Part Eighteen - Page 5

31. Attention has been held to be the distinguishing mark of genius. The cultivation of attention depends upon practice.
32. The incentive of attention is interest; the greater the interest, the greater the attention; the greater the attention, the greater the interest, action and reaction; begin by paying attention; before long you will have aroused interest; this interest will attract more attention, and this attention will produce more interest, and so on. This practice will enable you to cultivate the power of attention.
33. This week concentrate upon your power to create; seek insight, perception; try to find a logical basis for the faith which is in you. Let the thought dwell on the fact that the physical person lives and moves and has their being in the sustainer of all organic life, air that they must breathe to live. Then let the thought rest on the fact that the spiritual person also lives and moves and has their being in a similar but subtler energy upon which they must depend for life, and that as in the physical world no life assumes form until after a seed is sown, and no higher fruit than that of the parent stock can be produced; so in the spiritual world no effect can be produced until the seed is sown and the fruit will depend upon the nature of the seed, so that the results which you secure depend upon your perception of law in the mighty domain of causation, the highest evolution of human consciousness.

There is no thought in my mind but it quickly tends to convert itself into a power and organizes a huge instrumentality of means. - Emerson

Part Seventeen - Page 3

14. All mental discovery and attainment are the result of desire plus concentration; desire is the strongest mode of action; the more persistent the desire, the more authoritative the revelation. Desire added to concentration will wrench any secret from nature.
15. In realizing great thoughts, in experiencing great emotions that correspond with great thoughts, the mind is in a state where it appreciates the value of higher things.
16. The intensity of one moment's earnest concentration and the intense longing to become and to attain may take you further than years of slow normal and forced effort; it will free your belief, strength, vigor and self-appreciation, and you will come into a realization of the joy of overcoming.
17. The spirit of initiative and originality is developed through persistence and continuity of mental effort. Business teaches the value of concentration and encourages decision of character; it develops practical insight and quickness of conclusion. The mental element in every commercial pursuit is dominant as the controlling factor, and desire is the predominating force; all commercial relations are the externalization of desire.
18. Many of the sturdy and substantial virtues are developed in commercial employment; the mind is steadied and directed; it becomes efficient. The principal necessity is the strengthening of the mind so that it rises superior and helps the higher self succeed.
19. All of us are dynamos, but the dynamo of itself is nothing; the mind must work the dynamo; then it is useful and its energy can be definitely concentrated. The mind is an engine whose power is undreamed; thought is an omni-working power. It is the ruler and creator of all form and all events occurring in form. Physical energy is nothing in comparison with the omnipotence of thought, because thought enables us to harness all other natural power.

Part Seventeen - Page 1

1. We are told that humanity has dominion over all things; this dominion is established through Mind. Thought is the activity which controls every principle beneath it. The highest principle by reason of its superior essence and qualities necessarily determines the circumstances, aspects and relation of everything with which it comes in contact.
2. The vibrations of Mental forces are the finest and consequently the most powerful in existence. To those who perceive the nature and transcendency of mental force, all physical power sinks into insignificance.
3. We are accustomed to look upon the Universe with a lens of five senses, and from these experiences our anthropomorphic conceptions originate, but true conceptions are only secured by spiritual insight. This insight requires a quickening of the vibrations of the Mind, and is only secured when the mind is continuously concentrated in a given direction.
4. Continuous concentration means an even, continuous flow of thought and is the result of a patient, persistent, persevering and well-regulated system.
5. Great discoveries are the result of long-continued investigation. The science of mathematics requires years of concentrated effort to master it, and the greatest science -- that of the Mind -- is revealed only through concentrated effort.
6. Concentration can be understood; it is necessary to be calm and still. The greatness of an actor lies in the fact that they forget themselves in the portrayal of their character, becoming so identified with it, that the audience is swayed by the realism of the performance. This will give you a good idea of true concentration; you should be so interested in your thought, so engrossed in your subject, as to be conscious of only it. Such concentration leads to intuitive perception and immediate insight into the nature of the object concentrated upon.

Part Fifteen - Study Questions with Answers

141. What determines the degree of harmony which we attain?
     Our ability to appropriate what we require for our growth from each experience.
142. What do easiness and bonuses indicate?
     That we have gained wisdom and spiritual growth.
143. How may easiness be achieved?
     By a conscious understanding of and cooperation with Natural laws.
144. What is the principle by which thought manifests itself in form?
     The Law of Attraction.
145. How is the necessary material secured by which the growth, development and maturity of the idea take form?
     The law of love, which is the creative principle of the Universe, imparts vitality to the thought, and the law of attraction brings the necessary substance by the law of growth.
146. How are desirable conditions secured?
     By only entertaining desirable thoughts.
147. How are desirable conditions brought about?
     By thinking, discussing and visualizing conditions of abundance, freedom, health, harmony and accord of every kind. This mental photography of correct conceptions is taken up by the subconscious and the law of attraction will inevitably crystallize it into objective form. That we reap what we sow is scientifically exact.
148. How can we achieve every kind of love, abundance, freedom, wealth and harmony?
     By instituting principle.
149. How may we recognize principle?
     By a conscious realization of the fact that Truth invariably conquers all. All that is necessary is to turn on the light. The same principle applies to every form of non positive thought.
150. What is the value of Insight?
     It enables us to understand the value of making application of the knowledge which we gain. Some think that knowledge needs application, which is by all means true.

To every person there openeth a way,

And the high soul climbs the high way,

To every person there openeth

A high way

And every person decideth

The way their soul shall go.

Part Fifteen - Page 6

36. For your exercise this week, concentrate on Insight; take your accustomed position and focus the thought on the fact that to have a knowledge of the creative power of thought means to be Silent. Let the thought dwell on the fact that knowledge is dormant. That our actions are governed by custom, precedent and habit. That the only way we can get ourselves to apply knowledge is by a determined conscious effort. Call to mind the fact that knowledge used stays in the mind, that the value of the information is in the application of the principle; continue this line of thought until you gain sufficient insight to formulate a definite program for applying this principle to your own particular situation.

Think truly, and thy thoughts

Shall the world feed;

Speak truly, and each word of thine

Shall be a fruitful seed;

Live truly, and thy life shall be

A great and noble creed.

- Horatio Bonar, revised and made thoroughly positive by Darren J. McLeod

Part Fifteen - Page 5

29. In the physical world there is a law of compensation which is that the appearance of a given amount of energy anywhere means the disappearance of the same amount somewhere else, and so we find that we can get only what we give; if we pledge ourselves to a certain action we must be prepared to assume the responsibility for the development of that action. The subconscious can only accept. It takes us at our word; we have asked for something; we are now to receive it; we have made our bed, we are now to lie in it; the die has been cast; the threads will carry out the pattern we have made.
30. For this reason Insight must be exercised so that the thought which we entertain contains only mental, moral and physical seeds which we do wish objectified in our lives.
31. Insight is a faculty of the mind whereby we are enabled to examine facts and conditions at long range, a kind of human telescope; it enables us to understand all aspects, in any undertaking.
32. Insight enables us to be prepared for the situations which we shall meet; we can therefore overcome them easily.
33. Insight enables us to plan to advantage and turn our thought and attention in the right direction, into channels which can yield a definite return.
34. Insight is therefore absolutely essential for the development of any great achievement, and with it we may enter, explore and possess any mental field.
35. Insight is a product of the world within and is developed in the Silence, by concentration.