50IdeasThatCanChangeYourLife

by

Dr.RobertAnthony

BackCover
Preview
BooksbyDr.Anthony
Dedication
Copyright
Introduction

1.GoldinYourCellar
2.WhoisHoldingYouBack?
3.BecauseIDeserveToBe
4.TheBookofLife
5.WhiteElephants
6.InactiveActivity
7.Mistakes
8.SuccessorFailure
9.RoadBuilderorWallBuilder?
10.NotInOurStars
11.TheGiftPackage
12.ReleasethePast
13.TheToolsoftheMind
14.TheWeightoftheI
15.WorryisaKiller
16.FlatterorCompliment?
17.ListentotheS.O.S
18.CastlesintheMind
19.TheBestIsYetToBe
20.ReactionorResponse?
21.RisingAboveInjustice
22.TheShadow
23.EveryWordYouSpeak
24.TheDuelofLife
25.IslandofPeace
26.Don'tLetItSpoil
27.YouBecomeWhatYouThinkAbout
28.TheMagicofPraise
29.TheProblemofPleasingEverybody
30.TheSparkPlug
31.ExpressingYourTalents
32.AHovelorAPalace
33.Patience
34.NoSlapDashLife
35.TheNarrowMarginofFailure
36.LifebytheInch
37.TheLobsterPot
38.PainorPrecept
39.Yesterday'sAchievements
40.WatchYourWords
41.NotSoEasy

Contents

42.EarthwormsforFeathers
43.YouAreNotAlone
44.ListenfortheMeaning
45.TheLimitedView
46.Don'tBreaktheKey
47.SelfDiscipline
48.UptheDownStaircase
49.TheSinofOmission
50.VoiceorEcho?

[BackCover]

CHANGEYOURLIFETODAY!

Renowned lecturer and author of the motivational bestsellers Think, Think Again, and The Ultimate
SecretsofTotalSelfConfidence,Dr.RobertAnthonypresentspracticaladviceonhealth,happiness,and
prosperity

Each of these fifty concepts is designed to facilitate selfevaluation and selfimprovement. They are
not "quick fix" gimmicks, but serious thoughts on some of today's most important lifeissues,
including:

Easyexercisesfordevelopingamorepositivementalattitude
Discoveringyourhiddencreativetalents
Developingalifeandworkstyleaimedatsuccess
Methodsfordevelopingbetterinterpersonalrelationships

ISBN0425104214

THEMOSTIMPORTANTBOOKYOUMAYEVERREAD!

IDEA#8:SUCCESSORFAILUREInthisconstantlychangingworldofours,withitscomplexforces
allaboutus,wesometimescryoutthatwe'redrivenbytheforceofcircumstanceandyet,theTruthof
itis,thatweonlydothosethingswechoosetodo.

IDEA #23: EVERY WORD YOU SPEAK You think of everybody you talk to, and regardless of how
greatorhowsmallthateffectmaybe,youwillhavetoagreethateverythingthatyousayhasaneffect
onthehearer.Iwanttoexpandonthispremiseforonemomentandtellyouthatthereisoneperson
whohearseverythingyousay,andthatpersonisyou!

IDEA#34:NOSLAPDASHLIFE!Whateveryouaredoing,doitzealously, thoroughlyandlovingly
even if you are polishing the silver. Polish your silver until it's fit for kings. Do your daily work,
willingly,gratefully,andhappily

BerkleyBooksbyDr.RobertAnthony

HowToMakeAFortuneFromPublicSpeaking:PutYourMoneyWhereYourMouthIs
Think
ThinkAgain
ThinkOn
ThinkAndWin
TheUltimateSecretsOfTotalSelfConfidence
Dr.RobertAnthony'sAdvancedFormulaForTotalSuccess
Dr.RobertAnthony'sMagicPowerOfSuperPersuasion
50IdeasThatCanChangeYourLife
DoingWhatYouLove,LovingWhatYouDo

Most Berkley Books are available at special quantity discounts for bulk purchases for sales
promotions, premiums, fund raising, or educational use. Special books or book excerpts can also be
createdtofitspecificneeds.

Fordetails,writeortelephoneSpecialMarkets,TheBerkleyPublishingGroup.200MadisonAvenue.
NewYork,NewYork10016;(212)9518891.

Dedication

I joyously dedicate this book to the thousands of students who have studied the principles of
successful living with me and who have used these principles in their daily lives to find health,
happiness,abundanceandinnerpeace.


ThisBerkleybookcontainsthecompletetextoftheoriginaledition.Ithasbeencompletelyresetina
typefacedesignedforeasyreadingandwasprintedfromnewfilm.

50IDEASTHATCANCHANGEYOURLIFE!

ABerkleyBook/publishedbyarrangementwithSunlandConsultingCorporation

PRINTINGHISTORY
PreviouslypublishedbyNewThoughtPublications,Inc.
Berkleyedition/November1987

Allrightsreserved.
Copyright@1982byDr.RobertAnthony.

Thisbookmaynot be reproducedinwholeorinpart,bymimeographoranyothermeans,without
permission.

Forinformationaddress:TheBerkleyPublishingGroup,
200MadisonAvenue,NewYork,NewYork10016.

ISBN:0425104214

ABERKLEYBOOK@TM757,375
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Thename"BERKLEY"andthe"B"logoaretrademarksbelongingtoBerkleyPublishingCorporation.

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10987

Introduction

My purpose in writing this book is to help you live a more effective life by sharing with you the
information and observations I have accumulated through personal experience and in dealing with
thousandsofpersonseachyear.

Foryearsyouhavebeentoldthatallyouhadtodotosucceedandleadahappierandmoreeffective
lifewastostartthinkingright.Thosewhohavebeentellingyoutodisciplineyourmindarecorrect,
buttheyhavenotgonefarenough.Weallknow,eveninourearlyyears,thatsimplymakingupour
minds to succeed and lead a more effective life seldom works. There is, to be sure, a feeling of
excitementwhenwearetoldthatallwehavetodoistomakeafirmdecisiontochangeandwecan
achieve what we want. Unfortunately, the next day of the week most of us have forgotten our high
resolves and are back to our old negative habits again. Our New Year's resolutions are often in
shamblesbythemiddleofJanuary.

Beingdeterminedtosucceedandleadamoreeffectiveandcreativelifeisnotenough,becauseitdoes
notgototheheartoftheproblem,whichis faultyperception.Onceweseethingscorrectly,oncewe
interpretourenvironmentinthelightofrealityorwhatis,wecanchangeourselves.

IhavecometoknowpeopleinallwalksoflifeandIcanassureyouthattheyhavenotbeeneffective
orineffective,ormetwithsuccessorfailure,asaresultofintelligenceorthelackofit,orbecausethey
had,orhadnot,madeuptheirmindstosucceed.Thosethatfaileddidsobecausetheywereviewing
theirenvironmentincorrectly.Theylookedatthingsthewrongwayandthenstartedbelievingthings
thatweresimplynottrueaboutthemselves,theirfamilies,theiroccupation,andlifeingeneral.And
becauseofthis,theybegantolosetouchwithreality.

Man is the only animal who talks to himself. All day long you are talking to yourself and feeding
yourself information about your environment. You are exactly the same as a programmer feeding a
computer, except you are both the programmer and the computer. Your five senses do the
programming and if you look at things incorrectly, you will be out of touch with reality, seeing the
worldonlyasyouwanttoseeit.Asuccessful,happylifedependsuponaccuratefeedbackfromyour
environmenttoyourmind.

Weperceiveasituation,thenweprogramourmindwithwhatwethinkistherealityofthesituation.
Thisdeterminesourmentalprocessandourbehavior,whichinturndetermineshowweperceivethe
nextsituation.So,weperceive,believe,andbehave.

Ihavedrawnfrommanysourcestohelpmyselfandotherstoperceive,believe,andbehave.Thisbook
containsfiftyideasintheformofobservationsandanecdotesthataremeanttogiveyou,tothebestof
my ability, a picture in sharp focus, easy to see, of the situations you and I, and the millions like us
encounterinourdailylife.Hopefully,theseideaswillencourageyoutoperceive,believe,andbehave
innewwaysthatwillenableyoutoexperiencethebestpossiblelife!

Dr.RobertAnthony

IdeaNumber1

GoldInYourCellar

Whatwouldyousayifsomebodytoldyouthatdowninthecellarofyourhousetherewasaboxfullof
goldcoins?Youmightsaymanythingsinsurprise,butonethingyouwouldn'tdo,andthatwouldbe
toignoreit.You'dcertainlygodownandbringupthatboxofgoldcoinsandputittouse;andyet,has
iteveroccurredtoyouthatmostofusliveoutourwholeliveswithaboxofgoldinthecellarofour
minds that we never even bother to use. Deep down below the surface level of thought lies that
wonderful part of our mind, which we call the subconscious. Everything drops down into the
subconsciousandnothingeverdropsoutofit.Itisthestorehouseofmemory,thevastsubterranean
repository of knowledge. To be successful we need to make greater use of it. We tend to live like
pauperssittingatabaretableinafirelessroom,notknowingthere'sapotofgoldinthecellar.

Our subconscious can be made to serve the daily needs of our lives. It can be made to work for us
productively;itcanmakeofyouamuchmoreefficientpersonbyactingthepartofagoodsecretaryof
the mind, reminding you of certain things that need to be done at certain times by hunting up
informationthattheconsciousmindhasmislaid.Likeacomputer,everyfactandimpressionreceived
into the conscious mind is still down there below the surface level of thought in your subconscious
mind.Howthendoyousetaboutusinganddeveloping,thesemarvelouspowers?Howcanwetake
possessionofthissecretkingdomofthesubconsciousmind?Well,itcertainlycan'tbedoneinahurry.
Thelatentforcesofthemindmustbetrainedbyaslow,systematicprocessofsuggestionandgiven
directionthroughtheexerciseofourwillandimagination.

Decide what it is that you want your subconscious mind to do for you, one thing at a time. If a
particular problem solved, spend five minutes or so, night and morning quietly realizing that the
wholethingisbeingworkedoutforyouonthesubconsciouslevel.ThenquitesuddenlyPop!Upwill
comethesolution,anditwillbetherightone,becausethesubconsciousisopenatitssourcetothe
inflowing of the wisdom of Creative Intelligence. If you want health, concentrate on health; never
entertainthoughtsofweaknessordisease.Makeadailyaffirmationoftherealityofhealthandwell
being.Ifyouwantsuccess,don'tthinkintermsoffailure.Ifyouwanthappiness,don'tdwellonyour
miseriesordisappointments.Thatwhichisdailyimpresseduponyourconsciousmindwillsinkdown
intoyoursubconsciousmindandeventuallywllbecomeexternalizedasexperience.That'swhyitis
necessarytothinkthoughtsthatarepositive,regenerativeandconstructive.Rememberalwaysthat
thesubconsciousmindisopenatitssourcetothewisdomofCreativeIntelligence.Trustthiswisdom
and you will make fewer mistakes, and experience a greater amount of health, happiness and
abundanceinyourlife.


IdeaNumber2

WhoIsHoldingYouBack?

When you were younger did you have great dreams, great ambitions to write or to paint, tostarta
business,ortodosomeothercreativework?Mostofusdid.Infact,ifwearecompletelyhonestwith
ourselves,mostofusstillcherishtheseambitionsthisveryday,butweexcuseourselvesonthebasis
ofothercommitments.Ihavemyjobtodo.Iwouldlovetowriteanovel,butIhavetodomywork.I
wouldlovetopaint,butIhaveadefectinoneofmyeyesorsomeothercompletelyfatuousexcusewe
developfornotfulfillingourdesires.

Think for a moment about Caesar. Did you know that Caesar wrote his commentaries in his tent at
nightwhilealltherestoftheRomanarmywasasleepandthengotupthenextdayandwenttobattle?
Didyou knowthatHandelwrotehisbest musicafterhisdoctorstoldhimhewasgoingtodie;that
Beethovenwrotemusicafterhewastotallydeaf?Haveyouever thoughtthatthreeofthegreatepic
poetsofourworldHomer,Milton,Dante,wereallblind.

ThinkofHannibalandLordNelson;greatgeneralsthattheywere,eachhadoneeye.FrancisJoseph
Campbell, a blind man, became a distinguished mathematician and musician. Do you find yourself
boundaroundinsomeway andfeel,0hno,notwithmylimitations.IllneverbeabletodowhatI
wanttodo.

ThinkagainabouttheauthorofRobinsonCrusoe,DanielDeFoe;hewrotethatnovelwhilehewasin
prison.JohnBunyonwrotePilgrims'Progresswhilehewasinjail.LuthertranslatedtheBiblewhilehe
was in the castle of Wartburg. Dante worked for twenty years while he was under exile and under
sentenceofdeath,andDonQuixotewaswrittenbyCervanteswhilehewasintheMadridjail.

Andthenperhapsyousay,Thisisfine,butIhavemyjobtodo.Well,myfriend,Ihavenewsforyou.
HaveyoueverlookedatthethicknessofthebookGoneWithTheWind?MargaretMitchellwroteGone
WithTheWindwhileshewasworkingfulltimeatanewspaper.Doyouthinkofyourselfasphysically
handicapped? Did you know that Lord Cavanaugh, who was a member of Parliament, had neither
armsnorlegs,yetmanagedtoputhimselfintoParliamentbyhisownendeavors.

Just think of Shakespeare, who learned little more than reading and writing at school, but by
selfteaching,madehimselfthemasteramongliterarymen.

Thinkagainaboutthetreasuredambitionslockedupinyoursoul.Lookagainattheexcusewhichyou
haveusedtopreventyourselffromfulfillingyourdreams.Seeitforthefalsethingthatitreallyit.Cast
itasideandresolvetoexpressyourcreativedesirethroughyourowncreativeactivity.Remember,you
aretheonlypersonwhocanholdyouback


IdeaNumber3

BecauseIDeserveToBe

Many years ago the Viceroy of Naples, Duke of Assuna, made a visit to Barcelona in Spain. In the
harboratthattimewasagalleyshipfullofconvictsattheoarsandtheDukewentaboardthegalley
andcalledforeachprisonerandaskedhimwhathewasdoingthere,andwhyhefoundhimselfina
galleypullingontheoarsasaconvictslaveandhelistenedtothetragicstoriestheytold.

The first man said that he was there because a judge had accepted a bribe from his enemies and
convicted himfalsely.ThenextmantheDuketalked to saidthathisenemieshadpaidwitnesses to
speak falsely against him and that was the reason he was there. The third chap said that he'd been
betrayed by his very best friend who'd escaped justice leaving him entrapped, and then finally the
Duke got the one man who said, My Lord, I'm here because I deserve to be. IwantedmoneyandI
stole a purse and I deserve what I now suffer. The Duke was absolutely astonished at this and he
turnedtothecaptainoftheslaveshipandsaid,Hereareallthesemenwhoareinnocent,whoare
herebyunjustcauseandhereisthisonewickedmanintheirmidst.Letusreleasehimforfearthathe
should infect the others. The man who had confessed his wrong was then set free and pardoned,
whilethosewhocontinuedtoexcusethemselveswentbacktotheoarsandbacktothegalley.

