitual mental attitude.

We are not seeking to lead you into a maze of metaphysical speculation or mystic contemplation by calling your attention to this great subject and object of your Faith in Yourself—this immanent “I AM I”—this wondrous Something Within yourself, which abides in that Secret Place of your Temple ofBeing. Instead, we are asking you to lay aside, at least temporarily, all such mental activities directed toward abstract subjects or objects, and to turn your gaze inward until, becoming accustomed to the seeming darkness, you will see, at first faintly, then plainly, that magnificent being which is YOURSELF, glowing in a light soft but penetrating—the Inner Light. When you have found this, then verily have you found that true subject and object of Faith in Yourself—the only true subject and object of Self Faith, the subject and object of which all the subjects and objects of mere temporal ephemeral personality are but pitiful imitations or base counterfeits.

When you have found this Real Self—”That Something Within”—this “I AM I”—then have you found that Inner and Real Self which has constituted the subject and object of that Faith and Confident Expectation which have inspired, animated, enthused, and sustained the thousands of men who have reached the Heights of Attainment by the Path of Definite Ideals, Insistent Desire, Confident Expectation, Persistent Determination, and Balanced Compensation. It is this intuitive perception and consciousness of the Real Self which has caused men to live out the ideal of “Invictus,” in the spirit of that glorious poem of Henley. Nothing but this inner realization would have been sufficient to fill the soul of man with this indomitable spirit and unconquerable will. No mere vanity of personal being, no mere belief therein, would have been sufficient—there is needed the certain, positive Faith based upon the underlying individuality, upon the Real Self, upon the “I AM I,” to enable man to utter that tremendous statement: “I am the Master of my Fate; I am the Captain of my Soul!”

In the spirit of this realization in consciousness of your Real Self, of your “I AM I,” read once more that inspired poem of Henley to which we have so repeatedly alluded in our preceding consideration of this subject of Faith in Yourself. It will serve as a refreshing and stimulating bath in the fountain of Inspiration for you. It is, indeed, inspiration, and you feel it to be such. It is the voice of its author’s “I AM I” calling to the “I AM I” within yourself—the roar of the Lion of Individuality within him which awakens corresponding vibrations in that Lion within Yourself!

Faith in Yourself Invictus By W. E. Henley

“Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods there be
For my unconquerable soul.
“In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced or cried aloud;
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody but unbowed.
“Beyond this vale of doubt and fear
Looms but the terror of the Shade,
And, yet, the passing of the years
Finds, and shall find me, unafraid.
“It matters not how straight the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll;
I am the Master of my Fate,
I am the Captain of my Soul.”

It was in this spirit of the consciousness of the Real Self, and of this conviction of its innate power and its destiny to eventually triumph, that the ancient Stoic philosophers bade their followers to centre their consciousness upon the Indwelling Spirit rather than upon the physical garment called the body, or even upon those instruments of the self called the mind. They were wont to remind their followers that: “A man may not always master the details of his external circumstances, but he can be Master of himself, and, accordingly, the Master of his Fate.” It was in this spirit that the ancient Hindu sages bade their students to. “Dwell in the consciousness of the Real Self: for THAT cannot be wounded by the sword, nor killed by the spear; neither can it be burned by fire, drowned by water, crushed by earth, or blown out by the air.”

The wise teachers of the race have for centuries taught that this Faith in the Real Self, in the “I AM I,” will enable the individual to convert into the instruments of his success even those circumstances which apparently are destined to defeat his purposes; and to transmute into beneficent agencies even those inimical forces which beset him on all sides. They have discovered, and passed on to their followers, the knowledge, that such a Faith is a spiritual power, a living force, which when trusted and rightly employed will annihilate the opposition of outward circumstances, or else convert them into workers for good.

They have noted how “the casualties of life seem to bow to a spirit that will not bow to them, and will yield to subserve a design which they may, in their first apparent tendency, threaten to frustrate.” They have discovered that “when such a spirit is recognized, it is curious to see how the space clears around a man and leaves him room and freedom.” They have seen, and told us, that “there is no chance, no destiny, no fate, that can circumvent, or hinder, or control, the firm resolve of a determined soul”—and that there can be no “determined soul” in the absence of Faith in the Real and Indwelling Self.

