 THE statement that the conditions and circumstances of man's physical world are the direct, or indirect effects of the active elements in his mental world, is fully demonstrated by comparing the external and internal phases of life in any person. The correspondence between the two is exact. Every misfortune in the life of any individual, barring accidents produced by nature, can be traced to incompetence in some way, or to the misapplication of ability. And even those adverse conditions that come from nature's seeming irregularities can be wholly avoided through the development of superior insight. The largest number of misfortunes comes from doing the wrong thing at the wrong time; and this is caused by confusion in the mental world, or by an obtuse judgment. The mind that is constantly in a state of poise and harmony, judges well, and will never misdirect any thought, force or action. Therefore, by cultivating those states, anyone can gain the power to do the right thing at the right time. A great many conditions that surround the average individual are not produced by himself and for this reason he does not hold himself responsible; but when a person enters circumstances that have been created by others, he simply enters something that corresponds with his own mental world. No person with normal mind will voluntarily enter conditions that are inferior, or that do not correspond in any way to himself. The fact that he accepts, or borrows the environments produced by others, proves that he either belongs there, or that he does not know where he belongs. When we enter blindly into disagreeable circumstances, our own blindness is at fault; therefore, the external circumstance is the indirect effect of a certain action in our own minds. A person with great ability, who can practically apply his ability, will never be found at work where recompense is inadequate. Though a person with great ability who does not possess the practical element, may remain in a position that is inferior. In this case ability is misdirected, and the person's own mentality is the indirect cause of the undesirable circumstance. The mind that is gentle, orderly and beautiful in character will inspire admiration in many places where associations are exactly to his liking. He is wanted among the best of his kind, and has the privilege to select the characters of his social world. Others may call him fortunate, but he has attracted ideal associations because he himself can give ideal companionship. Having developed a worthy mind, he belongs where minds of worth congregate; and through such associations gains inspiration for the development of still greater worth. This not only promotes his advancement in his field of action, but enables him to attract, meet and enjoy still better associations in the future. When a beautiful character is found among inferior associations, the cause is usually a lack of positive quality. A number of beautiful characters are purely negative, and are therefore hiding the greater part of their true worth. They are far better than they appear to be, and they possess more than they use; but as it is only what we use that counts, such characters will be found in associations that measure exactly, not with what they are, but with what they use and express. A genius may have no opportunity to employ his great ability; and if so, there is a reason. If he is really competent, there are a hundred excellent places open to him; but if he has only genius and little or no talent, he is not competent. If he has only the capacity, but not the art of turning his power to practical use, he can do nothing of value; and it is results that merit the good places in life. His misfortune is therefore not due to any exterior adversity, but is caused directly by a state of his own mind. His misfortune, however, will vanish, and great and good things come instead, when he transforms his genius into talent, and learns to do something that the world wants done. There is many a skilled workman who keeps himself down because he is constantly out of harmony with his associations. By resisting everything and antagonizing everybody, he keeps his own inferior side always in view. His skill is submerged beneath his personal inferiority, and he is judged, not by what he hides, but by the imperfections that he willingly presents to the world. A man who persists in revealing nothing but his inferior side, cannot expect promotion; to promote such a man would be a loss to the institution; and those in authority usually feel this fact instinctively. Every enterprise is continued for results; therefore, everything that interferes with results should be eliminated. To give a conspicuous place to someone who breeds discord, hatred and confusion, will positively interfere with results; therefore, such a person does not justly deserve promotion, no matter how perfect his individual product may be. The man who is against the world will array the world against himself, and must take the consequences. His fate will not be pleasant, but he alone is to blame. To do good work is necessary; but it is also necessary to make good as a man, if the best places are to be secured. Therefore, hide your inferior side until you have destroyed it entirely. Surround your skillful labor with a personal atmosphere that breeds harmony, wholesomeness and character, and the best position in your field of action will be opened to you. There are thousands of people who claim they have not secured a fair chance; but if that be true, the mental worlds of those very persons are the causes. There is something in their mental make-up that places their ability and skill in a false light before the world. The same is true of the man who is constantly misunderstood. He is not revealing himself as he really is; his real nature is misdirected during the process of expression, and everybody is deceived. That something that produces the deception exists in the person's own mind, and so long as that something remains, he will misplace himself, and will not meet the friends nor the opportunities that really are his own. The misplacing of oneself is due to a lack of judgment, or to a mal-arrangement of one's personal powers and characteristics. But judgment can be remarkably improved in anyone through the development of original thinking and interior insight; and the various powers of the person can be placed in perfect order and harmony with each other through the practice of bringing out the greater possibilities in every phase of being. The habit of permitting everything we come in contact with to impress our minds, and suggest this course or that method is responsible for a great deal of misdirected effort; therefore, the attitude of self-supremacy becomes indispensable. A large number of people have been induced to enter circumstances where they do not belong, through the exercise of an abnormal sympathy. Such a sympathy, called forth by a few selfish friends, has also kept many a great mind working in a narrow field, while scores of large, and even extraordinary opportunities were constantly waiting. To correct this condition, train yourself to sympathize only with the superior side of people and the greater possibilities of things. When you sympathize naturally and constantly with the superior side of people, all the desires of mind will gradually fix their attention upon the superior; and when all the desires of mind desire the superior you will be irresistibly drawn into superior association. And nothing, not even old abnormal sympathies can keep you away from your own. When you sympathize with the greater possibilities in things, your attention will be constantly turned upon the greater; your mind will be more and more impressed with the greater, until every thought becomes a power for greatness; and with this power you will move into greatness, regardless of any obstacle that may appear in the way. The power of sympathy is one of the greatest powers of attraction in existence; therefore, when we sympathize only with the superior, we will be drawn into superiority, and this will steadily change our environments for the better. Thus, by producing a change in the mental world, we can revolutionize the external world. When life is viewed comprehensively, it becomes very evident that the actions of the person determine what the external conditions and circumstances of that person are to be; but every personal action is caused by a mental action; therefore, the change of environment must be preceded by a change of mind. To master thought is to master fate; but thought cannot be mastered until mind acts exclusively upon the principle that man is inherently complete master over his entire domain. The strongest evidence that can be produced in favor of the statement that man's circumstances are caused by the active elements of his mental world, is that of creative ability, because it is being demonstrated every day that the man with a strong creative mind has destiny at his feet. Creative ability can absolutely change all circumstances; but it is not an external power; it is simply an active element in mind. |
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