Thisisatruestoryandit'saninterestingonebecauseit'sexactlywhathappensinourlives.We
makesomeerrorofjudgmentandthenwegothroughlifetryingtoexcuseourselvesforit,ratherthan
acceptingthatwesimplymadeanerror.Weblamesomebodyelse,weblamecircumstances,instead
ofsaying,Ihavedominionovermylife.Iamtheonlyonethathasanypowerintheprocessesofmy
mindandwhatIhavethoughthasbroughtmetowhereIamthisveryminute.Iamresponsibleformy
thoughtsandbychangingmythinking,Icanchangemylife.Themomentanyoneofusreachesthis
momentofTruth,wearefreefromthegalleyslavingofthislife,freetolivethelifethatwasoursall
thetime.

Lookbackoveryourownlife.Recognizethegrowingprocesses.Learntoforgiveyourselfandtolove
yourself despite your mistakes. Accept them. Forgive them. Love yourself for them and youre
pardonedfromthegalleyoflifeandyourefreetoliveasyoualwaysknewyoushouldlive,inhappi
ness,peaceandperfecthealth.Itallstartswithtakingresponsibilityforyourpast,presentandfuture.


IdeaNumber4

TheBookOfLife

Isthereperhapsanotherbookclosebytowhereyouaresittingorstandingatthemoment?Ifthereis,
domeafavorandpickitup.Itdoesn'tmatterwhatsortofbookitis,justpickitupandlookatit.Now
takeanewlookatit;trytoseeitfromadifferentstandpointfromyournormalview.Let'ssuppose
this book that you hold in your hand was washed up on the shore of some desert island where the
nativeswereintelligentandculturallydeveloped,butdidn'thaveanalphabet.

Whatwouldhappen?Theywouldpickupthebookandtheywouldlookatthebeautifullyproduced
paper; they would look at the lithography or letterpress, and see the complicated designs of all the
lettersandtheywouldthinkthatthiswasaveryinterestingartformandwoulddoubtlessappreciate
itfromthatstandpoint.

Wouldtheyunderstandthebook?Wouldtheygetanyrealbenefitfromthebook?Ihardlythinkso.
Surelythepaperandtheinkmarksarebutatinyshadowoftherealsubstanceofthebook.Thebook
itselfexistsinahigherdimension.ItexistsinthedimensionofIDEAS.

Isn'tthisthewayitiswithourlives?Welookatthepaperandtheinkofourlives,theliving,breath
ing,eating,working,sleepingallthenormalfunctionsofourlivesandwesay:Thisislife.Justasif
weweretolookatthepaperandtheinkofabookandsay:Thisisthebook.Butweallknowthat
within our lives there is a meaning, just as there is a meaning within the book; surely the whole
purposeofthislifeisnottobethepaperandinkofthebook,buttobethemeaningofthebook.

Our life has, first of all, to have meaning. Take another look today at the paper and ink of your life.
Todayyouaregoingtogetthechildrenofftoschool,oryouaregoingofftotheoffice,andthisisfine.
Withoutthepaperandtheprint,wecouldn'tcommunicatetheideasinthebook,butlookbeyondthe
apparentsurfacemeaningoftheseeverydayitemsinyourlifeandseetherealcontentofthosethings.
Feeltherealmeaningofthethingsthatyouaredoing.

Youarecreatedandplacedonthisearthtofulfillapurpose.Feelthatpurposethisday,reachbeyond
thesurfacemeaningofyourlifeandgetasingleglimpseofthepurposeinbackofyourlife.Withthis
singleIDEAyouwillmovetowardsanunderstandingofthewholebookoflife.Onetinyglimpseofthe
purpose in your life will lead you inexorably on to the search for greater and deeper meaning; and
thatsearchisnevermeaningless;italwaysleadsyoutoadeeperanddeeperansweranditwillbring
youagreaterandmoremeaningfullife.


IdeaNumber5

WhiteElephants

Whatdoyousaywhenyouseesomebodymakinganynumberoffoolishdecisions,actingunwisely,
making wrong moves, and gradually building up and building up for an emotional, physical or
financialcrash?Whenthefinalcrashcomes,areyouoneofthosepeoplewhoturnsaroundandsays,
Well,allIcansayisheaskedforit!Well,Iguessweallsayit,andthestrangethingisthatwe'reall
right,becausewedoaskforit,literally,don'twe?Allthetroublesinourlifehavecomebecausewe
haveaskedforthem.Itseemsoddsometimestorealizethat,butit'strue.

Desire,deepinnerdesire,isapowerfulforcemuchmorepowerfulthanmostofusrealize.Wewish
forthingsvery,verydeeplyandtheveryintensityofourwishesdrawsthosethingstous.Butifthey
arethewrongthingsthatwe'vedesired,theybringusmiseryandpain.Theydon'tbelongtous;we
trytoclingtothembuttheypassawayfromus.

Ithink,perhaps,it'sdangeroustoconcentratetoomuchongettingacertainspecificthingorthings
outoflife.EmmetFoxoncesaid,Becarefulwhatyouwishforbecauseyoureliabletogetit!Ithink
hewasright.Thedesiresinyourheartmoveinamysteriouswaythatnoneofusreallyunderstand,
andtheyaremademanifestinourlives.Soweshouldbecarefulthatweunderstandwhatitisweare
wishingfor.Youknow,whatwewishformightturnouttobeawhiteelephant!

TheoldRajahsinIndia,whentheywantedtobreakamantheywouldgivehimawhiteelephant.The
problemsofcleaningit,feedingitandparadingitwouldmakeapoormanofhimsoitisinourlives.
Manyofthethingswedesireturnouttobewhiteelephants.I thinkthatlifewithholdsfromusany
numberofourfoolishdesiresbecausetheywouldonlyturnouttobewhiteelephantsanyway.

Perhaps, rather than desiring things, we ought to start seeking more wisdom. It's a lot safer to seek
wisdom,becausehavingwisdomyoufindthatyouhavetheequipmenttodealefficientlyandhumanly
withotherpeopleandtheirproblems.Havingwisdom,youwon't rushblindlyintofoolishdecisions
thatleadinevitablytothatcrashthatwillgiveotherpeoplethechancetoturntoyouandsay,Well,I
supposeheorshedesireditanyway.Theyreallyaskedforit.

Manypeoplegiveupaskingforthingswhentheydon'tgetexactlywhattheywantimmediately.They
wantwhattheyaskfor,buttheydon'taskforwhattheyneedandthereisavastdifferenceisn'tthere
betweenthethingsthatwethinkwewantandthethingsweneed.Justimagineifasagrowingchild,
your parents had given you everything you thought you wanted; that time you reached up for the
bottleofdisinfectanttodrinkit;orthattimeyoureachedouttothefiretograsptheprettyflame.You
thoughtyouwantedit,yourparentsrealizedyoudidn'tneeditandthatitwouldbeofnogoodtoyou;
indeed,itmightharmyou,soitwaswithheld.

Thereisadifferencebetweenthethingswewantandourbasicneeds.Ifwewillasknotforthings,but
for wisdom to understand what is right for us, then we shall have everything that we need and we
shalllearnthosewerethethingswereallywantedallthetime.


IdeaNumber6

InactiveActivity

Areyouanactiveperson?Isupposethatdependsonyourdefinitionofactivity.Areyoubusyrunning
aboutmostofthetime?Doyouthinkthatmakesyouanactive person?Iwonderifitdoes?Idon't
thinkactivityalwaysdemandsaction.Ithinktherearetimeswhenouractionsareanexcusefornot
knowing what we really want to do. A lot of time and energy is often wasted in fussing over
nonessentials. We can ill afford such an extravagant output of strength which achieves actually
nothing.Soonerorlaterwehavetodecideonwhatisimportantandwhatisunimportant,becauseif
we try to do everything at once, we shall end up by doing almost nothing productive. This human
mindofoursisaverydelicateandcomplexinstrument.Itissubjecttostrainsandstressbothfrom
withinandoutsideandtoomuchpressurecanoftenresultinabreakdown.

Mentalfatiguecanbejustasexhaustingasbodilyweariness.There'sonlyonewaytokeepongoing,
andthat'sbyaconstantreturntothequietplaceofcommunicationwiththeInnerSelfwithinus.To
restquietlywiththeSourceofalllifeandvitality,andthatsurprisinglyenough,isactivity;thatactivity
which transcends our mental or physical activities. There is a point of stillness at the hub of the
whirlingwheeloftime,andit'stothatcenterthatwemustlearntowithdrawifwe'renotgoingtobe
broken on the spokes or flung off the edge. This quietness at the heart of activity is the only place
wherethisInnerSelfcangettous.Soifwewantthispeacewemustputourselvesconsciouslyina
positiontoreceiveit.Thisisthesecretofrenewalofstrength;mental,physicalandspiritual.Having
foundthistruth,youwillexperiencetheconfidenceofthemindthathasfounditstruecenter.

Activitydoesnotalwaysmeanrunningabout.TheactivityofthisInnerSelfisofteninabsolutestill
ness.Whenyoutakeyourcarbatterytothegasstationtobecharged,itstandsuponashelfwithonly
twowiresattachedtoit,anditseemstobecompletelydead,nothing'sgoingon,andyetdeepwithin
thecellsofthatbatterymoreactivityisgoingonthanatanyothertimeinitslife.IthinkitwasSir
EdwardArnoldwhowrote,"Yesufferfromyourselves,noneelsecompels,noneotherholdsyouthat
youliveanddie,andwhirluponthewheelandhugandkissitsspokesofagony.Itistruethatyou're
not bound to a constant whirl of activity and often you're most active when you can become
completelystillandallowthisInnerSelftobeactivewithinyou.


IdeaNumber7

Mistakes

Are you frightened of making mistakes? Many people are, not only people, but sometimes govern
ments.SometimeagoIreadthatthegovernmentofUgandahadgivenupbroadcastingweatherfore
casts.ItseemedthattheAfricannativelistenersheardthebroadcastsandassumedthatthesewere
governmentedictsandthattheweatherwouldconform.Whentheydiscoveredthattheweatherfore
cast was wrong, they blamed the government, and thereby began to disbelieve everything else that
theradiostationsentout,sayingthatthewholethingisapackoflies,justliketheweather.

TheUgandagovernmenthadasimplewayout.

Theysimplystoppedgivingoutbroadcastsontheweather.ButIquestionwhetherthiswasreallythe
rightorthebestsolution,don'tyou?Whatisthepointofdiscontinuingactivityjustbecausewemake
amistake?Wewouldn'tgetanywhere,wouldwe,ifeverythingweattemptedandfailedat,wediscon
tinued?

Supposingasasmallchild,thefirsttimeyoutoppledforwardandfelldown,youquitandsaid,Well,
that'safailure.It'snotgoingtowork.Youwouldn'thaveledmuchofalifewouldyou?Supposingthat
the first time that you'd ever made an error in a simple arithmetic problem, you'd quit completely.
You'dneverbeabletochangemoneyorgoshoppingordoanything,wouldyou?

Itseemstomethatmakingmistakesisanessentialpartofgrowingand,ifweavoiddoingsomething
becauseofthefearofmakingamistake,wedepriveourselvesofallthatisgoodingrowthandinlife.
Now,ofcourse,youcouldprojectthisargumentintoabsurdity.Youcoulddosobysayingthatifwe
learn from our mistakes, then let's make more mistakes, because the more mistakes we make, the
morewewilllearn.I'mnotsuggestingthisextensionoftheargument;I'mmerelysayingthattouse
thepossibilityofmakingamistakeasanexcusefornothavingwhatyouwantissimplyignorance.

Whatever mistakes you have made in the past have been a vital part of your education and simply
meansthatyoushoulddustyourselfoffandbeginagain;notjustquitandgiveupbecauseyoumadea
mistake andbecauseitdidn't work.Everymistakethatyouevermadeinyourwholelifehasledto
yourcurrentstateofunderstanding.Blessyourmistakes,givethanksforthem,dustyourselfoffand
goonagain.Youwilldoubtlessmakemoremistakes,butyouwilllearnfromeverysingleoneandno
mistakeiseverfatalunlessyoumakeitso.


IdeaNumber8

SuccessOrFailure

Doyouconsideryourselfasuccessorafailure?Itseemstomethatthemajorityoffailuresinthislife
ofoursarenothingmoreorlessthanvictimsoftheirownmentalattitudes.Thereisn'tanyphilosophy
oflifebywhichapersoncanachievethingsthathedoesn'tbelievehecanachieve.Yetthewayalways
seemstoopenupforthepersonofdetermination,thepersonoffaithandcourage.It'sthevictorious
mental attitude, the consciousness of power and the sense of inner mastership that does the great
thingsinourworld.Ifyoudon'thavethismentalattitude,whynotbegintodaytocultivateit?

Inthisconstantlychangingworldofours,withitscomplexforcesallaboutus,wesometimescryout
thatwe'redrivenbytheforceofcircumstanceandyet,theTruthofitis,thatweonlydothosethings
whichwechoosetodo.Eventhoughwemaynotwanttogoacertainway,weallowourselvestogo
thatwaybecauseitseemstooffertheleastresistance.Wefollowthatpathwhichiseasiertofollow,
even though we know it will probably bring future discomfort and difficulties. We're always at the
crossroadsofdecision,inbusinessdealings,inourfamilyrelationships,inourlife,worldandaffairs.
There'salwaysanecessitytochooseandhowimportantitisthatwemaketherightchoice.

Yousee,oncewerealizethatthepowertoovercomeanyproblemlieswithinus,westoplookingto
otherpeopleortocircumstancesoutsideusforhelp.WhenwebegintocallintelligentlyonourSelf,
theinnerSelfofus,wefindthatwebegintotuneintoanInnerResourceofmentalpower.Thesecret
ofthatpowerisunderstandingtheresourceofourownthinkingprocesses,ourownattitudes.When
webegintorealizethatthepowertodoanything,tobewhatwewanttobe,toobtainanythingthat
wewanttoattain,iswithinourselves,thenandthenonly,dowebegintolivethelifeofsuccesswhich
isours!Ibelievethatnothinggreathaseverbeenachievedexceptbypeoplewhodaredtobelievethat
therewas,insidethem,somePowergreater,superiorindeed,toanycircumstancewhichfacedthem.

NowI'msurethatanypersonthat'sbelievedthishasbeenridiculedbyfriendsandneighbors;they've
probably thought him or her to be some kind of fool, just as many people do today. They think it's
foolishandsotheygoonwiththeirdailygrind,livingwithsicknessandlackuntildeathcomesalong,
almostasananticlimaxandarelief.Areyougoingtobeoneofthosepeople,orareyougoingtolisten
tothatInnerPowerwhichisyours?

Begintousetheconstructivepowerofyourmind.Useyourpowerofvision,becauseyourthinkingis
the current that runs this motor of power. Connect your thinking powers; to this Universal
Subconsciousandyoubecomeasuperperson.Tryit.Youwillfindthatyou'vediscoveredthekeyto
the solution of every problem in your life. Put simply, it means this. You can do anything you think
thatyoucandoifyouthinkhardenoughthatyoucandoit!Letmesaythatagain:Youcandoanything
you think you can do if you will think hard enough that you can do it. Victory in any circumstance,
success,comesfirstinthemind.Seeyourselfasachievingthatdesireanditshallbeyours.