We are here not preaching to you the doctrine of the cultivation of a bumptious, conceited, forward, pushing, cock-sureness, based upon vain conceit and cheap assurance of personal merit and capacity. There is no mental attitude further removed from the true conviction of individual innate power and capacity than is that pitiful imitation of it which is far too common. The blustering, noisy, boasting, egotism which seeks to exalt the personal self and to glorify its achievements or possible attainments, is the very antithesis of that quiet, calm, restrained sense of innate power and capacity which is experienced and manifested by the individual who has found within himself that centre of Personal Power which is his Real Self—his “I AM I.”

Egotism, that cheap self-praise, self-exaltation, and vain conceit, is but the tawdry and pinchbeck imitation of that true Egoism which is based upon the certainty of the power and possibilities of the individual Ego, or the “I AM I.” The former marks the person whose overweening vanity causes him to exalt and glorify his mean personal attainments and his pitifully weak personal powers. The latter distinguishes the individual of true power and real capacity, who manifests his efficiency and capabilities in deeds, not in words—in actions, not in braggadocio—in performance, not in swaggering, boasting, vaporings concerning his fancied ability and his imaginary deeds. There is a difference as wide as that betwixt the poles between true Egoism and base Egotism—be sure that you differentiate between these two opposing mental attitudes.

The Real Self—the “I AM I”—which is the true and proper subject and base of your Faith in Yourself, and of your Confident Expectation based upon this, is that Something Real within yourself which abides permanent, stable, firm, immutable, amidst the surrounding temporal, shifting, changing physical and mental processes which compose your emotional equipment. It is the true Individual surrounded by the incidents and instruments of your personality. It is that Centre of Being around which moves the complex mechanism of your personal existence. It is that absolutely subjective Entity which acts through the objective instrumentality of your mind and body which you have regarded as your Self, but which in reality are but phases of the mechanism through which the Self acts in order to manifest itself in objective existence.

In that volume of this series entitled “Personal Power” we have instructed you concerning this Real Self, and therein have pointed out to you the methods of mental analysis by means of which this Real Self may be disentangled from its machinery of mind and body. In fact, this discovery of the Real Self, and of its effective manifestation, when once achieved, forms one of the two great essential principles of this entire course of instruction embodied in this series of books. Our concern here is merely that of identifying that discovered Real Self with that Self which is the true and only valid basis for your Faith in Yourself, and of your Confident Expectation of its successful manifestation in thought, word and deed.

Your Real Self is a ray from the great Sun of Spirit—a spark from the great Flame of Spirit—a focal point of expression of that Infinite SELF of SPIRIT. The Orientals strive to indicate this relation of the SELF to the Self by the illustration of the reflection of the sun in a million water-pots—there is but one real Sun, but in each pot there is a perfect represented image of that Sun which serves to illumine the water in the pot, and which shines with force and power when the waves and ripples of the water are stilled and calm.

Others have compared the Self to the tiny whirlpool in the great Ocean of SPIRIT. Others have sought to illustrate it by the analogy of the brilliant glow in the electric-lamp—the result of the power of the principle of Electricity manifesting through the resisting carbon in the lamp. But all of these illustrations and analogous representations are feeble and inadequate, though they may serve to point out and to indicate the nature of the relationship between the Infinite Power and its individual expressions.

Enough for us to state here is the fact that You—your Real Self, your “I AM I”—is real, permanent, firm, stable, true, the only thing that is so in your entire personal being; just as Spirit is the only thing so in the Infinity of Being manifested in and through the Cosmos. Your Faith in it is as fully warranted as is your Faith in the Infinite Power of the Cosmos—for at the last the two are one in essence and fundamental being. Your Real Self is the absolute fact of your being—the one and only such absolute fact; all the rest is relative and comparative, finite and conditioned by circumstance. Your Real Self is your Master Self. It is the King on the Throne of your personal being. When you realize this, then you will assert your kingship and your mastery over all of your mental powers, conscious, subconscious and unconscious—and of your physical powers as well. Surely such an Entity is worthy of your Faith, and of your Confident Expectation of the manifestation of its powers.

The earnest Faith in your Real Self, and your Confident Expectation concerning its manifestation and expression in your work, your endeavors, your plans, your purposes, serve to bring into action your full mental and spiritual power, energy, and force. It quickens your intellectual powers, it employs your emotional powers efficiently and under full control, it sets into effective action your creative imagination, it places the powers of your will under your mastery and direction. It draws upon your subconscious faculties for inspiration and for intuitive reports; it opens up your mind to the inflow of the illumination of your superconscious spiritual faculties and powers. It sets into operation the Law of Mental Attraction under your direct control and direction, whereby you attract to yourself, or you to them, the circumstances, events, conditions, things and persons needed for the manifestation of your ideals in objective reality. More than this, it brushes away the obstacles which have clogged the channels of your contact with and communication with SPIRIT itself—that great source of Infinite Power which in this instruction is called “POWER.”

