CHAPTER SEVENTEEN - METAPHYSICS
Creation consists in the art of combining forces which have an affinity for each other, in the proper proportion, thus oxygen and hydrogen combined in the proper proportions produce water. Oxygen and hydrogen are both invisible gases but water is visible.
Germs, however, have life; they must therefore be the product of something which has life or intelligence. Spirit is the only Creative Principle in the Universe, and Thought is the only activity which spirit possesses. Therefore, germs must be the result of a mental process.
A thought goes forth from the thinker, it meets other thoughts for which it has an affinity, they coalesce and form a nucleus for other similar thoughts; this nucleus sends out calls into the formless energy, wherein all thoughts and all things are held in solution, and soon the thought is clothed in a form in accordance with the character given to it by the thinker.
A million men in the agony of death and torture on the battlefield send out thoughts of hatred and distress; soon another million men die from the effect of a microbe called “the influenza germ.” None but the experienced metaphysician knows when and how the deadly germ came into existence.
As there are an infinite variety of thoughts, so there are an infinite variety of germs, constructive as well as destructive, but neither the constructive nor the destructive germ will germinate and flourish until it finds congenial soil in which to take root.
All thoughts and all things are held in solution in the Universal Mind. The individual may open his mental gates and thereby become receptive to thoughts of any kind or description. If he thinks that there are magicians, witches or wizards who are desirous of injuring him, he is thereby opening the door for the entrance of such thoughts, and he will be able to say with Job, “The things I feared have come upon me.” If, on the contrary, he thinks that there are those who are desirous of helping him, he thereby opens the door for such help, and he will find that “as thy faith is, so be it unto thee” is as true today, as it was two thousand years ago.
Tolstoi said: “Ever more and more clearly does the voice of reason become audible to man. Formerly men said: ‘Do not think, but believe. Reason will deceive you; faith alone will open to you the true happiness of life.’ And man tried to believe, but his relations with other people soon showed him that other men believed in something entirely different, so that soon it became inevitable that he must decide which faith out of many he would believe, reason alone can decide this.”
Attempts in our day to instill spiritual matters into man by faith, while ignoring his reason, are precisely the same as attempts to feed a man and ignore his mouth. Men’s common nature has proven to them that they all have a common knowledge, and men will never more return to their former errors.
The voice of the people is the voice of God. It is impossible to drown that voice, because that voice is not the single voice of any one person, but the voice of all rational consciousness of mankind, which is expressed in every separate man.
Reason tells man that the Universe is a Cosmos, and is therefore governed by law, so that when we see that some persons secure extraordinary results by mental or spiritual methods, reason tells us that we can all do exactly the same thing, because the law is no respecter of persons, and that this is being done every day all the time, everywhere, is apparent to everyone who has taken the trouble to ascertain the facts.
All manifestations are governed by principles which we recognize as universal laws, and in the manifestation of those laws we recognize system, order and harmony.
If the Infinite is omnipresent it must encompass and interfiltrate all that seems to be matter and be one with it and inseparable from it.
Science teaches that so-called matter exists in a diversity of grades from its crudest visible form to the most refined and invisible state in an inseparable relationship with spirit, from which it can never be disassociated.
The latent, or electric, power in the gaseous condition of the elements acts through vibration upon all matter in the combinations lower than the gases by induction, raising them also to a fluidic or gaseous condition and enabling them to form new combinations on a higher plane.
By the same principle is the mineral raised to the sphere of electricity, magnetism, or light, which of themselves are nothing more than ether in different velocities of vibration.
Radio activity consists in setting in motion certain electric vibrations, which after passing through the ether, record themselves on a distant receiver. The whole system depends on the intangible substance known as ether. It is a substance invisible, colorless, odorless, inconceivably rarefied, which fills all space. It fills the space between the earth and the sun and the stars, and it also fills the minute space between the atoms of the densest substance, such as steel. Even when electricity passes through a wire it is merely a vibration of the ether which circulates between the atoms composing the copper wire.
In turn we have abundant proof of the subjugation of Ethereal Matter by the still more rarefied sphere of force which we recognize as Psychic Force or Mind Force.
Matter thus refined becomes the plastic associate of the mind for the transmission of its forces in the manifestation of its power.
That mind does transmit its forces through, or by, its vibrations, we have proof of in the expression of its power of mind over mind, as in the manifestation of the mind of the hypnotist over his subject through mental suggestion, by which he is enabled to control the entire organism of his subject to such an extent as to suspend the functions of the organs of the body at will.