IdeaNumber9

RoadBuilderOrWallBuilder?

Doyouconsideryourselfabuilderofwallsorabuilderofroads?Everyoneofusthroughoutthislifeis
building either walls or roads. How do you see yourself? I came across this short poem by Evelyn
Hartwichwhoputthismostsimplyandmostbeautifullywhenshesaid:

GreatroadstheRomanbuiltthatmenmightmeet
Yetwallsalso,tokeepmenapart,secure
Newcenturiesaregoneandindefeat
Thewallsarefallen,buttheroadsendure.

Doyoubuildroads,mentalroads,bywhichyoucanmeetandshareyourselfwithotherpeople?Or,do
youerectmentalwallsthatseparateyoufromothers?Itwouldseemtomethatalltheendeavorand
all the material substance that goes into providing a wall of separation from other people is a
completewasteoflaborandmaterialsbecausethatwallcannever,neverstand.

TheTruthisthatweareSpiritualBeings,createdinSpiritualunitywithallmankindandthatourpuny
humanwallsof separation canneverstandin perpetuity.Buttheroads,that'sanotherstory.That's
different. Do you build roads that join you with other people, the mighty turnpike arteries of
intellectual communication with people that come into your daily life in business; do you have this
communicationthattranscendsyourbusinesscontact?

Whataboutquietavenuesofsharedemotion?Doyoubuildroads fromyourhearttootherpeople's
hearts,theroadsofcommonunderstanding,theroadsofshared happiness,sharedsadness,uplifted
heartsjoinedtogetherincommoncourage?Doyoubuildthesetypesofavenues,orthequietlanesof
loveandunderstanding?Theseneednopavingwithwords.Theyareleafcoveredlanesofasmile,a
touch,orjustalookthatsays,Iknow,Iunderstand,Iloveyou.Doyoubuildthesetypesoflanes,for
theseareeverenduring.Nothingcandestroythese.

Taketimetodaytodeterminewhetheryouaregoingtobuildwallswithwastedmanpower,wasted
mentalendeavor,wastedspiritualsubstance,inanattempttoseparateyourselffromyourfellowman,
or decide whether you are going to build intellectual arteries of common mental enjoyment, broad
emotionalavenuesofsharedexperienceandleafylanesofunspokenspiritualunity.Asyoudecideto
buildwithyourthinkingprocesses,youwillconditionthenatureofyourworld.Itcanbeaworldof
walls,wallingyouin,oraworldofroadsthatyoucantravelintojoyeternal.Thechoiceisuptoyou.


IdeaNumber10

NotInOurStars

Doyouthinkofyourselfasbeingaluckyperson;oranunluckyperson?Doyouthinkyougetmore
thanyourshareofthegoodbreaksinlife;ordoyouthinkyougetmorethanyourfairshareofthebad
breaks?Whenwe'rethinkingaboutthosehopesanddreamsofoursthatdidn'tcometrue,andthose
ambitionsofoursthatcametonothing,we'reoftenapttoputtheblameonthatsomethingcalledfate,
orgoodandbadluck.Anditreallyisnonsense,isn'tit?Someofussay,It'sinthestars,or,Itwasn't
inthestars.Wetalktocoverupourownshortcomings.Wemakeourownluck,goodorbad,bythe
natureofourconsciousness.IthinkthatShakespearesumsthatupverywellinJuliusCaesarwhenhe
says, Men at some time are masters of their fate, the fault dear Brutus is not withthestars,butin
ourselves. We underlings might indeed be masters of our own fate if only we could bring all our
thoughtsandactionsintolinewiththecreativepurposeforourlife.Ifonlywecouldalignourthinking
withourpurpose,thenweindeedwouldbecomemastersofourownfate.Buthowfewofusarereally
preparedtotrustourownInnerGuidance?Ohno,weprefertorelyonourjudgments,andourpast
conditioning and when things go wrong, we're prepared to blame God or fate, or the stars, or
somethingelsethatdidn'tgoright.

Ifthepast,allthepast,couldbeplayedoutbeforeus,actedoutineverydetail,weshouldsoonsee
whenandwherewewentwrong,andwewouldbeabletoseeintheplayactingofourpast,thevery
pointatwhichwelefttherightroadtofollowawrongstar.Wewouldseewherewemadethefatal
mistake.Wemadethechoice,yousee.Godgaveusthegiftoflife,butHealsogaveusthegiftoffree
will.Wearetheoneswhomakethechoicesthateithermakeormarthehumanlife.Anytimewewant
to, we can change the choices, and accept a different kind of life. Don't blame the stars for your
problem,blameyourselfbecauseyouactedlikean underling,ratherthan onewhoiscreatedinthe
image and likeness of the Great Reality. It is our faults and failings that throw grit in the wheels of
destiny,andnotsomeblindfatetryingtotripusup,tohurt usorharmus.TheGreatRealityseeks
onlytopourintoourlivestheunformedsubstanceofabsolute good.Whateverwedowithitbythe
nature of our consciousness is our responsibility. Out of every circumstance good can be made. We
have within us the ingredients of good in every circumstance, and as we accept this circumstance,
you'llfindthesocalledfatesaresuddenlybehind,andallgoeswellinourworld.Why?Becausewe
have aligned our path with the path of Creative Intelligence that always guides us to the perfect
solution.Allweneedtodoistobeopen,responsive,andreceptivetoourownInnerGuidance.


IdeaNumber11

TheGiftPackage

Doyoulikeprettypackages?Mostofusdo.IhadaninterestingthoughtaboutprettypackageswhenI
stoppedinatoneoftheverybeautifuldepartmentstoreswhileIwastraveling.Iwaslookingatsome
merchandiseandatthenextcountertherewasaladylookingforaspecialkindoffancysoap.Itwas
notthekindthatonebuysnormallyforone'sownuse,whichcomesthreebarstoapackageandisa
very ordinary soap, but each bar is wrapped in transparent paper and then is protected by a little
cardboard box, and this box itself is wrapped in transparent paper to make it a tight and shiny fit.
Then these little boxes sit in a cardboard tray and that too is wrapped in a colored transparent
covering. Then there was a beautiful paper ribbon and a tiny bunch of imitation violets. Quite a
packagejustforthreehumblecakesofsoapintendedtogetyouclean.ThenIhadtheshockofmylife
whentheladyservingatthecountersmiledverysweetlyandaskedthewomancustomeraquestion
thatjustthrewmeover.Sheasked,Wouldyoulikemetogiftwrapitforyou?Icouldn'tbelievewhat
Iwashearing.

Isn'tthisjustlikesomanythingsinourownlives?Hereisthesoap,perfectlynormal,usefulsoapthat
becomes wrapped around so many times that we begin to lose sight of the original objective. The
originalobjectiveinthispackagewastoprovidesoapwithwhichtocleanourselves.Yetbythetime
wehaditwrappedandwrappedandoverwrapped,theoriginalsoapbecomescompletelylostinthe
issue.Wearefarmoreworriedaboutthepackagingthangettingclean.

Inourlivesalltoooftenweasoconcernedwiththepackaging,thegiftwrappingovergiftwrapping,
tinselovertinsel,thatwelosesightofthebasicmaterialoflife.Imeanlivingnessitsveryself.Alltoo
oftenwebecometooconcernedinjob,home,family,finances,thatwelosesightoftheverylivingness
whichweare.Yousee,underneathallthetinselofdaytodayexistenceyouarethelivingexpression
of Life itself. If that sounds like a platitude, it isn't. You are the living expression of Life itself. This
means that you are the living expression of the power of Creative Intelligence. Don't allow the
wrapping and the overwrapping of this life to allow you to lose sight of that all important concept
becausewhenyourecognizeyourselftobethelivingexpressionofCreativeIntelligence,youbeginto
livelifethewayyouwereintended,andyouhavelifegloriouslybeyondyourwildestdreams.


IdeaNumber12

ReleaseThePast

Do the names of Burke and Hare mean anything to you? They were once famous, or should I say,
notorious characters. These two men discovered that there was a very good business to be had in
digging up recently interred bodies and selling them to medical schools. This was back many years
ago, around 1827. A terrible thing, of course, but ask yourself, are you perhaps a grave robber
yourself?Idon'tmeantoshockyou,ortobedisrespectful,butmanyofusaregraverobberswithout
knowingit.

Yousee,everytimeyoudigupanoldgrievanceoranoldmistakebyrehearsingitoverandoverin
yourmind,orworsestill,bytalkingtosomebodyelseaboutit,yousimplyarerippingopenagrave,
andyouknowrightwellwhattoexpecttofind,don'tyou?

Live in the present, resolve your present problems, prepare intellectually for the future, but let the
pastALONE.Justleaveit.ThisiswhattheGreatTeachermeantwhenHesaid,Letthedeadburythe
dead.Tothinkaboutthepastandtoliveinthepastisdeath.Everytimeyoudosoyoustrengthento
just that extent your belief in Time and in Time's limitations. You make yourself older, weaker and
youbringonyourownsenility.Godsays,Nowisthedayofsalvation,BeholdImakeallthingsnew!
andGodknowsbest.

Make it a rule for yourself that you are not going to mentally embrace any negative thing that has
happened to you up to this very minute, and keep that rule. Life is much too precious to go grave
robbing.Thepastisthepast,it'sgone;releaseit.Thisisthegreatestsecretofhandlingallourgriev
ances,allourblunders,allourdisappointments,allourfailuresreleasethem.Youdothissimplyby
writingthemoffinyourmind;cleaningtheslateofyourmindandrefusingtothinkofthemashaving
anypresentexistence.Yousee,theonlyexistencethattheycanhaveisinyourownmind.

Thepresentisfullofwonderandinterest,andtherefore,issuchagloriousprospectforallofusthatit
is just plain foolish to waste our spirit and our substance on things that are dead. Leave the past.
Release it. Set it free. Don't go robbing the grave, overturning bones of dead mistakes, failures and
pastevents.Thisisanewday.Rejoiceandbegladinit.Leavethepastinthepast.

Youaremadeforthisday.ThisistheHAPPIESTDAY,THEMOSTSUCCESSFULDAY,THEHEALTHIEST
DAYOFYOURLIFE.KnowthisforaTruthifyoureleasethepast!

IdeaNumber13

TheToolsoftheMind

Doyoutrytocutyourlawnwithapairofscissors,ordoyoutrytoopentincanswithapenknife?Of
courseyoudon't.Yourunyourhomewiththemostefficienttoolsyoucanfindandafford.

Butwhataboutyourlife?Whatsortoftoolsdoyouusetorun yourlife?Yousee,everythoughtwe
think,everywordwespeak,everydeedwedoandeverythingwe allowourselvestopossesshasits
effectuponourphysicalbodyanditspartindecidingtheenvironmentandthekindofpeoplethatwe
drawtous.Ifwesometimesgetwhatwecallpunishment,orarawdeal,we,ourselves,createdthat
thing,althoughperhapsunconsciously.

Withineachoneofusisagreatmechanismforcreation.Youmightcallitthechamberofimageryand
thoughts.Initarematerialsthatweusetocreate.Thetoolthatweusetoshapeourthoughtsisour
imagingpowerimagination,weusuallycallit.Thisimagingpower,likeallotherGodgivenfaculties,
is under our own control and our own direction. It would seem sometimes, judging from the outer
experiencesofouraffairs,thatourimagemaker,ourimagination,isalsoabitofamischiefmaker,be
causeitbringsforth,inthebodyandaffairsthingsthatwedon'tcaretoclaimforourselves.

Butthelawisthatthebringingforthinthebodyandaffairsisalwaysaccordingtothepictureandthe
pattern that we hold in the mental image. Sadness, sickness and poverty are indications that
something is wrong with our mental machinery. We form a poverty consciousness or a sick
consciousnessbylettingthoughtsofpovertyorsicknessstayinourminduntiltheimagingpowerlays
holdofthemandcrystalizestheminourlife.

Thebesttime toconqueranywrongthought,isthemomentthat itentersthemind.That'sthemo

mentwhereitistheweakest.Butevenbetterthanconqueringathoughtwhenitentersthemind,isto
trytopreventitfromenteringatall.Afaithfuldoorkeeperofthoughts,avigilantwatchmanoverthe
imagingpowerwillallowonlythoughtsofaconstructivecharactertopassoverthethresholdintothe
chamberofimagery.

Itisimportanttoexerciseconsciouscontroloverourthoughts.Everythoughthasabearingonthat
whichappearsinour lifeandaffairs. Theonewaytobringaboutachangeinpresentconditionsor
situationsistomakeadefinitechangeinthoughthabits.Wehaveagreatresponsibilitywhenitcomes
tothinking.Wemustrememberatalltimesthatourmentalattitude,ourthoughtsandwords,arethe
creative or destructive influences in the world in which we live. Do you constantly say, I can't, I'm
sick, I'm too poor, I'm too tired? You deny yourself the power, health and prosperity which is
rightfullyyours.Thoughtsofenvy,malice,jealousy,anger,pride,hypocrisy,hate,causeyourbodyto
reflectdisharmonyanddiseases.

Thinkandusethetoolsofimagerywiselyandsay,Iamwell,Ihaveplenty,Ihavelimitlessenergy,I
am at peace with my world and with all men," then you open the way for health, success and
happiness. If you are loving and kind, if you treat all men and women honestly, charitably, you will
soonfindyourselfinthekingdomofallgood.Lifewillindeedberichandrewarding.

IdeaNumber14

TheWeightoftheI

Didyoueverthinkabouttheweightofthelettersofthealphabet?Didyoueverconsiderthealphabet
ashavingaweight?Forexample,whatistheweightofacapitalIwithnodotoveritincomparison
tothesmall"i,"thelittleonewiththedotontop?Sometimesthereisafantasticdifferenceinweight.I
wonderifithaseveroccurredtoyouthatinalltheEuropean languages,theEnglishlanguageisthe
onlyonethathasacapital"I"anywhereinthemiddleofasentencewhenitreferstothefirstperson
singular,IandthatisthecapitalIthatweseeandgivesomuchweightto.Sometimeswegiveitso
muchweightthatitimpedesourownlives.

TheweightoftheIcanoftentimeslimitthingsinourownlivesratherthanaccentthem.Youknow
whatImean.Someoneinarestaurantsitsdown,gasping,"I'mexhausted.I'vebeenshoppingforthe
lasttwohours.Whereonearthisthatwaitress?"Well,itsohappensthatshehasbeenonherfeetfor
morethanjusttwohours.Wouldn'titbeasurprisetoherifthecustomersaid,"Isn'tithard;howdo
youcopewithrunningaboutthisrestaurantinthisweather?"Haveyouevernoticedhowanyoneof
usobjectstotheweightofsomebodyelse's"I"beinggreaterthantheweightofours?

Someoneoncetoldmethatnothingmadehermoreangrythanwhenshewouldsaytoherhusband,
Oh,Ihaveanacheinmyshoulderthismorning,andhewouldanswer,Yes,myarm'srealbadtoo.
Nobodylikestothinkthatwhenthey'vegotanacheorpain,somebodyelsehasgotabiggeracheor
painthantheyhave.TheweightoftheIbecomessoterriblyimportant.

