which the ancients set forth under the figure of the Macrocosm and the
Microcosm, the lesser I AM reproducing the precise image of the greater,
and of which the Bible tells us when it speaks of man as the image of
God.
Now the immense practical importance of this principle is that it
affords the key to the great law that "as a man thinks so he is." We are
often asked why this should be, and the answer may be stated as follows:
We know by personal experience that we realise our own livingness in two
ways, by our power to act and our susceptibility to feel; and when we
consider Spirit in the absolute we can only conceive of it as these two
modes of livingness carried to infinity. This, therefore, means infinite
susceptibility. There can be no question as to the degree of
sensitiveness, for Spirit _is_ sensitiveness, and is thus infinitely
plastic to the slightest touch that is brought to bear upon it; and
hence every thought we formulate sends its vibrating currents out into
the infinite of Spirit, producing there currents of like quality but of
far vaster power.
But Spirit in the Infinite is the Creative Power of the universe, and
the impact of our thought upon it thus sets in motion a veritable
creative force. And if this law holds good of one thought it holds good
of all, and hence we are continually creating for ourselves a world of
surroundings which accurately reproduces the complexion of our own
thoughts. Persistent thoughts will naturally produce a greater external
effect than casual ones not centred upon any particular object.
Scattered thoughts which recognise no principle of unity will fail to
reproduce any principle of unity. The thought that we are weak and have
no power over circumstances results in inability to control
circumstances, and the thought of power produces power.
At every moment we are dealing with an infinitely sensitive medium which
stirs creative energies that give form to the slightest of our
thought-vibrations. This power is inherent in us because of our
spiritual nature, and we cannot divest ourselves of it. It is our truly
tremendous heritage because it is a power which, if not intelligently
brought into lines of orderly activity, will spend its uncontrolled
forces in devastating energy. If it is not used to build up, it will
destroy. And there is nothing exceptional in this: it is merely the
reappearance on the plane of the universal and undifferentiated of the
same principle that pervades all the forces of Nature. Which of these is
not destructive unless drawn off into some definite direction?
Accumulated steam, accumulated electricity, accumulated water, will at
length burst forth, carrying destruction all around; but, drawn off
through suitable channels, they become sources of constructive power,
inexhaustible as Nature itself.
And here let me pause to draw attention to this idea of accumulation.
The greater the accumulation of energy, the greater the danger if it be
not directed into a proper order, and the greater the power if it be.
Fortunately for mankind the physical forces, such as electricity, do not
usually subsist in a highly concentrated form. Occasionally
circumstances concur to produce such concentration, but as a rule the
elements of power are more or less equally dispersed. Similarly, for the
mass of mankind, this spiritual power has not yet reached a very high
degree of concentration. Every mind, it is true, must be in some measure
a centre of concentration, for otherwise it would have no conscious
individuality; but the power of the individualised mind rapidly rises as
it recognises its unity with the Infinite life, and its
thought-currents, whether well or ill directed, then assume a
proportionately great significance.
Hence the ill effects of wrongly directed thought are in some degree
mitigated in the great mass of mankind, and many causes are in operation
to give a right direction to their thoughts, though the thinkers
themselves are ignorant of what thought-power is. To give a right
direction to the thoughts of ignorant thinkers is the purpose of much
religious teaching, which these uninstructed ones must accept by faith
in bare authority because they are unable to realise its true import.
But notwithstanding the aids thus afforded to mankind, the general
stream of unregulated thought cannot but have an adverse tendency, and
hence the great object to which the instructed mind directs its power is
to free itself from the entanglements of disordered thought, and to help
others to do the same. To escape from this entanglement is to attain
perfect Liberty, which is perfect Power.
The entanglement from which we need to escape has its origin in the very
same principle which gives rise to liberty and power. It is the same
principle applied under inverted conditions. And here I would draw
particular attention to the law that any sequence followed out in an
inverted order must produce an inverted result, for this goes a long way
to explain many of the problems of life. The physical world affords
endless examples of the working of "inversion." In the dynamo the
sequence commences with mechanical force which is ultimately transformed
into the subtler power of electricity; but invert this order, commence
by generating electricity, and it becomes converted into mechanical
force, as in the motor. In the one order the rotation of a wheel
produces electricity, and in the opposite order electricity produces the
rotation of a wheel. Or to exhibit the same principle in the simplest
arithmetical form, if 10÷2=5 then 10÷5=2. "Inversion" is a factor of the
greatest magnitude and has to be reckoned with; but I must content
myself here with only indicating the general principle that the same
power is capable of producing diametrically opposite effects if it be
applied