By now, if you have studied and practised this Course faithfully, you will have the knowledge that success does not come by understanding and practising certain special laws only, but through the development of the individual. Each one of us is a magnet. You must first, by casting out inner obstacles, develop this magnetism. Then you can use the existing, fundamental laws to draw success to yourself.
These laws have been in existence always. Yet after studying them, some proceed to draw success to themselves immediately, and some do not. Why should this be? The laws have been tested and proved sound for countless ages. So the barriers must be in the unsuccessful person themselves.
In a few instances when a student has studied these prosperity-laws and has failed, I have been able to see quite clearly what was standing in the way. From the beginning they had revealed certain weaknesses and these had continued, unabated, all through. It would have been useless for me to have pointed these barriers out to them – as they did not want to know because they did not want to bother about self-conquest. They wanted to use the prosperity-laws from the outside without doing anything at all about their inside first.
If I had questioned such a one, they would have said “I want prosperity first and then I shall have time to think of self-conquest. Why should I make all these efforts? I want to see the reward first,” And so they dabble with prosperity-laws and usually get absolutely nowhere.
“Well, I suppose it was all a dream and thought-power doesn’t exist after all”, they decide. Then they go on living life as a non-thinker, as one who labours with their hands only and let their brain be idle. Or uses their mind in a routine task without letting their powerful imagination and initiative come into play.
Of such J. G. Saxe wrote,
“Fools will be fools as certain as fate.
Men of wisdom, make them your tools.
That, only that,
is the use of fools.”
So you see that all these lessons about inner probing and inner conquest have been absolutely necessary. Sometimes it may have seemed wearisome to you when you were eager to get on with the practice of prosperity-laws, but unless you first develop your inner nature and unleash in the process your magnetic powers, these laws are useless to you.
If you fail to bring success by the use of these laws, do not blame the prosperity-laws themselves. Look within and see where you have a barrier to their working. It may be that you thought build strongly for half-an-hour a day, and then build unhappy failure-moulds for twenty-three and a half hours, grumbling when they are filled with life and become realities in your affairs. Or it may be that you haven’t lovingkindness, tolerance towards others yet. Or that you still hide from truth, not wanting to have a lesser opinion of yourself by knowing the motive beneath your own actions, thoughts or words. Or perhaps you lack persistence? Whatever it is, first make your inner life over and then you can use the existing, tried and wonder-working prosperity-laws.
The other day I was reading about a man who did just this. He had always disliked his job and had spent years in depressing thoughts, imagining that he was doomed to stay in a lowly position all his life. One day he made up his mind that conquest of circumstances owns from conquest of self.
He was Bruce MacLelland and he wrote his book, “Prosperity Through Thought Force”, at the beginning of this century. In his introduction he describes his early attitude of mind as “worry, anger, suspicion and hatred”, and “smarting under a sense of injustice”. Then he began to make himself over, gradually eliminating all these inner barriers to success. Within three years he was his own boss “with plenty of money for all needs, a happy home and everything one need wish”. “In six years”, he wrote, “I moved to Oklahoma, beautiful land where amid sunshine and flowers we rub shoulders with cowboys, Indians, regular soldiers, gamblers, farmers … thrown together in promiscuous confusion incident to the settlement of a new country. If we want work, we work. If play, we play. The exhilaration of freedom reaches its acme of perfection when, on a good horse, we fly across the prairies. As to money? There’s enough and to spare. Why spend one’s life in amassing a fortune? Look at the fun one misses. Let’s get money enough, then look around a bit and see what people and things are like.”
I would like to tell you where to get this book (it was distributed by Fowlers) but expect it is long since out of print {Nowadays you can find it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble, abebooks.com, etc – William M}. However, there are many books just as inspiring. In any case, books will not alone bring you success. Learn the prosperity laws by all means, but learn to clear away the inner barriers too.
There are some people who try to clear away these inner obstacles – and succeed, becoming most attractive people, but they remain poor. There are others who try to use the prosperity-laws without clearing away the barriers. These remain poor too. It is only when these two aspects work in harmony that success results. That is why I told you in the last lesson that you must build your detailed plan and use the prosperity-laws as well before you can be successful. It is a case of “both within and without”.
So these weeks I suggest that you use your “Golden Gate” affirmation night and morning (to develop your use of the prosperity laws). And that you use Secret Exercise No. 4 or choose from those given you so far, with the idea of clearing away the barriers within.
Having read the last two or three lessons, you will see much more clearly how I developed this Work through the use of my faith. I know that you will find it absorbing. Glimpses into the secrets of success, are here!
In those days, while that waste piece of overgrown land was being turned into this Teaching Centre, I used to write reports of it for the newsletter. I knew that students’ own faith would be stimulated by this first-hand account, and it certainly was! But a few of them still did not realise that I was working with faith alone, and was not asking for donations. When I mentioned one of the new huts (the later ones were larger then the first, measuring sixteen feet by eight) they very kindly sent in gifts of money saying, “This is for the fund you are starting for the new hut”.
Writing back to thank them warmly for their generosity, I had to explain that the full amount of money needed for the hut, was already there, waiting to be paid to the firm as soon as the erection of the hut was completed. That whenever I expanded, I drew by faith the supply needed for the expansion first, and only then did I give the order, This was how the “Help The Student Funds” came into existence. I use the Fund to pay subscriptions for old people among the students, who are finding it difficult to manage on their pensions. Or for people who are in hospital or temporarily unable to pay their subscriptions. They are always delighted to hear that their subscriptions will continue through the generosity of other students.
Once the huts were in full use, we had to think of a place to store paper so that it could be kept dry. After consulting various firms, we decided on a concrete building lined inside with hardboard, with open racks to stack the packets of paper on, so that air could circulate around them. This has proved most successful. It is always crammed from floor to ceiling with paper and printed books, also many other things such as spare typewriter cases, electric lamps, plugs and flex, surplus heaters etc..
While the concrete building was being built, we decided that we might as well have an extra room, so about a third of it was divided by a wall. The result looks rather like a small cottage, with two entrances, one having a little porch. This room with the porch is my office. The building is painted white, and has blue doors and window-frames.
Thus the Teaching Centre grew. All the offices are linked by paved paths and between them, there is grass. I employ a man to mow this, so it all looks very pleasant. The huts are painted brown, with white window-frames. There are flower-beds around, and two very tall sycamore trees.
Inside the offices have desks of course, and chairs. Steel shelving to hold duplicated papers, printed and duplicated lessons and books. There are usually twelve typewriters – the newest ones for stencil cutting. As they wear out, we dispose of the oldest and get new ones, so they move down in order of usefulness: There are two electric duplicators of modern design with the latest gadgets and improvements. There’s an addressing machine, a folding machine, an electric stapler, an electric paper shredder and so on on, and so on…
All this has grown from that piece of waste ground! Everything to pay for it, has come through faith. By praying and expecting an answer, by thought building and looking confidently for results. By visualising, by using the “magnet” of thought power. “All things are possible to him that believeth.”
REMEMBER:- Change your thoughts and you change your circumstances. You have 8 more weeks to practise prosperity thinking. By then it should be a habit.
Bernard
—ooOoo—