IamsurethatyouremembertheoccasionwhentheMasterTeacherdecidedtoretiretoaplaceapart
forawhile,butthepeoplethrongedaroundHimjustattheverysametimewhentheweightofHisI
must have been wanting solitude and peace. The crowd swelled to about five thousand, stormed
aroundandpressedtoseeHim.ItwasimpossibletohearoreventouchHim.Now,howexasperated
Heshouldhavebeen.HeshouldhavesaidthatHecameupheresothatHecouldgetsomepeaceand
quiet.Buthedidn'tsaythat,didHe?HethoughtnothingaboutHisowncomfortandfrustration.He
said,Makethemsitdown.Hedidn'tsay,NowwhereamIsupposedtositinthemidstofallthis
crowd?Hesaid,Makethemsitdown,andHesetaboutHistaskoffeedingthemall.

Thegreatestmarkofagreatpersonisbasichumility.I'mnot talkingaboutsubservience.Thisisnot
whatImean.ImeantorecognizetheweightoftheIasbalancedwiththeweightoftheUandnot
preponderant over it. As you go forward in your world, try and see how long you can go without
puttingforthaweightyIandyouwillfindthatyouwillmakealotmorefriendsthanyouhaveever
madebeforebecausetheweightofthecapitalIisexactlythesameastheweightofthecapitalU.


IdeaNumber15

WorryIsAKiller

Are you inclined to be a little bit of a worrywart? I love the story of the man who went to the
psychiatristbecausehewasworryinghimselfsickandthepsychiatrist,throughtheuseofhypnosis,
wasabletoremovetheworriesfromtheman'smindandhewentawaycuredandvery,veryhappy.
The following day he came back into the psychiatrist's office in an absolute tizzy. He said, Doctor,
doctor,I'mdreadfullyworried,andthedoctorasked,Whatonearthareyouworriedabout?Hean
swered,Doctor,Ican'trememberwhatitisI'msupposedtoworryabout.

I guess that's the way many of us are. This is a worrycrazed world that we live in. Many of our
present ills are due to worries, the ones that we acknowledge, and also the ones that we hide even
fromourselves.Worrylowersthetoneofthemindandwearsdownourresistancetodiseaseandde
spair.Worryisakiller.Makenomistakeaboutit,worryisarealkiller.Whythendoweworry?

Perhaps you say that you can't help it. Worry has become a habit and you can't break up a long
standing habit in a few months. That's true. I'll accept that, but if you're going to break it up at all,
you'llhavetostartsomewhere,won'tyou?You'llhavetobeginsometime,sowhynotrighthereand
now? Even if your worries cannot be overcome in two minutes, you've got to start sometime. Will
thereeverbeabettertimetobeginthannow?Trytomakethisonedayaworrylessdayforyou.If
you'reanxiousoveranyparticularpoint,trytorealizethatthethingwilleitherhappenornothappen.
Thosearethetwoalternatives.Ifyouareanxiousaboutanimpendingevent,eitheritwillhappenorit
won'thappen.That'saprettysimplealternativeandyourworryingwon'tmakeanydifferenceabout
it,willit?Itwillonlymakeyoulessfittocopewiththesituationshoulditturnoutasyoufeelitwill.
Bythetimethethinghappens,you'llhavesoworndownyourresourcesbyworrythatyoumaynotbe
abletocopewithit;butifyoucandivorcetheworry,eveniftheworsthappens,you'llfindthatyou've
gotstrengthandcouragetodealwithit.

Giveuptheideathatthingscannotgorightunlessyouworryaboutthem.Giveupworrythewaya
swimmer gives up his water wings when he realizes that he can swim without them. If you've ever
hadswimminglessons,you'llrememberyoufloppedwildlyaboutinthewateratfirst.Youmadealot
ofeffort,butitdidn'tseemtogetyouanywhere,then,suddenly,youletyourselfgo.Ivegotit!you
cried,Icanswim!andthat'showitwillbewhenyoudevelopthetechniqueoflettingyourselfrelax
mentally.I'vegotit,you'llsay,Icanswimintheseaoflife,Icanswimwithoutworry.Allthetime
that you worry you're simply thrashing about in the waters of life and virtually drowning yourself.
Whereas,ifyouwouldsimplybestillandtrytolivethisasaworrylessday,you'llbeonyourwayto
learningtoswimpeacefullyintheseasoflifeandyou'llfindthatit'samuchbetterlifeasaresult.


IdeaNumber16

FlatterorCompliment?

Are you a flatterer? Most of us like to compliment our friends, but there's a fine line, isn't there,
between the compliment and flattery. To see and to say sincere, complimentary things about other
peopleisagraciouscustomandmakeslifemorelivableforallofus.Butasalways,justaswithmoney
for example, along with the genuine and the good, comes the counterfeit and the bad, and the
counterfeitofasincerecomplimentisflattery.

There are many degrees of flattery and there are as many motives that prompt us to indulge in it.
Sometimesit'snothingmorethanasimplebitofapplepolishing,justliketheschoolstudenttakingan
appletotheteacherinthehopesthatafewflatteringwordsmaytaketheplaceofalittlehardwork
andearneststudy.Therearetimeswhenweseemtobeinanatmosphereofflatterywitheverybody
trying to outdo everybody else and no really sincere appreciation or complimenting going on. To
flattersomebodyinthehopethattherewillbepatronage,favors,orprefermentcanprovetobethe
mostarduousandunsatisfactorykindofwork,moredifficultthantheworkthatwewouldhavehad
tohavedonethatthisflatteryismeanttoreplace.Becauseyousee,peoplewhoaregiventoflattery
aredissuadingthemselvesfromworkandyetdoingharderworkintheveryflattery.Indeed,flattery
isprettymuchlikeadrug;onceyoustarttoflattersomebody,youfindyourselfwithatigerbythetail.
Everincreasing doses of flattery produce an everdiminishing effect, until the result is completely
negative. The person who lives by flattery rather than bymerit,livesa precarious existenceatbest
and would do well to learn, while there is yet time, that the same amount of work dedicated to
constructiveandhonestpurposes,bringsamuchbetterandsaferresult.

But,Isupposeflatteryismostmaliciouswhenit'susedwiththedeliberateintentionofblindingsome
body'sjudgmentortoweakensomebody'sresolution,totrytogetsomebodytoactinamannerless
worthilyandlessintelligentlythantheyotherwisewould,ortocausethemtogiveupsomepointof
principle. It was, I think, with this in mind that the Psalmist wrote, With flattering lips and with a
doubleheartdotheyspeak.Ofthistypeofflattery,wecanwellsupposethatwe'regettingabsolutely
nowhere in a constructive and useful use of our mind and our life. Flattery can never be trusted.
There's no friendship in flattery and there is, between the selfmotivated word of flattery and the
completelyunmotivated,sincerewordofappreciation,achasmwiderthantheGrandCanyon.

Asyougoforthinlifelookforthegood.Seethatwhichissincerelygoodandgivecomplimentwhere
complimentisdue,butdonotattempttobuypeaceofmind,socialacceptanceorbusinesspreferment
byflattery.Itisafalsecoinandintimewillbecomeyourmaster.


IdeaNumber17

ListentotheS.O.S.

I'm sure you remember the tragic story of the Titanic, but I wonder if you know the story of the
California,whichissocloselyrelatedtothestoryoftheTitanic?

Youwillrememberthatbackin1912,GreatBritainsenthergreateststeamship,theWhiteStarliner
Titanic,acrosstheAtlanticOcean.TheTitanicwasthelargestshipthathadeverbeenbuiltuptothat
timeanditwasclaimedthatitwascompletelyunsinkable,yethalfwayacrosstheAtlantictheshiphit
a submerged iceberg and sank very rapidly. Of the 2,000 passengers aboard, 1,517 lives were lost.
There was, of course, a tremendous outcry about this tragic loss of human lives and a great
investigationwasconductedandthecauseswerefoundtoincludeexcessivespeedonthepartofthe
boat,insufficientandinefficientlymannedlifeboats,butaboveall,lackofinformationabouticebergs,
andasaresult,theInternationalIcebergPatrolwasformedandstringentsafetyruleswerebrought
into being, and that investigation yielded another very strange piece of information that few of us
knowabout.

AtthetimewhentheTitanicwentdown,justthirtymilesaway,wasanothership,theCalifornia!Now
thiswasbeforethedaysofveryefficientradiocommunicationandradiooperatorswerefewandfar
betweenandthatnighttheoneandonlyradiooperatorontheCaliforniahadcloseddownhisboard
attenthirtyandhadgonetobed.Anhourlater,theTitanic'soperatorwassendingoutfranticS.O.S.
pleas,butthewirelesssetontheCaliforniawasclosedanddeaftothosepleasforhelp.TheTitanic
actuallysankwhileanothership,whichcouldhavereachedhersideinlessthananhourwentsailing
onherwaytotallyunawareofthetragedy,andthis,tome,isthegreatesttragedyoftheTitanic.The
factthathelpwasavailableandsomebodycouldhavehelped,butwasn'tawarethathelpwasneeded!

There'sagreatlessoninthisforus,isn'tthere?Asyousailontheseaoflife,somebody'slifeisgoing
torunuponsomesortofaniceberg,somebodyisgoingtobeingreatdifficulty,theyaregoingtocry
out.Butthesadthingabouthumanbeingsthatcryout,isthattheydon'tcryoutS.O.S.orHelpme,
I'mindesperateneed.Theyreactinanger,insulkiness,insarcasmorinsomewaythattheyjustpray
isgoingtogetthemattention.TaketimetolistenfortheS.0.S.oftheotherhumanshipspassingover
theseaoflife.Don'thear,Ihateyou.Hearthedesperatepleathatsays,Pleaseloveme.I'mhurt,I'm
lostandI'mlonely.Don'thear,Mindyourownbusiness.Hear,Helpme,I'mlonelyandIneedlove.
Those messages, those calls for help are to be found in every striking out that you meet this day.
Don'tbeaCalifornia.KnowthattheTitanicsarefounderingallaroundyou,butthatyoucanhear
theS.O.S.andgivethehelpthatisneeded.That'swhyyouwereputwhereyouaretoday.


IdeaNumber18

CastlesintheMind

Have you ever thought how many wonderful people build castles in the air and then live in mental
horror?Theyhavethesewonderfulcastlesofthemind;theyhaveacastleofjoy,acastlethattheycall
personalhappinessandwithinthistheylivealifeofjoythatneverpallsonthem.Or,theyhavethis
castle of achievement, where, in their mind, they feel themselves accomplishing wonderful things,
doing fine work without committing stupid blunders and seeing themselves as really achieving
somethingworthwhile.Thentheyhavethisothercastleofcompanionshipwheretheyseethemselves
asacharmingperson,richinfriendsandsupremelynecessarytothepeoplethattheylovebest.

Inthesecastlesofthemindtheyseethemselveslivingoutthegoodlifeandtheythemselves,astheir
truebeings,setfree,onewithlife,withachanceoflivingastheyreallyare.Butthen,whentheycome
down from these mental castles into their daily life, they sit in desolation and say that it's quite
impossibletobuilduprealhappinessoutofthelittlethings thatsurroundthem.Otherpeoplehave
thegreatgiftsandtheopportunitiesandthehumanloveandtherecognition;otherpeoplehavethe
marbleandthegraniteandthepolishedoakthatenablethemtobuildtemplesoutoftheirlives;but
me,I'mleftwiththelumberandtheclaythatbuildsahoveloflife.

Well,itjustisn'ttrue,isit?We'reneverforcedbackfromthegreatthingsintothelittlethings.Weare
continuallybeingurgedforwardfromthelittlethingstothegreatestthingsofallifwewillonlyopen
oureyesandseethatnothingisreallylackingexcepttheresolvetobuild;theresolvetoacceptthose
castles in the mind as feasible and practical and come from this wonderful world of the mind and
resolvetobuildthesesortofcastlesinourdailylife.Ifyouwillbringyourcastlesofthemindtothe
pointofresolve,youcanhavetheminyourdailylife.


IdeaNumber19

TheBestIsYetToBe

Howolddoyouthinkweare?Imeanweallofmankind.Doyouthinkthatmankindisinitsearly
stages?Doyouthinkthatperhapsmankindhasreachedmiddleageandfromhereonit'sgoingtobe
declineandfurtherdecline?Or,doyoubelievethatmankindisapproachingtheend,andthatwithina
shorttimemankindwillbenomoreuponthefaceoftheearth,oroutinthegalaxies?

Personally, I think that the human race is only just now coming out of its earliest babyhood, the
greatestliesaheadofus.Today,mankindislikeachildoftwelveorthirteenyearsofageintheCosmic
Universe.

Scientistsestimatethatmanhasbeenontheearthamillionyears;andthat'sconservative.He'sbeen
heremuchlongerthanthatandcivilizationshaveexistedfortensofthousandsofthoseyears.Mostof
thosecivilizations,nowforgotten,andtheirremnantsareburiedunderneaththeoceans,orunderthe
desert, underneath mountains, or great mounds. Yet notwithstanding all this early antecedents
thehumanraceisonlynowinitsearliestchildhood.

Thegreatestdaysofmankindliebeforeus.Allthereallygreatachievementsofthehumanraceare
stillunborn.Musicofthefuturewillsurpasseventhegreatestnamestoday.Beethoven,Mozartand
Bachwillbesurpassed,justasthey,intheirday,surpassedthebeatingofcrude,nativedrums.

LiteraturewillbeproducedthatwillmaketheworksofShakespeare,Miltonandtheothergreatlights
ofourcivilizationlooklikechildren'sstorytelling.

Inart,theartofancientGreece,neverequalledsince,willbeovertakenandsurpassedbynewwaves
ofspiritualinspirationexpressingthroughtheartofmankind.

Thegreatestengineeringfeatsoftoday:bridgesanddams,airplanes,electronicsandatomicswillbe
liketoyscomparedtotheengineeringthatisyettocomeinthefutureofmankind.

Above all, man's understanding of himself: man's understanding of his spiritual nature and of his
spiritual world will grow by fantastic proportions. The religious geniuses of the past will be as
pygmiescomparedwiththespiritualleadersofthefuture.

Probablythegreatestadvanceofmanwillbethetappingofthevastreservoirsofstrength,courage
andwisdom,whichhehasneverbeforetouched.

Sodon'tworryaboutthefutureofmankind.Turnyourowneyestowardsyourfuture,forthebestis
yettobe.


IdeaNumber20

ReactionorResponse?

Areyouaresponderorareactor?LetmeexplainwhatImean.Iwassittingherewritingthisbook,
deeplyimmersedinthought,whenthetelephonebellrangandmyinstanthumanreactionwas,Oh
drat,hereIamtryingtogetthisworkdone.Doesn'ttheoutsideworldrealizethatIdon'twanttobe
disturbed when I am trying to think? I picked up the telephone and I was rather, if not angry,
certainlyunresponsive.Iwasreactingtothetelephonebell,ratherthanresponding.ButimmediatelyI
begantoanswerthecall.Idiscoveredthatitwassomebodyverykindandgentleontheotherendof
theline,somebodywhowasveryhelpful.Ithoroughlyenjoyedtheconversation.Iwaswarmedonthe
insidebyitandIwentbacktomywritinginahigherstateofconsciousnessthanIleftit.