Discover your Real Self, your “I AM I”—then manifest your full Faith in and toward it; and cultivate your full Confident Expectation concerning the beneficent results of that Faith.

Faith in the Infinite

Faith in the successful outcome of your efforts, your undertakings, your expression of your innate powers, leads inevitably to your Faith in Yourself—your Faith in your Real Self and in its powers and capacities for the efficient performance of the work which constitutes your field of outward expression. In truth, Faith in your Real Self—in your “I AM I”—inevitably leads you to that highest and most magnificent manifestation of Faith and Confident Expectation; namely, Faith in and the Confident Expectation of the manifestation of the beneficence and kindly power of that Infinite Presence-Power from which all things proceed, and in which all things live and move and have their being.

That there exists an Infinite and Eternal Presence-Power—an Infinite and Absolute Principle of Life, Mind, Will—which is the source, fount and origin of all manifested living existence, which is the creative agency by means of which all creation exists and is performed, which is the combining, correlating and coordinating power evident in all the processes of the Cosmos—such is the inevitable, invariable and infallible report of human reason exercised to the full limits of its powers along the lines of philosophical thought, and such is also the report of human Faith extended to its full capacity. Reason finds this report inevitably present as the base and ground of its most profound thought: Intuition corroborates and verifies such conclusion. The opposite of this ultimate report of combined Reason and Intuition is unthinkable; to deny it is equivalent to the denial of the very base and ground of rational thought itself.

In that volume of the present series entitled “Spiritual Power,” we have considered this subject in detail and at length, and have shown not only that Reason is compelled by its fundamental laws to make a final report of this kind, but also just why it is compelled to do so. In addition, we have shown that Intuition agrees in this final report of Truth, and just why this is inevitable.

The consideration of the facts so presented brings the conviction that this fundamental intuition of Truth is as firmly established, and as little open to successful denial and refutation, as is the fact of the fundamental intuitive assurance of the reality of your actual existence as a living entity. Here, Faith becomes an actual “knowing”—it rises to the position of a Faith that “knows,” not merely “believes.”

Reason and Intuition, employed to their full limits of power and capacity for the discovery and announcing of Truth, establish the following Basic and Fundamental Facts of Existence, viz.:

1. That there is present in being and power an Infinite and Eternal Creative Power which is the Causeless Cause of the Cosmic Manifestation, in whole and in its parts—of the World and its manifold activities which are experienced by us through our consciousness.
2. That there is present and in being an Infinite and Eternal Coordinative Power which combines, correlates and coordinates the activities of the multiplicity of apparently separate objects and activities of the Cosmos into one harmonious whole operating under Universal Law and Order in which there is no room or place for Blind Chance or Accident.
3. That there is present in being and power an Infinite and Eternal Life Principle, which is the constant, permanent, unchangeable, invariable, identical essential Essence of Livingness which animates and inspires the countless manifestations of Life and Livingness perceived to exist in the Cosmos; and which is the essential base and ground for the multiplicity of changing, temporal, impermanent living forms and their activities which arise, abide for a time, and then pass away in the Cosmic Process.
4. That the Infinite and Eternal Creative Power; the Infinite and Eternal Coordinative Power; the Infinite and Eternal Life Principle; are, at the last, but One—one in essence, substance and reality: they are but aspects under which we become aware of the Absolute Presence-Power which is the source and origin; the base and ground; the creator and the author; the supporter and the sustainer, the combiner, correlator and coordinator; the essence and substance of the entire Cosmic Manifestation consisting of an Infinity of Universes with all contained therein. This One Absolute Presence-Power is Absolute Unity, Absolute Presence, Absolute Power. It is the Ultimate Reality, the Final and Basic Fact, the Absolute Truth of Existence. There is and can be nothing known to us except this Ultimate Reality and its Cosmic Manifestations.
5. This Ultimate Reality—this Infinite and Eternal Presence-Power—is discovered to be Immaterial and not Material: it is perceived to be Pure Spirit in its Ultimate Essence, in its real nature, character and being. Its fundamental laws are Spiritual Laws, this being true even of the physical laws and principles operative in the World of Materiality which is its Cosmic Manifestation.
6. The World of Manifestation, in its Essence, is contained in the being of this Infinite and Eternal Presence-Power; and this Infinite and Eternal Presence-Power is immanent and present in each and every part and portion, object or activity, of that World of Manifestation. There is nowhere “outside” of the Infinite Presence-Power, for in its presence and in its power this Ultimate Reality abides in everything, everywhere, and in all time. All is in the ALL; and the ALL is in All-Things.
7. YOU—your Real Self, your “I AM I”—are a centre of power, a focal point of expression and manifestation, in and of that Infinite and Eternal Spiritual Power. In the degree that you realize this, so will be the degree of your possible manifestation of Personal Power. In the degree that you realize this, so will be the degree of your possible individual contact with the Infinite Presence-Power, and of the opening, and freeing of your spiritual channels of communication with and from it. You may become “In Tune with the Infinite”—”In Unison with Infinity”—in this way. In this way, you may Contact the Infinite in consciousness. In the degree that you recognize and realize your actual essential identity with the Infinite and Eternal Presence-Power, so will be the degree of your possible manifestation, expression and actualization of that Ultimate Reality which is the Source, Origin and Fount of Infinite Power— and which is the Infinite Self of which your “I AM I” is the focal point or centre of expression and manifestation.