Thus we see that the subtle or refined elements of matter at the disposal of the mind are subject to his control. Matter in itself has no consciousness or feeling, and is active only when controlled by spirit or mind in accordance with the laws that govern its action, and when active gives forth the manifestation and power of the spirit, mind or intelligence behind it, and acting upon it; and in its varied manifestations symbolizes the wisdom or intelligence of the mind of man, or of the Infinite Mind itself.
As the Infinite Mind rules and governs the Universe, so it is ordained for man to rule and govern his living Universe which he has created or evolved, known as “The Temple of the Living God,” an abridgment or Microcosm of the Universe of the Infinite.
Wisdom is the proper use of Knowledge to bring about harmony, happiness, ease and health. Ignorance is the darkness which the light of truth disperses, which light alone can enable us to understand the priority of mind in the control of matter.
The office of Metaphysics is to bring man into a true comprehension of his relationship with the world, in which he lives, moves, and has his being, and an understanding of how to gain dominion over all which is his rightful heritage.
The Metaphysician gives the patient nothing which he can see, nothing which he can hear, nothing which he can taste, nothing which he can smell and nothing which he can feel. It is therefore, absolutely impossible for the practitioner to reach the objective brain of the patient in any way whatever.
It will be said that he may give a mental suggestion; he may send him a thought. This might be possible if it were not for the fact that we do not consciously receive the thoughts of others except through the medium of the senses.
Again, admitting that it might be possible to reach the conscious mind without the aid of any material agency, the conscious or objective mind would not receive it because the objective mind is the mind with which we reason, plan, decide, will, and act. The practitioner invariably suggests perfection, and such a thought would be instantly dismissed by the objective mind as contrary to reason and therefore unacceptable, so that no result would be accomplished.
The Mind which the metaphysician calls into action is the Universal, not the individual. Their formula is: “Divine Mind always has met and always will meet every human need.” This Divine Mind is the creative principle of the Universe. It is the “Father” which the Nazarene had in mind when he said: “It is not I that doeth the work, but the Father that dwelleth within me. He doeth the work.”
It will at once become apparent that this power which the metaphysician utilizes is spiritual, not material; subjective not objective. For this reason it becomes necessary to reach the subconscious mind instead of the conscious mind. Here then is the secret of the efficacy of the method. The sympathetic nervous system is the organ of the subconscious mind. This system of nerves governs all of the vital processes of the body--the circulation of the blood, the digestion of food, the building of tissues, the manufacture and distribution of the various secretions; in fact the sympathetic nervous system reaches every part of the body. All vital processes are carried on subconsciously. They seem to have been purposely taken out of the realm of the conscious and placed under the control of a power which would be subject to no change or caprice.
The subject mind, the subconscious mind, the Divine Mind, are therefore simply different terms of indicating the “One mind in which we live and move and have our being.” We contact this mind by will or intention. Mind is Omnipresent, we may therefore contact it anywhere and everywhere, neither time or space require consideration.
As spirit is the Creative Principle of the Universe, a subjective realization of this spiritual nature of man, and his consequent perfection, is taken up by the Divine Mind and eventually manifested in the life and experiences of the patient.
Some will say that this ideal state of perfection is never realized. To be sure, the Great Teacher anticipated this criticism for did He not say: “In my father’s house are many mansions?”-- indicating that there are many degrees of perfection; that although the law operates with immutable precision, the operator may be uninformed or inexperienced. The ability to throw the thought up and beyond the evidence of the senses into the realm of the uncreate, where all that ever was or ever will be, is waiting to be brought forth, to be organized, developed, and crystalized into tangible form, is not the work of the enthusiast who has just come into the knowledge of his spiritual inheritance. It is rather the work on one who has become responsive to the most subtle vibrations, he who can hear the Voice of the Silence, he who has come into the terrible realization that the oasis he saw as he passed over the desert was but a mirage, and as he approached, it receded; he who is no longer astonished or amazed to find that after all, real power is impersonal, that it may make a super-beast of one and a super-man of another.
A great many do not understand the Principle of Metaphysics and the method of applying it so as to work intelligently in their own behalf. Under such conditions they can only expect to rely on some one else, and when that is done continually or at frequent intervals, it tends to weaken rather than strengthen the spiritual factor in consciousness.
It is, therefore, desirable and necessary to secure an understanding of the nature of Truth. Most persons who have become interested in metaphysics have had some wonderful experience or they know of some one who has had such an experience.