Now,whydidIreacttothetelephonebellinthismanner?Yetthepersonontheotherendoftheline
didn'treacttomyreaction.Therewasaresponse,awarmresponse,andthatresponseproducedfrom
mearesponse,notareaction.Doyouseethedifference,anddoyouseetheinfectiousnatureofre
sponseandreactioninyourlife?

As you go into your day and you're met with trying circumstances the telephone bell rings, the
doorbell rings, and there is a salesman at the door, somebody comes into your office when you're
busy,somebodycomesacrossfromnextdoortohavecoffeewhenyou'retryingtogetthehousework
donerecognizeonething.NobodycomesintoyourlifetodaywithoutaPurpose!Everybodycomesto
bringyouablessing!Ifyoureacttothatblessing,youstandtoloseit.Youaretheonlyloser.Whereas,
if you respond to each person that comes into your life with love and warmth, then you attract a
similarresponsefromthemandyoubringloveandwarmthintoyourownlife,whichwastheblessing
theycametobringinthefirstplace.

Don'tshutyourselfofffromtheblessings,whichcomeintoyourlifetoday.Respondtoeachperson
that crosses your path in the knowledge that they cometobringyou ablessing.Respondin love to
that blessing and you shall have blessings heaped upon blessings, and it will be a glad day for you,
ratherthanaharddaybecauseofyoursimpleunderstandingofreactionorresponse.


IdeaNumber21

RisingAboveInjustice

Whatdoyoudowhenyouhavebeenunfairlytreated;whenyou'vegotthewrongendofadeal;you've
been unjustly handled? What do you do? Do you try to maintain a friendly relationship with the
peopleinvolved?Doyoumanagetoforgiveandforget?Doyoumanagetoreleaseallyourresentment
and bitterness, or do you say to yourself, Well, I'd like to be friendly; I don't want to go on hating
somebodybecauseofaninjusticeandIdon'twanttoallowthisbitternessandresentmenttogiveme
anulcer,butifIdoforgiveandforget,theonlyproblemisthatIwon'tgetjusticeanyway?

Is this the way you feel? Do you feel that the only way to solve the problem is to hang onto your
bitternessandyourresentmentandyourdislikeinordertodefendyourselfagainsttheoriginalinjus
tice? You know, it doesn't make sense, does it when you think about it. That sort of revenge and
retaliation complex hurts you more than it does the person who has done you the injustice and
doesn'treallysolveanything.

Ifyouthinkaboutjusticeforamoment,Ithinkthatyouwill realizethatrealjusticeisbasedonthe
LawofLove.ThemoreweareabletokeepourselvesintunewiththisLawofLove,themorelikelywe
aretohavejusticeinourownlives.Wesurelyknowthatthemoreweareabletocleanseourheart
from bitterness and resentment, the more real we feel ourselves; the closer we feel to our identity
with good. We know that the more we are able to send out love and forgiveness, the greater is the
senseoffreedomthatwehaveandthegreatertheinnerpowerthatwefeel.

Yousee,theproblemisthatinmaintainingourresentment,inmaintainingourhatred,inrefusingto
forgive, we stultify our own Inner Powers and we loseinterms of personal productivity,happiness
andpeaceofmind,morethanthesupposedinjusticeiscostingus.Nowsupposingyoumeasureitin
terms of money and you say, Now here is an injustice that is going to cost me ten dollars, but by
hatingandresenting,I'mgoingtogetanulcerthatisgoingtocostmeathousanddollars.

That just doesn't make good trading sense, does it? You will find that if you can rise above the
injusticeyouwillgainmoreininnerstrengththantheinjusticewillcostyou.Thinkaboutthis.Ifyou
canreallyriseaboveit,ifyoucanreallygetthestrengthtosay,Well,it'swaterunderthebridge,I'll
forgiveandforget,youwillgainmoregrowth,morepowerandmorestrengththantheinjusticewill
costyouandyouwillcomeoutonthecreditsideoftheledgeroflife.


IdeaNumber22

TheShadow

When I was a little boy, my friends and I used to play a game called Shadow Jumping each one
trying to jump on the other one's shadow. We were very much aware of our shadowin thosedays.
Howlongisitsinceyouhadalookatyourshadow?

Youmaybecomeawareofitinasubconscioussortofwaywhenyousitdowntoread;youfindthat
the light is in a bad position and that the shadow of your head gets in the way of your paper. You
eithermoveyourchairoryoumovethelightinordertogetyourownshadowoutoftheway.Mostof
thetimewearecompletelyunawareofourshadow.Yetinourownlives,alltoooftenweareawareof
theshadowypartsofourownlivesratherthanofallthelightthatshinesinandthroughourlives.

Ifyouwilllookforamomentatyourshadowrightwhereyouarenow,youwillobservethattheonly
way that you can see your shadow is to turn your back to the light. Just have a good look at your
shadow now and you willfindthatyourbackispresentedtowards thesourceoflight thatprojects
thatshadow.

Thisisexactlythewayitisinyourlife.Youbecomeawareoftheshadowypartsofyourlifeorthose
parts,whichyoupersonallyconsidertobeshadowy;thesemaybehealthproblems,familyproblems,
moneyproblems.Youbecomeawareofthemwhenyouturnyourbackonthesourceoflightinyour
life.ThatlightofCreativeIntelligenceismovinginandthroughyou,throughyourbody,throughyour
lifeandthroughyouraffairsallday,everydayalightthatshinesforyoutoguideyouintoperfect
health,perfecthappinessandperfectfulfillment.Ifyouturnyourbackonthatlight,youwillbeaware
onlyoftheshadowsinyourlife.

Thinkaboutitforamoment.Justcastyourmindintothoseshadowyaffairsinyourlifeandaskyour
self,Isittruethatthesearegeneratedbymyfailuretolookatthegoodinmylife?Itissoeasytobe
awareoftheproblemsinlife,buthowmuchtimeandthoughtdowereallygivetothegloryofourlife
anditisonlyinrelationtothegloryofourlivesthattheshadowsareseen.Yousee,theshadowonly
existsincomparisonwiththelightsource.Iflightwerecomingfromeverydirection,youwouldnot
seeanyshadows.

Itisourfailuretoturntowardsthelight,toturntowardsthegoodinourlives,tolookatit,togive
thanks for it, to glorify it, that enables us to waste time looking at the shadow and living in the
shadowsoflife.Turntowardsthelightinyourlifeandtheshadowwillholdnofearforyou.


IdeaNumber23

EveryWordYouSpeak

Areyouaneffectivespeaker?Idon'tmeancanyougetuponaplatformandaddressalargegroupof
people.Imeaninyournormaleverydaycommunication,areyouaneffectivespeaker?Ofcourseyou
are.Everythingthatyousayaffectseverybodythathearsit.Whatsortofaneffectdoyouhaveasa
speaker? Ifyouare ahumorousperson,peopleprobablylaughatwhatyousay.Ifyouareanangry
person,thenyouprobablyinduceacertainamountoffearandacertainamountofresentment.Thisis
theeffectthatyouhave.Ifyouarealovingandcharitableperson,youprobablyinduceawarmglowin
other people. If you are a complimentary person, you probably increase other people's own
selfappreciation.

Everywordthatyouspeakproducesitseffectonthehearer.Now,I'msureyoucanbelievethat,can't
you?Youthinkofeverybodyyoutalkto,andregardlessofhowgreatorhowsmallthateffectmaybe,
youwillhavetoagreethateverythingthatyousayhasaneffectonthehearer.Iwanttoexpandon
thispremiseforonemomentandtellyouthatthereisonepersonwhohearseverythingthatyousay;
andthatpersonisyou!Everyotherpersonhearsonlyapartofwhatyousay,butyoupersonallyhear
everysinglewordthatyousay.Therefore,whatevertheindividualeffectyouhaveonotherpeopleisa
cumulativeeffectthatyouhaveuponyourself.Thinkaboutthisthepowerofyourwordsandtheir
effectonmoldingyourlifeistremendous.

Ifyouwanttobea prosperousperson,don'ttalkwith acheap mouth.If youdo,allyoudoismake

otherpeoplefeelpovertystrickenaswell,andthecumulative effectisonyou.Ifyoufeelsick,don't
keep voicing your sickness to other people. Every person you talk to gets a tiny segment of that
impact,butyourbodyreceivesthewholeimpactofeverythingthatyousay.Otherpeopleareaffected
by what you say, we agree; and you can, if you want, by a kindly word timely spoken, uplift
somebody'slife.Ifthisistrue,thensurelyyoucanupliftyourownlife,sinceyouaretherecipientof
thecumulativeeffectofeverywordthatyouspeak.You,then,aremoldingyourownlifefarmorethan
youeffectthelifeofanyofyourlisteners.Whetheritisyourownchildrenthatyouarespeakingto,or
tryingtodirect,orwhetheritispeopleintheofficeorpeoplewhocometoyourhome,youhavean
effectoneveryone;butyoureceivethecumulativeeffectofeveryoneofthoseimpacts.

Can you see here a great truth? By yourself, by your very own words, the effects that you have on
otherpeopleisproducedinyouinacumulativeform.Canyounotseethatasyoudountoothers,it
shallbedoneuntoyou?Youmoldyourownlife,effectyourownlifebythenatureofthewordsyou
speak,andremember,youdoheareverywordyouspeak.


IdeaNumber24

TheDuelofLife

Acenturyormoreagomensettledmostaffairsofhonorupontheduelingfield,andtherewasatime
in history in Germany when dueling scars on the side of a man's face contributed to a handsome
visage.Amanwasconsideredhandsomeifhisfacewaslacedwiththescarsofdueling.Bismark,the
great statesman of the nineteenth century, was an outstanding duelist hewouldfightaduelover
anything.Butonedayhebecameveryangryoverasupposedaffrontthathe'dreceivedfromascholar
namedProfessorVirchow.BismarkwassoangrythathechallengedtheProfessortoaduel.Nowthe
eminentscientistwassomewhattakenbackbythissincescientistsaren'tnormallydueliststheway
thatsoldiersare.But,becauseBismarkhadchallengedVirchow,thatlefttheprofessorwiththechoice
ofweapons.Thencamethegrayearlydawnonthedayoftheduel,anduptotheduelingfielddrove
thetwocarriageswiththeduelersandtheirsecondsandtheusualdoctor.Theyclimbedoutoftheir
coachesandmetinthemiddleofthefieldofhonorandBismarksaid,Itwasyourchoiceofweapons,
sir,whathaveyouchosen?ProfessorVirchowproducedtwobeautifuljuicysausagesandexplained
toBismarkthatsincehewasascientist,he'dchosenthesesausagesashisweapon.Onewasfilledwith
lethalgerms,andtheotherwasperfectlygoodeating.HeturnedtoBismarkandsaid,Come,choose
yourweaponandweshalleattogether.Bismarktookonelookatthosetwosausages,realizedthat
onemeantcertaindeath,thenangrilyturnedonhisheelandwalkedoffthefieldinredfaceddefeat.I
alwayschucklewhenIthinkaboutthat!Theduelthatwasfoughtwithsausages!Notbybangingat
eachother,butbysimplyofferingtheopportunitytochoosebetweenlifeanddeath.

During this day you will be called upon to fight a duel. You are going to fight that duel a thousand
timestoday.Youaregoingtohaveamultiplicityofchoicesduringyourdaytodayhowtorespondto
what somebody says, how, to respond to what somebody does, what to say, what to do, and you'll
havethosetwosausagesinfrontofyouthepoisonousorthehealthy.Youcanthinkthepoisonous,
negative thought that in its own tiny way will drag you down into illhealth, death, loneliness and
poverty,oryoucanthinkthegoodthoughtwhichwillliftyouupandleadyouontoeternallife,love
andhappiness.

Eachtimethatyouarefacedwiththechoiceofwhattodoandwhattosaythisday,thinkofProfessor
Virchow thinkofthosetwosausages.Choosethemood,choosethethoughtthatisontheupbeat,
turnawayfromjealousy,anger,negation,doubtandfearandguilt.Thinkthoughtsofjoy,love,lifeand
laughter.Speakwordsofjoy,love,lifeandlaughterAndthosethingswillfillyourdayandfillyourlife.


IdeaNumber25

IslandofPeace

Doyoueverwishthatyoucouldjustrunawayfromitall?Doyoueveryearnforanislandfaroffin
somedistantsea?Oracabinhiddenawayonthetopofsomeremotemountainwhereyoucouldget
awayfromallthepressuresofyoureverydaylife?Isupposewe'veallfeltlikethisfromtimetotime.It
seemsthatwe'realwaysinthethroesofconflictingimpulses.Wewant,firstofall,tobeinthemiddle
ofactivityandachievement,andthenatothertimes,wewanttoretreatintoquietandsolitude.Isthis
perhapsbecausewe'velostasenseofbalance?Havewebecomeimpervioustotheriveroflifemoving
throughus?Isitpossiblethatourtimingisoff?Youknow,theambitionandtheurgetoaccomplish
drive our minds mercilessly until both our mind and our body demand rest and replenishment.
Periodically,wemusthaverespiteofsometypefromourturbulent,rushing,hecticdailyexistence.

Have you ever watched an old grandfather clock? The pendulum must swing both ways, an even
distanceineachdirection,ifit'stoperformitsfunctionsatisfactorily,andthisisthesortofbalancewe
needinourownlives.Wepushourselvestoohardwithoutadequatetimeforrestandrestoringofthe
bodyandthemind.Wesimplymustmaketimetorechargeourselves,mentallyandspiritually,aswell
asphysically.Weneedastateofequilibriumandthishastobecultivatedbycontactwiththeinner
Self of us. Even a few minutes of being truly in touch with ourself, our real Self, will restore our
strength and our courage and our peace. It's not necessary to buy an island in the Pacific or a
mountain in Hawaii, in order to achieve balanced life. I imagine life could be just as hectic on your
islandoronyourmountainifyoudidn'tachievesomeinnermentalpeace.

Oncewegetontothistreadmillofdailypressures,wethinkthatwe'vegotnotimeforquietormedita
tion,butwesimplyhavetotaketimeifwewanttobeawelladjusted,happyandsuccessfulperson.
We'renotsufficientuntoourselves,youknow.We'redependentandonewithaHigherPowerthan
ourselves and with patience, we can learn to keep our minds open so that we can turn from the
pressuresofthedaytoaninnercalmwithinus.Itdoesn'ttakeagreatdealofeffort.Wehavetosimply
becomestillandturnquietlywithinustoaCenterofPeace,whichisoursatthecenterofourbeing.

Youcanfindthepeaceofyourisland,orthepeaceofyourmountainwithinyourselfthisday.Youcan
havealltherestyouneedrightwithinyou.


IdeaNumber26

Don'tLetItSpoil

What do you do when you have taken food out of the deep freeze, thawed it out to eat and then
suddenlyyougetaninvitationtogoouttodinnersomewhere?Whenthishappens,it'squiteimpossi
bletousethefoodbyfreezingitagainsoyoujusthavetocookitandeatit.Ithinkthatthisissome
thingweoughttothinkaboutinourownlives.