In the volume of this series entitled “Spiritual Power,” to which we have referred, we have transmitted to you the following Message of Truth as announced in principle by the great illumined spiritual teachers of the race, of all ages, all peoples, all lands, all creeds, which our students are requested to commit to memory and to make the essential and basic fact of their mental and spiritual lives. Hearken to this Message of Truth as announced by such high authorities:

The Message of Truth. “You, yourself, in your essential and real being, nature, and entity, are Spirit, and naught but Spirit— in and of SPIRIT; spiritual and not material. Materiality is your instrument of expression, the stuff created for your use and service in your expression of Life, Consciousness and Will: it is your servant, not your master; you condition, limit and form it, not it you, when you recognize and realize your real nature, and awaken to a perception of its real relation to you and you to it. The report of SPIRIT, received by its accredited individual centers of expression, and by them transmitted to you is this:

“‘In the degree that you perceive, recognize, and realize your essential identity with ME, the Supreme Presence-Power, the Ultimate Reality, in that degree will you be able to manifest My Spiritual Power. I AM over and above you, under and beneath you, I surround you on all sides. I AM also within you, and you are in Me—from Me you proceed, and in Me you live and move and have your being. Seek Me by looking within your own being, and likewise by looking for Me in Infinity, for I abide both Within and Without your being. If, and when, you will adopt and live according to this Truth, then will you be able to manifest that Truth—in and by it alone are Freedom and Invincibility, and true and real Presence and Power, to be found, perceived, realized and manifested’.”

In the above-stated Message of Truth will be found the essence of the esoteric teaching and inner doctrine of all of the world’s great religions and most profound philosophies. In all religions there exist (1) the exoteric or outer teaching and doctrine intended for the great masses of persons who are unable to understand or to grasp the deep truths and doctrines—those who are not as yet ready for the full Truth, and who are “not as yet able to bear the Truth”; and (2) the esoteric or inner teaching and doctrine intended for those who have developed spiritual perception to an extent enabling them to grasp, understand and assimilate the full spirit of the Truth. In the sacred writings of all of these great religions will be found constant though carefully-guarded references to the existence of this dual-aspect of teaching and doctrine.

The essence and substance of this Inner Doctrine, or Esoteric Teaching, is found to be practically and essentially the same in all of the great world religions and philosophies, notwithstanding the wide difference in the exoteric teaching and doctrines and in the “names and forms” employed therein. This essence and substance is found to be capable of expression in three brief general axioms, as follows:

1. Ultimate Reality, Truth, Being and Principle is One and One Only; in its essential and fundamental nature it is Spiritual and not Material: the One Ultimate Principle of Being is SPIRIT.
2. The soul or spirit of man is identical in nature and essence with the Infinite Spiritual Principle or Being: it is a spark from the Divine Flame, a Ray from the Divine Sun, or a Reflection of the Divine Presence. This undetached fragment from the Divine Life is immanent within the being of every human individual, though usually undetected by reason of being hidden and covered with the mass of finite, personal characteristics; but no matter how much hidden or covered over, it is always there, its light burning brightly though obscured from ordinary perception.
3. By Faith in the Infinite Presence-Power, which abides Within and Without the individual soul, and by the Confident Expectation of its manifestation through the channels of individuality, the individual soul proceeds to clear away the obstructing debris of finite personality, with its mass of Doubt, Distrust, Disbelief and Unfaith, and to afford a clear passage of the spiritual light and power of the Indwelling Presence-Power; by so doing it also opens the channels of contact with and inspiration from the Superimposing Presence-Power of Infinity.