It has been declared by philosophers, religionists, and scientists, again and again, that no proof of the existence of the absolute Truth is possible, in other words that the only way in which a man can be convinced of the creative power of Truth is by demonstration, or by assuming that Truth is all powerful and then on the basis of this assumption make the demonstration. This is proof, this is freedom, this is why it has been said: “Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.”
Observation of the characteristic manifestations of anything and deductions based upon such observation, constitute knowledge of that thing; it will readily be seen, therefore, that, if you have observed and have become aware of the fact of certain characteristic manifestations of Truth, you will have knowledge. If it should come to pass that you had observed and carefully noted all the characteristic manifestations of Truth, and then in addition perceived the uniformities that run through those manifestations, especially if they are complex, and see the laws or system upon which their characteristics are based, then your knowledge of Truth would be complete.
Through the mental and spiritual awakening of a century ago, which was responsible for modern progressive thought, certain higher forces and principles were discovered in the mind of man; and in the same way new realms of thought and spiritual reality were opened to consciousness-- revelations, literally, that give life a changed and marvelous meaning, and that caused the cosmos to extend into infinity, seemingly, in every direction. And therefore a two-fold purpose appeared at the very beginning of this movement--to know the Real Man, and to know the Real Cosmos; an ancient desire, but which was reborn at this time, and with so much life and virility that it has become today a soul passion in the minds of millions.
What then are the characteristics of Truth? All agree that in the philosophical sense Truth is that which is absolute and changeless. Truth must then be a fact; what then is a fact? Well, three times three equals nine. That is a fact, always was a fact, always will be a fact; there can be no evasion, no argument, no equivocation. It is truth in the United States, in China, in Japan, it is true everywhere; all the time. A fact exists in the nature of things without beginning, without end, without limitation, it governs our actions and our commercial operations. Those who would undertake to disregard it, would do so at their peril. It is, however, a fact which you cannot see, you cannot hear, you cannot taste, nor can you smell or feel it, it is inapprehensible to any of the physical senses; is it therefore, any less a fact? It is without color, size or form; is it for this reason any less true? It is without years; is it for that reason not the same yesterday, today, and forever?
You may use this fact as long as you live, millions of other persons may use it as often as they like, that will not destroy it. Use does not change it; from everlasting to everlasting--three times three equals nine. This is therefore a fact or the Truth.
Truth is the only possible knowledge which man can possess, because knowledge which is not based upon truth would be false, and would therefore, not be knowledge at all.
Counterfeit money is not true money, it is false, however much it may pass for true. The Truth is therefore, all that any one can know, for what is not true does not exist, therefore we cannot know it. We all think we know much that is not so, but what is not so, does not exist, therefore we cannot know it.
Therefore, the Truth or absolute knowledge is the only possible knowledge and any other use of the word is not scientific or exact.
The metaphysicians of the East will not give out spiritual knowledge miscellaneously. They will not give it to children or young people except under conditions when they have them directly under control and directly under instruction as definitely as we have our children under instruction, in the intellectual life in our schools.
In India when a young man is to be initiated into things spiritual, a definite seven year’s course is provided for him under a master, and he is given first the things that he first bout to know along those lines. He is forewarned with regard to dangers that may arise, and the whole course of his journey is guarded by his master with the greatest care, so as to prevent his stumbling during the early stages.
If spiritual metaphysics becomes popular in our Western world, the same thing will develop here. People will not take up the most advanced work, before becoming acquainted with the simpler forms of knowledge. Attainment implifies obligation, if you are somewhere up the ladder of culture, if you have entered the school of understanding, if you have seen the light of spiritual Truth, you are supposed by that very fact to know more than the one who has not yet arrived. Your nervous system will automatically organize itself on a higher plane, and because of this you must live closer to the law of your being or experience suffering more quickly; there are no exceptions to the law.
The resurrection from the dead is not a process of getting corpses out of the grave, it is the elevation of mentalities from the plane of the material to the plane of the spiritual, it is crossing the river Jordan and entering the “Promised Land.” It is not until one becomes acquainted with the laws governing in the spiritual world that he really begins to “live,” consequently those who are still functioning in the material world are “dead,” they have not yet been resurrected. “Eyes have they but they see not, ears have they but they hear not.”
Those who have been raised to the spiritual plane, find that there are many practices which they must drop, in most cases these practices leave the individual without difficulty, they drop away of their own accord, but when the individual persists in functioning in the old world, he usually finds that: “A house divided against itself will not stand,” and frequently must suffer severely before he learns that he cannot violate spiritual laws with impunity.