MarkTwainsetthisproblemforwardverysimplyandveryclearlyinalittlejokeheusedtotell.There
was a fellow that came round to Mark Twain's house twice every day trying to sell fish and Mark
Twainkeptsaying,No,thankyou,nothankyou.Butfinally,hefeltthattheman'ssheerpersistence
ought to be rewarded, so he told his wife, I am going to buy a fish from that man, which he
accordinglydid.Whenthefishwaspreparedforlunch,itwasfoundtobehighlyunsatisfactoryand
whenthepeddlercamearound,MarkTwainwentoutandhailedhimandsaid,Lookhere,thatfish
wasn'tedible.Itwastooold,andthefishmanturnedcalmlyandsaid,Well,itwasn'tmyfault,boss.I
gaveyoutwochanceseverydaythisweektobuythatfishand,ifyouwerefoolishenoughtowaituntil
itwasspoiled,don'tblameme.

Thinkaboutthis.Youhavebeforeyoutoday,onewholedaythathasbeentakenoutofthedeepfreeze
ofeternityandthawedoutforyoutousetoday.Youcan'tlivethisdaytomorrow,youcan'tliveitthe
dayaftertomorrow,you'vegottolivethisdaytoday.

When do you live your life? Are you waiting for some nevernever time when you are going to be
happy?Areyougoingtowaituntilthefishspoilsbeforeyoutrytoeatit?Areyougoingtoallowthis
daytothawoutandspoil,orareyougoingtosay,ThisisapreciousgiftofGod,thebanquetoftoday.
Iamgoingtoprepareitandeatittoday.Iamgoingtolivethisdaytothefullest.Iamgoingtosay,one
should never reject a gift. One should accept it with an open heart and an open mind and with
thanksgiving.

Thisdayisthegreatestgiftthatyouhaveeverknownthroughoutyourwholelifethisoneday.Don't
allow it to spoil. Don't go through it with a feeling of apathy, defeat and loneliness stir up the
enthusiasmwithinyou.Acceptthisdayasfilledwithpotentialforsuccess,happiness,loveandjoy
all these things are in this day. Dont just allow them to go to waste; go out there into your world
todayandacceptthemanddon'tallowthedaytospoil.Youcannotlivethisdaytomorrowandyou
willneverhavethisdayagain.


IdeaNumber27

YouBecomeWhatYouThinkAbout

Haveyouevertriedyourhandatbuildingbuildingsomething?Well,Isupposethateveryoneofusis
buildingeverysingledayofourlives.Weareallbusilyengagedinbuildingourconsciousnessduring
everywakinghour.Wearebuildingastructureofattitudes,actionsandreactions.Thebuildingwedo
isinvisibleandsilent,andconsequentlyitisprobablyoverlookedbymostofus.

Nonetheless,it'sprobablythemostfundamentalandmostfarreachingactivityinourwholelife,this
buildingofourstatesofmindandourattitudes.Everysingleoneofusisbuildingourconsciousness
allthetime,althoughwearenotevenawareofit.Hourbyhour,minutebyminute,wearebuilding
good, or socalled evil, failure or success, happiness or suffering into our lives by the thoughts we
think,theideasthatweharborinourminds,thebeliefsthatweaccept,thescenes,theeventsandthe
conversationsthatwerehearseinthathiddenstudioofthemind.

Theactorsthatgetintothathiddenstudioofyourmindarethosethatwillplayoutthedramaoflife
foryou.Thedramaoflifeisrehearsedintheradiostudioofyourmindandwhatappearsoutwardlyis
simplythepresentationofthedramathatyouhaverehearseddaybyday,allunknowingly,building
thescriptintoyourconsciousness.

Thisbuilding,thisconsciousness,thisfatefuledifice,upontheconstructionofwhichyouarealways
busilyengaged,isnothinglessthanyourSelfyourtrueSELF,yourpersonality,youridentityonthis
earth,yourverylifestoryasahumanbeing,thecentralcoreofYOU,isthatwhichyouarebuilding.

Now,ifyouarewise,ifyouareintelligent,ifyouexercisemorecommonsense,youwill,inthelightof
whatyounowknow,buildpositively,andconstructively.Youwillbegintotakeconcernforthatwhich
findsahomeinyourmind.Youwillbeconcernedaboutthethoughtsandattitudesthatbecomethe
actors,rehearsingthedramaofyourlife.

Supposingyouweregoingtoputonaplay.Youwouldn'tgoandfindtheleastcapablepeoplethatyou
could find to act in it for you, would you? Of course you wouldn't. You would go and find the most
capableactorsthatyoucouldlocate.Letthisbesointheradiostudioofyourmind.Bringintoyour
mindtheseactorsthatcandoa goodjoblove,kindness,security,faith,courageandwisdom.Give
theseahomeinthestudioofyourmindbecausewhatgetsyourattention,getsyou.Youbecomewhat
youthinkabout.


IdeaNumber28

TheMagicofPraise

Whatsortofpeopleareyougoingtomeetontheroadoflife?Willtheybehappypeoplewhowilladd
tothehappinessofyourlife,orwilltheybeweary,rundownrathermiserablepeoplewhowilltend
todragdownyourlifeintoagraymonotone?Wouldyouliketohaveeverybodythatcarriesintoyour
lifehappyandliftingyouupwithjoy?There'ssimplewaytodoit,youknow.Allittakesisasimple
wordofpraise.Idon'tmeaninsincerepraise.Imeanreal,sincere,deepdownpraise,notflattery.

IlovethestoryaboutJohnnyFigaro.JohnnyFigarowasathirteenyearoldItalianboyinNewYork.
He was a real problem for his teachers. He seemed to be always fighting, spoiling the games of the
younger children. He was rude to the teachers and the more he was punished, the more defiant he
became.

Inthe6thgrade,hemetaquiet,demureyoungteacher.Oneday,Johnnywassentinsideattherecess.
Heclumpednoisilytohisseatandslumpeddown.Theyoungteacherlookedathimquietlyandthen
saidverypleasantly,Johnny,howniceyoulooktodayinthat cleanshirt.Hesquaredhisshoulders
andsatupstraight.Atnoon,afrayedblacktiewasclumsilyfastenedunderthecollaroftheshirthe
wassoproudof.Theteacherveryquicklynoticeditandpraisedhimonit.Nextday,hisknottedshoe
laceswerereplacedwithnewonesandhisscuffedshoeswereshined.

TheyoungteacherturnedtoallthosewhowerehandlingJohnnyandsaid,Justpraisehim,he'llreact.
Justpraisehim.

JohnnyFigarogrewuptobecomepresidentofastateuniversityinthemiddlewest.Aboywhowould
probablyhavebeendoomedtotheslumsandpovertybecameagreatacademicianbecausesomebody
tookthetroubletopraisehim.Everythingblossomsandflourishesunderpraise.Praiseislikewater
onarose.

Determine that you are going to be an instrument for good in your world by praising other people.
Lookateverybodyyoumeetandlookforthepraiseworthyinthemandpraiseit.Giveasimpleword
ofhonestpraiseandyouwillchangetheidentityofeverybodythatcomesintoyourlife.Giveaword
ofpraisebecauseyou'llbeactingastheSpiritofLoveinGod'sworldwhenyoudothis.

Myfriend,youarebroughtintothisworldtoserveastheinstrumentofGod'slove.Theeasiestwayto
doitissimplytolookforthegoodandtopraiseit.


IdeaNumber29

TheProblemofPleasingEverybody

Do you sometimes despair of ever being able to please other people? Does it seem to you that you
spendyourwholelifetryingtopleaseandhelpotherpeopleonlytoberebuffedandfalselyjudged?If
youdo,letmesharewithyouoneshortsentenceofMontaigne's.Hesays,Amanhasneedoftough
earstohearhimselffreelyjudged.

You know, no matter how careful and conscientious we may be, someone is always sure to misun
derstand our actions and our attitudes. When somebody is liberal with his means and his money,
someone will always suggest that he's profligate or overextravagant. On the other hand, if you're
conscientiously careful with your money, somebody will almost certainly say that you're a miser. If
somebody's views are more liberal than yours, then he will brand you as being stuffy and
conservative.Ifhisviewsaremoreconservativethanyours,hewillcomplainthatyou'retooliberal
andwhensomebodyopposesourposition,ontheotherhand,weprobablysaythathe'sprejudiced.In
all honesty we have to admit to ourselves that we probably often find ourselves condemning
somebodyelseforwhatwewouldcondoneinourselves.

Ifapersondoesn'tdoanything,peoplewillfindfaultwithwhathehasn'tdone.Ifhedoessomething,
thenpeoplewillfindfaultwith whathehasdone.Whilesomepeoplewillcongratulatewhatwedo
someofthetime,thoseverysamepeoplewilldisapproveofwhatwedoatanothertime.Soitseems
tomethatwheneverwe'reattemptingtopleaseotherpeople,wehavetorememberthatnoperson
ever lived who ever pleased all the people all the time. In fact, I doubt if anyone ever lived who
pleasedonepersonallthetime,notevenhimself.

Are you always pleased with your activities? I question it. No matter what course you may pursue,
someonewillwonderwhyyoudidn'tdosomethingdifferent.Soaboutthebestthatwecanpossibly
do is just conduct ourselves conscientiously, according to our best understanding, following our
sincereconvictions,andkeepingourmindsalwayshonestlyopentothepossibilitythatperhapswe're
wrong,andthenhopethatotherswillforgiveusourmistakes.Wehavetobetolerantofotherpeople
if we're expecting tolerance on their part. Above all, we have to remember the words of dear old
Montaignethatamandoeshavetohavetoughearstohearhimselffreelyjudgedbyothers.Ifyou
findyourselfbeingjudgedbyyourfellowman,thinkofthesesimplewords,Youcannotpleaseallthe
people all the time and, if you destroy yourself by dissimulation, by trying to be all things to all
people,thenyounevergetachancetoexpresswhatyoureallyare.

Go ahead and be what you are, as conscientiously as you know how and know beyond doubt that
you'regoingtohavesomepeoplecriticizeyou.Blessthem,releasethemandgoondoingthebestthat
youknowhow.Ifyouliveasyourrealself,therewillalwaysbecriticism.


IdeaNumber30

TheSparkPlug

Howisyourcarrunningthesedays?Haveyouperhapshadoccasiontochangesparkplugslately?If
youhave,you'llknowthatit'saverysimplejob.Youdriveintothegarageandthemechanicopensup
the hood of the car, looks underneath, takes off one electric wire, puts in a wrench and takes out a
sparkplug,putsanewonein,putstheelectricleadbackonandwithinfiveminutesyoucanbeon
your way. It's a very simple thing to change spark plugs, isn't it? But supposing you walked into a
garageandaskedthemtochangeasparkplugandthemechaniccameoutandimmediatelystartedto
takeofftherightfrontwheel.Youwouldprobablythinkthathewasslightlyinsane,wouldn'tyou,and
you would protest vigorously that you didn't want the wheels changed, all you wanted was a new
sparkplug.

Well,theotherdayIhadafriendcometoseeme.Hehasanewsportscarandheexplainedtomethat
to change the spark plugs on one side of the car, it was necessary to take off the rightfront wheel!
Thisisabsolutelytrue.Canyouimaginethereactionoftheownerthefirsttimehedrivesintoagarage
andasksfornewsparkplugs?Outcomessomebodyandtakesofftherightfrontwheel.He'dprobably
protestvigorously,asIsaid.Yet,myfriendassuredmethatitwasbutatwominutejobtotakeoffthe
rightfront wheel and once that was off, the spark plugs were very, very accessible and simple to
remove.

Nowthere'salessoninthisforallofus.Welookatthingsinourlivesandweseeactivitiesgoingon,
like the taking off of a front wheel, and we wonder how on earth our lives work inthis way. We're
looking for the solution to a problem and a solution begins to come in some form, which is totally
incomprehensibletous.Weexpectourgoodtocometousinoneway.Weexpectthesolutiontocome
intoourlivesinoneveryobviousway,likeliftingupthehoodandtakingoutthesparkplug,butthe
solutionbeginssomewhereentirelydifferent.

We may be looking for the solution ofa familyproblemwhentherealneedisa changeinjobs.We

maybelookingforachangeinhealthwheninTruth,therealneedisachangeinourownactivities
andourownthinking.Thewholepointtothestoryofthesparkplugsandthefrontwheelisthis:that
weshouldnotattempttojudgethewayinwhichourproblemsaresolved,orthewayinwhichgood
comesintoourlives.Thetotaluniverseisavastandcomplexorganization.Wecanneverunderstand
the ramifications of Creative Intelligence in our universe and, therefore, in our own lives. What we
coulddoissay,Fine,IacceptthatLifetotallysupportsme,andIacceptthatthereisgoodinmylife,
and whichever direction it may come from, I'll accept it, know that it is good and wait for the final
outcomeofgood.

Herethen,myfriend,encapsulated,isagreatandvitalTruth:DONTEXPECTYOURPROBLEMSTOBE
SOLVEDINTHEWAYTHATYOUSELECT.Theremaybeabetterwayifyouwillputyourpreconceived
ideas aside and open yourself to the inspiration of Creative Intelligence. It may mean taking off the
front wheel of your life to get at a defective spark plug but the results will be better than you can
possibly imagine. Trust your inner guidance and allow the solution to comefromanydirectionand
yourproblemswillbesolvedeasilyandeffortlessly.


IdeaNumber31

ExpressingYourTalents

Are you a successful person or do you think of yourself as a failure? I suppose that everyone ofus
mustdecideforourselveswhetherweareasuccessorafailure,regardlessofwhattheoutsideworld
thinksofus.

Indeed,ifyoulookbackthroughhistoryyouwillfindthatmanyofthosemenwhowerethebiggest
successes in terms of outer acclamation, were complete failures in terms of their own inner
aspirations. For example: Alexander the Great conquered the then known world, but he was never
abletoconquerhisownviolenttemperhewantedtodosoverymuchthatheconsideredhimselfa
failure.

Napoleonwontheundyingdevotionofmillionsofhissubjects,buttheonepersonhereallywantedto
love him, refused. That was Josephine, his wife. Although Napoleon was passionately in love with
Josephine,sheneverreturnedhisaffection.

ThenthinkofGoethe,oneofthegreatestpoetsandwritersintheworld,andyethereallywantedto
beanartist;hewastedmanyyearsinhisearlylifestudyingartwhenhereallyhadcomparativelylittle
talentinthatdepartmentandconsideredhimselfafailureasaresult.ImagineGoethethinkingofhim
selfasafailure!

Whistler,thegreatartist,strangelyenoughwantedtobeapoet,butfortunatelyherealizedhislackof
abilityandturnedtoartinstead.Butintermsofhispoetryhewas,inhisowneyes,afailure.

ThinkfinallyofHansChristianAndersen.Thosefairytaleswonhimafantasticplaceintheworldof
children's literature, and yet, he could only appeal to children through his writing. In facetoface
contact,childrenfoundhimuglyandrepulsiveandhethoughtofhimselfasafailureinhiscontacts
withchildren.

Now,takeanotherlookatyourself,andaskyourself:amIafailureoramIasuccess?Ifyouarehonest
withyourself,Ithinkthatyouwilldiscoveryouaresuccessfulinthoseareaswhereyouexpressthose
Godgiventalentsthatareyoursandyoursaloneandthatyouareafailure,oryouconsideryourselfto
beafailure,inareaswhereyouaretryingtoinflictyourwilluponagivensituation.