Pause a moment at this point, and consider carefully the above three axiomatic statements of the esoteric teaching and doctrine of all the great religions and philosophies. You will find that you have always known of these, though you have never clearly recognized them. If you have studied the great religions other than your own, you will now see that this teaching and doctrine is implicit in each and all of them. Piercing the surface of the exoteric teachings and doctrines of your own religion, you will find this teaching and doctrine expressed in them in veiled and guarded terms: now that your eyes have been opened to the Truth, you will find corroboration of these teachings in many hitherto perplexing and mystifying passages in your own Scriptures.

If, as is probable, you have been reared in some branch of the Christian Church, you will find in the words of the Master, and of that great teacher, Saint Paul, numerous corroborations of this Truth. If, instead, you are a Jew, you will find in the Hebrew Scriptures abundant testimony along the same lines— the ancient prophets of Israel knew and taught this Truth, as references to their writings will fully establish. Likewise, if you are a Hindu, a Buddhist, a Mohammedan, you will find in your Sacred Books a full corroboration of the above statement. As the ancient Oriental sages were wont to say: “The Truth is One, though men call it by many names, and express it by many different terms.”

Moreover, in all of the esoteric teaching and doctrine, so announced by the founders of the great religions and their successors, you will find that the Road to the Recognition, Realization and Manifestation of the Truth is always that of the Path of Faith. Even before Works, there is placed Faith. Before the manifestation, there must come the full realization; and before the full realization must come the full recognition and the perception, accompanied by the deep feeling of Faith. Before the believer may justly expect to reap, he must sow the seeds of Confident Expectation. Everywhere we find the repeated and constantly reiterated note of Faith, Faith, Faith! We are constantly admonished to have Faith, coupled with the promise that if Faith be had and maintained “all the rest shall be added unto you.”

In Jewish and Christian theology, Faith is “that mental act of man which places him in an acceptable relation to God.” In Mohammedanism, Faith in Allah is a prerequisite to knowledge of the Divine, and the bestowal of Divine aid. In Hinduism, Faith in Brahman is the Master Key. In Buddhism, Faith in “The Law which makes for Good” is an absolute necessity to the seeker after Nirvana. Everywhere, Faith is held to be the first, and absolutely necessary step toward Attainment. If this be true concerning the exoteric teaching and doctrine, it is thrice true of the esoteric presentation of the Truth—for in the latter it takes on a mystic and occult significance. As an ancient mystic once said: “There is a White Magic in Faith which transcends all other forms or powers of Magic.”

In the exoteric teachings and doctrine, Faith is advocated and demanded because of its claimed power to place man in close relationship with the Supreme Being, and to render possible a spiritual rapport or sympathetic accord with Divine Power. It is there held that the Supreme Being demands Faith as a prerequisite of the bestowal of favors and gifts. In the esoteric teaching and doctrine, however, while Faith is still more earnestly insisted upon as a prerequisite of Attainment, there is not this rather naive and primitive explanation: instead, Faith is explained as that act by means of which the individual soul enters into a fuller recognition and realization of its essential identity with, and contact with the Divine Principle, and thus is enabled to unfold and to manifest those divine powers which are inherent and latent within its nature. Faith, in the exoteric sense, is a “rapport,” i. e., “sympathetic accord” relationship: in the esoteric, it is rather a “rapprochement,” or “act of re-approach or coming-together again after a separation,” or “act or fact of again coming or being drawn near or together.” Even those not accepting the doctrine of the essential identity of the individual soul with the Universal Soul, and who occupy the agnostic position regarding this question, must be forced to admit as logically sound the argument that if the individual soul is potentially divine, then the act of earnest, positive Faith in its potentially divine nature and possibilities must serve to unfold into manifestation such powers. The esoteric doctrine, however, does not rest merely upon this undoubtedly logically sound premise or proposition—it bases its chief claim upon the fact that the soul which proceeds “as if this were so” soon begins to manifest its powers to such an extent that further doubt is impossible. Thus the proof or the esoteric teaching and doctrine is, at the last, a matter of actual personal experience. Cries the mystic: “Taste, only taste; taste, and you will know the virtue of the Wine!”

Faith in the Infinite, then, consists primarily of the firm, earnest, positive belief in the three axiomatic statements heretofore presented to you (or their equivalents which are found in the esoteric teachings of any and all of the various great religions or philosophies of the world). If this Faith be had and maintained, then it inevitably follows that Faith in the beneficent Good nature of the Cosmic Activities will arise. If the Ultimate Spiritual Principle is embodied in the individual soul, then it must be inclined to be “good” to that soul. Ultimate Reality must be “good” to itself, and if it recognizes the individual soul as a divine fragment of itself, then it must be “good” to that part of itself.

The esoteric teaching and doctrine, however, hold that this recognition of common identity of the Universal Soul and the individual soul is more or less a mutual process; they hold that the individual soul striving to enter into this consciousness of identity with the Divine—seeking its Greater Self—sets into operation certain powers of the Universal Soul which cause the latter to seek “rapprochement,” or “re-approach or coming-together,” of the two apparently separated portions of the Divine Essence, i. e., the Macrocosm and the Microcosm. This being granted, it is easily seen that the act or mental attitude of Faith in the Infinite, and in one’s essential relation to it, or essential identity with it, must operate in the direction of the “rapprochement,” or “coming-together-again,” of the Universal Principle and its Particular Manifestation. Like the water-spout appearing on the high seas, the water from the ocean swirls around and rises to meet and to be united with the descending whirling mass of heavy vapor from the clouds.

Royce says: “We long for the Absolute only in so far as in us the Absolute also longs, and seeks, through our very temporal striving, the peace that is nowhere in Time, but only, and yet Absolutely, in Eternity.” Evelyn Underwood says: “All mystical thinkers agree in thinking that there is a mutual attraction between the Spark of the Soul, the free divine germ in man, and the Fount from which it came forth. The homeward journey of man’s spirit, then, is due to the push of a divine life within answering to the pull of a divine life without. It is a going of like to like, the fulfillment of a Cosmic necessity.” Recejac says: “According to mysticism, the soul is led to the frontiers of the Absolute and is even given an impulsion to enter, but this is not enough. This movement of pure Freedom cannot succeed unless there is an equivalent movement within the Absolute itself.”

Francis Thompson, in his mystic poem entitled “The Hound of Heaven,” describes with a tremendous power, and often with an almost terrible intensity, the hunt of Reality for the unwilling individual Self. He pictures Reality as engaged in a remorseless, tireless quest—a seeking, following, tracking-down of the unwilling individual soul. He pictures the separated spirit as a “strange, piteous, futile thing” that flees from the pursuing Reality “down the nights and down the days.” The individual spirit, not knowing its relation to and identity with the pursuing Absolute, rushes in a panic of terror away from its own Good. But, as Emerson says, “You cannot escape your own Good”; and, so the fleeing soul is captured at last. By Faith in the Infinite, however, the individual soul overcomes its terror of the Infinite, and, recognizing it as its Supreme Good, it turns and moves toward it. Such is the mystic conception of the effect and action of Faith in the Infinite.

Even those philosophers who view the Cosmos as an Infinite Process, operated by an Infinite Spiritual Law rather than by the Will of a Divine Being—even they, unreservedly and fully, likewise teach and preach the paramount value of Faith in the Infinite. Heraclitus, the ancient Greek philosopher who taught the doctrine of the Eternal Becoming; the Stoics with their doctrine of Cosmic Law and Order; and the ancient Buddhists with their doctrine of “The Law of Eternal Change”;—all these taught as the highest wisdom the unquestioning Faith in “The Law.” Everything, they said, is under Law, and proceeds according to Order. Wisdom consists in having absolute Faith in that Law, and in “falling in with” its action, movement and processes. “Faith in and obedience to the Law is the highest religion,” said these thinkers; and they held that only through such could the individual reach the Mount of Attainment.

There are many practical philosophers of our own lands and age who, while more or less agnostic concerning the existence of a Divine Supreme Being, (at least of such conceived as a Person), nevertheless are in full agreement with the ancient philosophers just mentioned in the general conception that the Cosmos is governed by Infinite Law and proceeds according to Eternal Order—and this Law and Order they conceive to be Spiritual rather than Material.