Thereissomuchfulfillmenttobefoundinthisworldthatwedon'thavetogostrugglingandstriving
forit.Youhavebeenblessedwithmoretalentthanyoucaneveruseup.Whythengiveyourlifeto
strivingtofulfillyourselfinotherareas?Whyconsideryourselfafailurebecauseyouhavebeentrying
toinflictyourwillonagivensetofcircumstances,whenyouareanunboundedsuccesswhenyouuse
your own Godgiven talents. You can be a great success in this life, and all you have to do is to
recognize those talents, which are yours and yours alone and follow them wherever they may lead
you. Don't let your selfinflicted failures hold you back. Simply say: Well, that is not for me, I will
releaseitandmoveon.Releaseitandmoveonandyouwillfindthesuccessthatisjustlyyours.


IdeaNumber32

AHoveloraPalace

What sort of environment, what sort of surroundings will you be spending your day in today? Will
theybehappyandbrightsurroundings,orwilltheybedullandrathermiserableones?

Charles Kingsley once was visited by a friend of his who had lived in the Himalayas. He came to
Kingsley'stinylittlecottageinatinylittlevillageandfeltvery,verysadforpooroldCharlesKingsley
andtoldhimsoandsaid,Howsaditmustbetoliveinthislittlecottageinthistinylittleoutofthe
wayplacewhilesomuchisgoingonaroundyououtthereinthewide,wideworld;tigerhuntsandall
sorts of wonderful things. Kingsley turned to him with rather a happy, quiet smile and said, You
know,myfriend,itissomeyearssinceIfirstrealizedthatmydwellingplacemustbemyprisonormy
palace.ThankGodImadetherightdecisionandthatGodhasmademyplaceapalace.

Thinkaboutthisasyouprepareforyourday.Areyougoingtobeworkingaroundthesamehousethat
youworkaroundeveryday?Areyougoingtothesameofficeorthesameshopthatyougotoevery
day? Take another look at it. Open your eyes. Realize that of itself it has no existence. You and you
alonehavethepowertomakeitwhatitis.

Have you begun to think ofyour homeasordinary? Rethinkittoday.Think itintoapalace.Rejoice

andpolishandshineitandseeitasyourpalace.Youroffice?Hasitbecomeadullroutineandadowdy
officeforyou?Takeanotherlook.Seeitasthepalaceinwhichyouliveyourlifeandletitbeworthyof
thegoldenlifethatyouare.Yourlifeisyourstomakeandtheenvironmentin,whichyouconductthat
life is yours to make. You and you alone decide the nature of that environment. You have probably
heardmesaybeforethatthisisexpressedmostsimplyformeinthetinylittlerhymethatsays:

Twomenlookedoutfromprisonbars,
Onesawmudbuttheothersawstars.

Whatareyougoingtoseeinyourhome,inyouroffice,inyourclassroom,inyourshopthisday?Why
notmakeitapalace,becauseonlyyouhavethepowertomakeitahovelortomakeitapalace.Use
thepowerofyourcreativeimagination.Usethe'powerofyourownmindconstructivelyandyoushall
livethisdayinapalacefitforakingoraqueen.


IdeaNumber33

Patience

When I was young I was taught that patience is a virtue and, frankly, I found it quite annoying. It
seemedtomethatwhatitreallymeantwasthatyouhadtowaitforwhatyouwanteduntilsomeadult
determinedtherighttimeforyoutohaveit.ButasIgrewupalittle,Ibegantorealizethatthereisa
greatvaluetopatience,particularlywhenyouweighitagainsttheopposite;impatience.Oh,thecost
ofimpatience;Iguesspatienceisavirtuebecauseimpatience iscostly.Thinkaboutthepersonwho
comes up and says I bought a new suchandsuch car. You know very well that he hasn't done any
suchthing.Whathehasdoneistoputdownasmallsumofmoneytobuyacar,whichheisgoingto
payonuntilperhapsthethingiswornoutandheisstillpayinglongafterhehasceasedenjoyingthe
benefitsofthepurchase.That'saprettyhighpricetopayforimpatience.

AwhilebackIwastalkingtoafriendofmine,awidowedlady,whoisn'taffluentbyanymeans.She
hadjustsignedasguarantorforhersonwhowasbuyinganelectricguitarandshewasterrifiedlest
somethingwentwrongwithhispurchase,andIasked,Well,whydidyoudoit?"Shereplied,Hejust
wouldn'twait.Whatapricetopay;whiletheyoungmanisstrummingawayonhiselectricguitar,his
widowed mother is dying a thousand deaths at the fear and cost of his impatience. Themosttragic
exampleIhavecomeacrossrecentlyisanarticlepublishedinalocalnewspaperaboutaboywhohad
beensentawaytoahouseofcorrectionforstealing.Hewasaskedbythejudgeifheaskedhismother
forthemoney,andwouldn'tshehavegivenittohim.Heagreedthatshewouldhavedoneso.Which
thenledthejudge to inquirewhythen didhesteal the money? He said,Well,sir,momdoesn'tget
home until 6:30 and the film began at 6:00. For thirty minutes this boy blotted his life. It really is
tragic,thecostofimpatience.

Sometimesthemostexpensivepartofpatienceisindealingwithotherpeople.That'snotalwayseasy.
When some people aren't well, they become annoying and irritating and those who are nearest to
them have to exercise their patience to the fullest. Bitter things are said and we have to admit that
thatisnotreallyliketheperson,itistheillnessspeakingatthemomentandnotthewonderfulperson
that you know. There is a cost, you see, to impatience whereas patience leaves us completely free.
(Jesus Christ's patience was profound. Even at the trial he didn't flare up although he was unfairly
accused. When they crucified Him, he said, Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.)
That'smorethanyouandIcanhopetoachieve.Butatleastwecantryinsomemeasuretoachieve
thatsortofpatienceandforebearance.

Justawordtoyoungpeoplewhenyoufeelimpatientwithyourmotherandfather,justasIusedto
be,whenyoudofeelimpatientwithyourfolksbecausetheywanttoknowwhereyouhavebeenor
whatyou'redoing,it'snotbecausetheyarebeingsquare;it'sbecausetheycare.Theydocaretremen
dously and there is a great price to their care. Remember the cost of impatience is vast and you
neverhavetopayitifyoujuststopandthinkofthealternative.


IdeaNumber34

NoSlapDashLife

Areyoulookingforwardtothejobsthatyouhavetodoandthetasksthathavetobeaccomplishedby
you?Or,areyougoingtogetthroughthemaswellasyoucan,justtogetthemdone?

IwasthinkingaboutthisasIwalkedalongthestreetoneday.Isawamanonaladderpaintingand
thismanfloppedhisbrushbackwardsandforwards,slapdash,slapdash.Itseemedasifeverystroke
was an endeavor. He wasn't watching what he was doing, his eyes were somewhere else, he was
simplyslappingawaywithhisbrushandIthought,ohmy,whataterriblydullandboringexistence.

Thenafewminuteslater,Iwalkedintoanofficewherealadysatbangingawayonanoldaddressing
machine,theoneyoucrankandbangupanddown.Shewassingingquietlytothebangingofthema
chineandthemachinewasactingratherlikeametronome,beatingtimetohersong.Irealizedthatit
wasn't the metronome that was setting the pace of the work, it was the pace in her heart that was
settingthepaceofthemachineandIimmediatelywentbackinmymindtoafewsecondsagowhenI
watched the slapdash painter and, I thought, gee, I wish that man could come in here and see this
womandoingthis,withjustthesamesortofordinary,tedioustask.Shewasgettingsomerealjoyout
ofit.

Itseemstomethatweonlygetoutofataskwhatweputintoitandifwe'regoingtodoanythingatall
weoughttodoitwithzest,particularlyifwearegoingtotrytodosomethinggoodorhelpful.Ifwe
aregoingtodoagoodorhelpfuldeed,weoughttodoitwithenthusiasmandzest.

If it is done merely as a duty, those people that we're seeking to benefit must feel the blight of our
hardheartedness.Ithoughtofthatpainter,probablyworkinglovinglytofeedawifeandchildren,but
I'msurethattheslapdashnatureofhisendeavorshadtointerpenetratetheirwholelives.

Ifanyoneofusisgoingtodoanythingtohelpanybody,wehavetodoitwithourself,toputsomezeal,
andsomezest,alittlebitofourselvesintoit.

Therearemanypeople,particularlyinchurches,whospendalotoftheirtimeandmoneyonorgan
izedbenevolence;ongivingmoneyorpayingandtherebymoreorlessabsolvingourselffromsponta
neousactsofloveandgoodness.

Whateveryouaregoingtodo,doitzealously,thoroughlyandlovinglyevenifyouarepolishingthe
silver.Polishyoursilveruntilit'sfitforkings.Doyourdailywork,willingly,gratefullyandhappily.

When you give a gift, give yourself with zeal, give it with love. When you pray, don't just mumble
prayersthathavelonglosttheirmeaning.Praywithzeal.Yourprayershouldbevitalanddynamic.It
shouldbeapieceofyou.

We'llnevergetoutofthisrutoffutilityuntilwegetbacktoafaithinsomethingbeyondourselves.It
seemstomethatthesenseofhelplessnessthathangsaroundoverthisoldworldofourstoday,islike
afogthatcomesfromasenseofourfeebleness,comesfromaslapdashapproachtolifeandtothe
world.

Whether your life is going to be a slapdash life or whether it's going to tick and sing to the
metronomeofan innerjoy,dependsonyou.Becauseyouseethe slapdashorthejoyiswithinyou
andyoudeterminewhichwilloutpictureinyourlifeandaffairs.


IdeaNumber35

TheNarrowMarginofFailure

I'msurethatyouhaveseenamicrometeratonetimeoranother.It'saveryhighsoundingnamefora
verysimplelittleinstrument.Themicrometerisalittlescrewgauge,whichallowsyoutomeasureup
toveryfinelimits,infact,youcanmeasuretoonethousandthsofaninchinaccuracy.WhenIfirstsaw
amicrometerIwonderedwhyonearthanyonewouldwanttomeasuretosuchfinelimitsandthenI
read about a building that collapsed killing a large number of people and costing hundreds of
thousands of dollars in damage. An inquiry into the accident revealed that it was due to a
miscalculationinthousandthsofaninch.

Apparently the building had been assembled with iron girders without making sufficient allowance
fortheexpansionandcontractionofthebeams.Duetochangesinthetemperatureandadifferenceof
thousandthsofaninch,itcausedagirdertosnapandthebuildingtofallandalargenumberofpeople
tobekilled.

Suchanarrowmargin,suchatinymarginbetweenthestabilityofastrongbuildingandthefailureof
a tumbling building, and I thought to myself how similar this is to our own lives. There is such a
smallmarginsometimesbetweensuccessandfailure.Weallknowindividualsandorganizationswho
have workedforyearsstrugglingindevelopingor buildingtowardanobjectiveand thenjustwhen
the objective appeared to be in sight, they ran out of faith, hope and strength and abandoned their
projectrightwhentheywereonthevergeofsuccess.

HenryAustinwroteabeautifullittleversethatsumsthisupadmirably.Hesays:

Twixtfailureandsuccessthepoint'ssofine
Thatmensometimesknownot
Whenthey'vetouchedtheline.
Justwhenthepearlwaswaitingonemoreplunge,
Howmanydivershavesimplygivenupthesponge?
Forthereishoneyeveninthebitterestcup
Andthereisnofailuresaveingivingup.

Thereisnofailuresaveingivingup.Thereissuchatinymarginbetweensuccessandfailure,andit
isonlyyourdeterminationwhichcanbridgethattinymarginofafewthousandthsofaninchone
more try that will lead from seeming failure to abundant success, and so many people give up just
whensuccesswastheirsfortheasking.

Yes,myfriend,themicrometermeasuresdowntothousandthsofaninchandyoumaybeatthismo
ment,thousandthsofaninch,microsecondsoftimefromyourgreatestsuccess.Onemoreeffortisall
ittakes.Thereisnofailuresaveingivingup.


IdeaNumber36

LifebytheInch

Oneofmyfavoritefruitsisthepomegranate.WeusedtocallthemIndianApples.Idon'tknowhow
theygotthatname,butwhenIwasalittleboy,oneofmygreatestpleasureswastotakeanickelalong
tothegrocer'sshopandbuyapomegranate.

Theyareabeautifulfruit,butthereisoneveryinterestingthingaboutapomegranate.Althoughthe
seeds inside are beautifully sweet and juicy, they are separated into small compartments by a thin
yellowskinthatisverybitterand,therefore,ifyoutrytobiteintoapomegranateyougetamouthful
ofratherbittermaterialthatisveryunpleasant.

If,however,youeatyourpomegranateoneseedatatime,itisindeedadelicacy.Thisisexactlyhowit
iswithyourlife.Youcannotliveyourlifeasalargelumpyoucanonlyliveyourlifeonedayata
time.Ifyoucutyourself,youdon'thealinamoment.Yourhealingbeginstheverymomentthatyou
cutyourselfanditprogressesdaybyday,minutebyminute.Youdon'tgetaneducationinonelump
itisoneday'sschoolingfollowedbythenextday'sschooling.

Youdon'trecoverfromthelossofadearoneovernight.Yourbereavementisaprocessanditisonly
asyoulearntoliveyourlifeanew,daybyday,thatyouovercomethelossandbegintobuildanew
life.

Thesimpletruththenisthatyoucannotlivelifebythelump.Youhavetolivelifedaybydayandthis
meanspatienceandindustryinbuildingthetypeoflifethatyouwant.Ifyouhaveastifflimb,thisday,
trytobenditalittlemore.Ifyouhavebeenill,thisday,trytofeeljustalittlebetter.Trytorecognize
yourself as recovered just a little and these little by little, daybyday movements lead to the fulfill
mentandcompletionofthethingsyouwantinyourlife.

Ifyoufaceamassiveproblemtoday,don'ttrytobiteitoffinonechunk.Trytomaketoday'ssolution
todayandyouarethatmuchfurtherforwardtowardsthesolutionofthewholeproblem.Ifyoulook
aheadatallyourproblems,thenlifecanlookprettybig.Ifyouhavechildrentoeducate,elderlyloved
ones to tend and care for, and a multitude of responsibilities, life can indeed look like quite a
formidabletrial.

Butyoudon'thavetodealwiththeproblemsoflife,doyou?Youonlyhavetodealwiththeproblems
ofthisoneday.Ifthereis,therefore,onesimplethoughtIcanleaveyouthatwillhelpyoutodothis,it
isjustthisonesimplethought:Lifebythemilecanbeatrial,butlifebytheinchisacinch!Youdon't
havetosolvetheproblemsoflife,youonlyhavetomeettheproblemsofthisday.Youonlyhaveto
endurethepainofthismoment.

Lifebythemileisatrial,butlifebytheinchisacinch!


IdeaNumber37

TheLobsterPot

Doyouenjoylobsters?MostpeopleinNewEngland,whereI'mfrom,do.Hasiteveroccurredtoyou
how they get their lobsters? I am sure you have seen a lobster pot. It is a very simple device that
allows a lobster to make an easy entry into the pot, but provides a very difficult egress. There are
many,manythingsinourliveslikethis.