Like Heraclitus, the Stoics, and the original Buddhists, the modern philosophers conceive it to be the highest wisdom on the part of man, as well as his manifest duty toward himself and the universe as well, to arouse and to manifest a firm, absolute, certain and unquestioning Faith in the existence and operation of the Infinite Law and the Eternal Order, and in the belief that it operates in the direction of Ultimate Good; and to endeavor to move along with the Cosmic current, to acquire and to maintain the Cosmic rhythm, to “beat time” and to “keep step” with the Cosmic Order—in short, to get and to keep “In Tune with the Infinite.”

These thinkers, while very practical and pragmatic, nevertheless manifest toward this Infinite Law and Eternal Order a mental attitude of Faith and Confident Expectation which closely resembles the corresponding mental attitude of the devout religious believer. To them, as to him, Faith is the cardinal principle of their thought and action. They do not shrink from that extreme test of Pragmatism, viz., “Would you trust your life to it?” Instead, they trust not only their lives, but their welfare, their happiness, and all that is worth while in human existence, to the operation of that Law. They have found it to be the most practical form of philosophy—a philosophy that “works out” in actual life, and which surely “pays” in the end. This Pragmatic Philosophy, like most of the philosophies worthy of the name, and like all of the great religions, is based upon Faith and Confident Expectation. Like all other forms of earnest thought and belief, it has its roots in Intuition—and Intuition breathes the very spirit of Faith.

It is not our purpose, nor our duty, to direct you concerning your form of religious belief, or regarding your school of philosophy—these are matters entirely for the exercise of your own Reason with the cooperation of your Intuition. But we conceive it to be our duty, and it is certainly our purpose, here to advise you, with all the earnestness at our command, to cultivate the mental attitude of Faith, absolute and unquestioning Faith, in the presence and power of an Infinite and Eternal Ultimate Reality of a Spiritual Nature; and to cultivate an equally earnest and fervent Faith in the operation of the Law and Order manifested by that Ultimate Reality (call the latter what you will—God, Principle, Power, Truth, Law, or the Unknowable Reality). Following this, and dependent upon it, should be the Confident Expectation that this Infinite Law and Eternal Order will tend to operate in the direction of your ultimate Good, in the measure in which you have Faith in it and Confident Expectation concerning its ultimate beneficent results.

Even if you cannot perceive the merit of the philosophical reasoning which leads to this conclusion, even if you are devoid of the religious conviction which brings the similar report, you are justified in accepting such a conception as warranted by the Rule of Pragmatism which is expressed in the axiom: “That which works may be accepted as Practical Truth.” Lack of Faith in the Infinite Law and Eternal Order weakens you, and renders you less efficient—therefore such is a negative quality. Actual Distrust, Disbelief, Unfaith and Doubt are worse than mere negative qualities—they are positive and active in the wrong direction, and tend to reverse the movement, action and direction of the Cosmic Forces, producing that Shadow of Good which is called Evil.

* * *

“Before beginning, and without an end,
As space eternal and as surety sure,
Is fixed a Power divine which moves to Good,
Only its Laws endure.
“It maketh and unmaketh, mending all;
What it hath wrought is better than hath been;
Slow grows the splendid pattern that it plans
Its wistful hands between.
“It will not be condemned by any one;
Who thwarts it loses, and who serves it gains.
The hidden good it pays with peace and bliss,
The hidden ill with pains.
“Such is the Law which moves to Righteousness,
Which none at last can turn aside or stay;
The heart of it is Love, and end of it
Is Peace and Consummation sweet. Obey!
“Ho! ye who suffer I know ye suffer from yourselves;
Naught else compels. * * * *
Within yourself deliverance must be sought;
Each man his prison makes. * * * *
Laugh and be glad; for there is liberty!”

* * *

Prentice Mulford, that eccentric genius who was really one of the great pioneers of the practical phase of the modern New Metaphysical Movement, although he is seldom given the credit to which he is really entitled in this particular field, once expressed very forcibly the spirit of the true teaching concerning Faith in the Infinite, in the following remarkable passage culled from one of his early books:

“A Supreme Power and Wisdom govern the Universe. The Supreme Mind is measureless and pervades endless space. The Supreme Wisdom, Power and Intelligence are in everything that exists, from the atom to the planet. The Supreme Power has us in its charge, as it has the suns and endless systems of worlds in space. As we grow more to recognize this sublime and exhaustless wisdom, we shall learn more and more to demand that wisdom, draw it to ourselves, and thereby be ever making ourselves newer and newer. This means ever perfecting health, greater and greater power to enjoy all that exists, gradual transition into a higher state of being, and the development of powers which we do not now realize as belonging to us. Let us then daily demand Faith, for Faith is power to believe and power to see that all things are parts of the Infinite Spirit of God, that all things have Good or God in them, and that all things, when recognized by us as parts of God, must work for our good.”

The following statement of the general basic principles of the modern New Thought movement was made several years ago by one of the writers of the present book. It is reproduced here because we think that it presents in concise form the essential spirit of the philosophy of that great modern school of thought just named, after the non-essential and debatable teachings of its various branches have been “ironed out.”

“I. There exists a great underlying Something or Somewhat that is beneficent and well-disposed toward you, and which tries to help, aid, and assist you whenever and wherever It can do so.

“II. Faith and Confident Expectation regarding the beneficent power of that Something or Somewhat tends to open the channels of Its influence in your life; while Doubt, Unbelief, Distrust, and Fear, tend to dam up the channel of Its influence in your life, and to rob It of the power to help you.

“III. To a great extent, at least, you determine your own life by the character of your thought; by the nature and character of your thoughts you furnish the pattern or mold which determines or modifies the efforts of the Something or Somewhat to aid you, either in the direction of producing desirable results, or else in bringing about undesirable results by reason of your damming up the source of your Good.

“These three fundamental principles of New Thought—which is really the oldest kind of thought expressed in new forms—will serve you as the strongest kind of basic platform for practical New Thought demonstration. If you will stand firmly on this platform; make its teachings and principles a part of yourself; and strive to manifest its truth and facts in your own life; then you will be the very best kind of New Thoughtist, even though you may never have heard even a word of New Thought teaching, metaphysical speculation, or philosophical theorizing.”

In that volume of this series entitled “Spiritual Power,” especially in its concluding section entitled “Unison with Infinity,” you will find a far more extended reference to this particular phase of the general subject of Faith and Confident Expectation directed toward the Infinite. If you are interested in this special teaching, we feel justified in recommending to your attention the book just named.

The advanced students of the Esoteric Teaching contained in the Scriptures of all the great religions, as well as their inspired teachers, are aware that in “The Book of Psalms,” in our own Scriptures, are to be found several of the great masterpieces of the esoteric teachings concerning Faith Power—in them is given the essence of the Secret Doctrine concerning Faith in the Infinite. Chief among these are the Twenty-Third Psalm, and the Ninety-first Psalm, respectively. So important are these two great esoteric poems—so filled with practical, helpful information are they—that we deem it advisable to reproduce them here that you may avail yourself of their virtue and power at this particular stage of this instruction. Accordingly, they are given on the next following two pages of this book.

The Psalm of Faith (Psalm XXIII)

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in the green pastures; he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul; he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

The Psalm of Security (Psalm XCI)

“He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God in Him will I trust. Surely He shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.

He shall cover thee with His feathers, and under His wings shalt thou trust: His truth shall be thy shield and buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most high, thy habitation. There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For He shall give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. Thou shalt tread upon the lion and the adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet. Because he hath set his love upon me, and therefore will I deliver him; I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him, and show him my salvation.”

The teachers and students of the Inner Teachings, the Ancient Wisdom, the Secret Doctrine, are also aware of the esoteric spiritual significance of the lines of the well-known hymn, “Lead Kindly Light,” written by Newman in a period of spiritual stress. Few who read or sing this hymn realize its esoteric spirit and meaning—none but “those who know” perceive and recognize that which dwells under the surface of those wonderful words and lines; but it is a matter of common notice and comment that even many persons who are outside of the fold of the Church find great inspiration, help, courage and practical aid from that wonderful hymn.

We feel that we may close this part of our instruction no more fitly than by quoting the lines of that magnificent verse: we trust that you may be able to plunge beneath its surface and discover “in the deep places” the spirit of that great Chant of Faith Power.

The Chant of Faith Power (“Lead Kindly Light”)
“Lead kindly light, amid the encircling gloom;
Lead thou me on.
The night is dark, and I am far from home;
Lead thou me on.
Keep thou my feet; I do not ask to see
The distant scene; one step enough for me,
Lead thou me on.”

Carry with you ever the spirit of the ancient aphorism of the wise sage, which we have already quoted for your benefit in the pages of this book, and which adorns its title-page:

“Faith is the White Magic of Power.”

 

The End