Wehumanbeingstend,toenteralltoooftenintosituations,circumstancesorcommitmentswithout
reallyconsideringhowwewillgetoutofthemandwhatsortofobligationtheyaregoingtoentail.So
manyofusarereadytosignonthedottedlinewithoutgivingtoomuchthoughttojustexactlywhat
weareundertaking.

Iamsurethatagreatdealoffamilyunhappinessandhumansufferingcomesfromtherefusaltothink
oftheobligationswhenweareabouttosignforthebenefits.YouknowthesortofthingImean.This
appliestoallsortsof aspectsofourlives,toborrowing,to signingnotesorcontractsofallsorts,to
joiningthings.Manypeoplearegreatjoiners.Theyenterinto thingslikemortgages,evenmarriages,
tooeasily.

It is so easy to sign, so easy to accept, so easy to say YES, so easy to make commitments and then
perhapssohardtofulfill,solongtopayback,solongtogrieveandregret,solongtorepent.Obliga
tionsaresoeasytogetintoandsometimessohardtofulfillandalltoooftenwefindthejoysthatwe
havebeenseekingintakingtheseobligationsarenothingbutmirages.Wefollowthecrowd,wefollow
fashion,weclingtoourpersonalpride,wemakecommitmentsandshortsighteddecisionsjusttotry
to keep up with other people. Should we not look beyond the moment and beyond the immediate
pleasuretoallthecostsandalltheimplications,toallthedaysthataretocome,andtothedebtthatis
dueandthepaymentthatwillberequired.Theobligation,theattendance,thetime,whateveritmay
bethatwehavetopaytomeetourcommitmentshouldnotbelightlyundertaken.Commitmentswe
makecarrywiththemobligationsbeyondthelimitsoftime.

Weshouldkeepourselvesasclearaswecanofquestionablecommitments;takealonglookatlifeand
considerallcommitmentscarefullyintheclearlightofreasonandproceedslowlybeforesigningon
thedottedlineandactinglikethelobster.

Commitments are easy to enter, they may not be easy to fulfill and sometimes they are almost
impossibletogetoutof.


IdeaNumber38

PainorPrecept

OncewhenthegreatGautamaBuddhawasteachingthepeopleofasmallvillage,hereachedintohis
garment and withdrew a little brown pebble and said, Behold that which is my teacher! He then
explainedhowhehadbeenwalkingalongthetrailthatdayandhadfailedtonoticethebeautyonall
sidesofhimuntilthelittlepebblehadfallenintohissandal.Hewasforcedtopausetoremoveitand
insodoing,suddenlybecameawareoftheblueofthesky,thebeautyofthetrees,thefragranceofthe
flowersalongthetrail,eventhevividcolorsofabutterfly. Hesaid,Iwaswalkingthroughsomuch
beautyandyetfailedtonoticeituntilthislittlepebblecausedmetopause.Surely,isnotthisthefolly
ofman,thatheistaughtmorereadilybypainthanbyprecept?

It is unfortunately true that often we are taught more readily by pain than by precept. There are
always two roads open to us as we journey through life the road of compulsion and the road of
election.WecanchooseconsciouslytocooperatewithCreative Intelligence.Wecanchoosetogrow,
toimproveourself,tochangeforthebetter.But,ifwedon'tchoosetodoso,wewillbeforcedtodoso.
Thelawwillwieldaprogressivehand.Ifwearenotgrowingthroughchoice,wewillbeforcedtogrow
throughthelessonsofexperience,andexperiencecanbeaveryharshteacherassomeofusalready
know.

A lot of people think that a war is being raged between the forces of good and evil. There is no
evidenceoftwopowersclashingintheuniversalcreativeplan.Then,whatisthecauseofhumanity's
sufferingandproblems?Itisman'simperfectunderstanding.Asman'sunderstandingisliftedup,so
willhisworldbeliftedoutofchaosanddestruction.

Behindeverysuccess,oreveryseemingmiracleofhealing,thereisaverysimplecauseanidea.An
ideacanmakeamilliondollars;itcanhealanincurabledisease.Itcanrebuildanentirelife!Ifyouare
open to new ideas, new ideas will come to you. Sometimes they come as direct illumination; some
timestheytakeamorecircuitousrouteandseekyououtfromthepagesofabook,theconversationof
afriend,orthevoiceofateacher.Ideasarethewayoutofthoseselfimposedlimitations,whichcanbe
aprisonandahell.Allyouneedinordertobringaboutthehealingofanysituationinyourlifeisa
newidea.Thatiswhymeditationissuchanimportantpartofsuccessfullivingitopensyoutoinspi
rationandunderstanding.Whenyoumeditateonaregularbasis,youwillneverfailtoreceiveideas.
Perhaps,notalwaysduringmeditation,buttheywillcome.

There is one idea, active in mind, that can resurrect the life of anyone. It can move you steadily
upwardtoeverhigherlevelsofprosperity,powerandsuccess.Thisistheideaortherealizationthat
allthingsworktogetherforgood.LIVEbythisidea,thisfaith,andyouwillbeabletoovercomeall of
life'schallenges.Youwilldiscoverthatyouareabetter,agreaterpersonbecauseofyourexperiences
inlife.Everyexperiencewillbetransmutedintostrengthofcharacter.


IdeaNumber39

Yesterday'sAchievements

Doyousometimesthinkthere'snotenoughrewardforsomeofthethingsthatyou'vedoneinthislife?
Doyousometimeslookoutandsay,Well,youknowthingsshouldn'tbelikethis,thingsshouldn'tbe
this way, because after all, remember Idid thisorIdidthis some timeago?Areyouapersonthat
triestoliveoffyesterday'sattainments?It'safatefulwaytogothroughlife,believeme.Nobodywants
toeatyesterday'scoldpotatoesandnobodycanliveonyesterday'sachievements.Howmanytimes
doyoufindsomebodythathaddoneonemajorthingintheirlife,thatfirstwritesamajorbookabout
it,thenwritesaminorbookaboutit,thenwritesapamphletaboutit,andthendistortstheirwholelife
tryingtogetpeopletorememberonethingthattheydid.Whenwetrytoliveonyesterday'sglories,
wedietoday.Thinkaboutit!

A number of military officers once approached Napoleon to recommend a young captain for a very
specialpromotion;soNapoleonasked,Whydoyouproposethis particularfellow?Theyanswered
thatthroughunusualcourageandclevernessanddaring,he'dwonaverysignificantvictoryseveral
days before. Napoleon thought about it for a moment and said, Good, but what did he do the next
day?Nobodyknowswhattheyreplied,butthatwasthelastthatwaseverheardofthatyoungman.
Yousee,therearetwokindsofpeopleinthisworldofours;therearethosewhoshowanoccasional
outburstofbrilliance,andtherearethosewhocanbedependedupondayafterdaytodotheirbest
every single day of the year. In other words, there are the flushers, the flashers and the plodders.
Believeme,thatonceyougetintoyourmindthisidea,thatbyonesingleflashofbrillianceyoucan
earnenoughdays,youliveinashes.Today'srewardisfortoday'sendeavor;today'slovebringsback
today'slove.Youcan'tsay,Oh,howIlovedheryesterday,whydoesshenotlovemetoday?Ifyou
wanttobelovedtoday,youmustlovetoday,tomorrow'sloveisnotyethere,yesterday'sloveisspent
and returned. TODAY'S REWARDS COME FROM TODAY'S EFFORTS. You cannot borrow on yester
day's glory and still live a meaningful life. Be glad for the achievements of yesterday, yes, but don't
feed your consciousness, your pride, your selfimage upon them; that's like feeding them cold
potatoes. Make one minor achievement today and live on that. If you can make another major
achievement,fine,butifyoucan't,feedyourselfontheachievementsoftoday.

Love,laugh,share,help,livetoday,andaccepttherewardsoflifefortoday'seffort,andthenyou'llbe
livingontoday'sSpiritualfood,andnotonthecoldpotatoesofyesterday'sattainments.


IdeaNumber40

WatchYourWords

How careful are you in choosing your words? Let's stop for a few moments and think about the
importanceofeverysinglewordwespeak.

You see, a word is more than a mere sign or symbol. It is a magnet! It is filled with the idea it
represents. It is alive with the power of the idea it expresses. Therefore, the continued use of any
word that connotes error, negation, or destructiveness, keeps error, negation and destructiveness
alive in your mind. By our words we often feed and keep alive the very condition we want to
overcome.Rememberthatyouhavetothinkitbeforeyoucansayitandthethoughtsthatfillyour
mindwillfillyourlifewiththeirimage.

Youknow,nearlyeveryonetalkstoomuch!Youcanavoidalotofunhappinessinyourworldifyou
will test the fitness of your words by making them pass through three narrow gates. First, is it
needed?Second,isittrue,andfinally,isitkind?Ifyouweretofollowthissimplemethod,manywords
willbeleftunspoken.Aretheynecessary?Aretheytrue?Aretheykind?

Speak only constructively to those around you. Speak with understanding and sincerity. Be honest.
You can't try to boost a friend's morale with good words and at the same time be silently thinking,
youdeservejustwhatyouaregetting.

We don't realize how far our spoken word travels or whom it reaches. To watch your words
constantly may be difficult in the beginning, but with persistence you can form the right habit of
thinking and speaking. You may find a bit of help through the simple process of cancellation.
Rememberwhenyoustudiedarithmetic?Youfoundcancellationaquickandeasymethodofsolvinga
lotofproblems.Youcanusethissamecancellationwhendestructivewordsarespoken.Cancelunkind
remarks with kind ones. Everytime you catch yourself thinking a destructive thought, immediately
cancelitwithaconstructive one.Dothisoverand over,athousand timesadayifnecessary.In the
evening it is a good feeling to be able to say, Today I lived, thought and spoke as much good as I
could.

Yourwordsdohavepower.Yourwordis,afterall,onlythegarmentofyourthoughtandthequality
ofyourthoughtdetermineswhatcomesintoyourexperience.Thereasonforthisisthatthesubcon
sciousmindisapassiveservant.Itacceptsgoodorevilsuggestionsyoursubconsciousminddoes
not care which. It works all suggestions out to their logical conclusions in your human affairs. In
creative activity the first logical step is thought. The next is the spoken word. We are thinking
constantly.Whenthoughtsareputintowords,theircreativepowerinourlivesbecomesintensified.
Therefore,wehavethoughts,words,andconditionsinalogicalsequence.Remember:thought,word
andthentheconditioninyourlife!That'stheinevitablesequence!

Material things are always in a state of flux because the law of matter is change. When we speak
sincerewordsofTruth,positivewords,constructivewords,we arespeakingthekindofwordsthat
willcreateidealconditions.Theonlyreasonwhyidealconditionsarenotmoreuniversallymanifested
isthatwespeaksomanymutablewords.Likeaseesaw,ourwordsarefirstupandthendownfirst
constructivethendestructive.Resolvenowtowatchyourspokenwordstheyareimportanttoyou
andyourlife.


IdeaNumber41

NotSoEasy

Mostofushavetakensomesortofaptitudetestatonetimeorother.Inthisdayandageitseemsa
most everythingthatayoungpersonisgoingtodo,oranyonegoingtobeemployed,isapttohave
themselvesmeasuredquiteconsiderablybytheteststhattheyhavetotake.

AwhilebackIreadsomeinterestingremarksmadebyaleaderinthefieldofhumanengineering,aDr.
JohnsonO'ConnoroftheStevensInstitute.NowO'Connorwasaskedonceiftherewaseveraperson
whodidpoorlyinallthebatteryoftests.Therearesomanydifferentteststhatitwouldseemunlikely
thattherewouldbeanyhumanbeingwhodidn'tdowellinoneofthem.ButO'Connorlaughedand
said,Oh,yes,thereisatypeofpersonwhodoesbadlyinallthetestsweoffer.Aboutonepersonin
8,000 is absolutely hopeless in all of the tests. So he was asked, What do you do about such a
person?O'Connorsaid,Do?Wedon'tworryabouthim.Heneverpresentsuswithaproblem.Heis
usuallythepresidentofhisfirmorisselfemployed.

Well,thisdidn'tmakeanysensetotheinterviewer.SohewentontoquestionO'Connoraboutthis.
Howcanitbethatamanwhosetestsshowthathehaslittlenativeabilityisabletogoonandbecome
thepresidentofacorporation?O'Connorexplaineditverysimply.Hesaid,Sincenothingevercame
easy to such a person, he learned in his youth to work hard and long. The working hard and long
provideshimwithmuchgreatinnerstrength,courageandexperiencewhichisrealknowledge,andit
isthiswhichmakeshimasuccess.

I thought about this. I thought to myself, Goodness, shouldn't we learn from this in our own life?
When the winds of difficulty blow around us; when we begin to feel inadequate to cope with a
situation;weshouldlearnthatthewindsofdifficultyblowaroundusinorderthatwemightgetabit
stronger.Thinkwhatwouldhappenifyouplantedasaplinginagreenhouseandwaiteduntilitwas
fullgrowntoplantitoutonamountaintop.Itwouldn'tlastonewinter,wouldit?Itisthesaplingthat
growsstrongintheearlywintersofitslifethatbecomesthestrongtreethatcanliveandsurviveinits
nativeworld.

Itisthesamewithhumanbeings.Itisinthemeetingandovercomingofourownproblemsthatwe
grow, and isn't this terribly important in regard to our own children? If we protect them from the
growingexperience;ifwemakeiteasy,tooeasyforthemalltheway,theydon'thavetheopportunity
tolearnthissecretthatDr.O'Connortalksabout:thesecretofhavingtoworkhardandlong,ofhaving
tolearn,ofhavingtogainexperienceinsteadofhavingitfedtothemonaplate.

Itisthelife,whichisexposedtoproblems,itisthepersontowhomeverythingdoesn'tcomeeasythat
growth comes in firm strength. It is the tree that is exposed to the March winds that can stand the
hurricane. It is the life that is allowed to experience and overcome difficulties that becomes the
fulfilledlife.


IdeaNumber42

EarthwormsForFeathers

Are you aware of the importance ofeverysinglechoiceyoumake?Areyou awarehow faranytiny

decisionthatyoumakemaytakeyou?It'saninterestingthought,youknow,thateverydecisionthat
wemakecolorsourattitudes,andourattitudescolorthenextdecisionwemakeandsoit'ssortofa
spiral.Ifyoumakenegativedecisions,theyinduceanegativeframeofmind,andthatmakesiteasier
tomakenegativedecisions.Ifyoumakeapositivedecision,thatengendersapositivestateofmind,
andit'seasiertomakepositivedecisions.

Everychoicehasanaturalresultleadingtofurtherchoicesofasimilarnature.LutherBurbank,the
plantwizard,oncetoldamarvelousfableaboutayoungskylarkthatimpressestheimportanceofthe
choiceswemake.Thisyoungskylarkwasoutflyingonedaywithhisfatherandheardhisfathertell
stories about what fine birds skylarks are. He heardthatthey can flyhigherand singmoresweetly
thananyotherbirdandthefatherwentonimpressinguponhissonthefactthattobeaskylarkwasto
comefromaveryfinefamily,tohaveaworthylineageandtolivealoftyandbeautifullife.Butallthe
timehewaslistening,thelittleskylarkhadoneeartotheground,becausehecouldseefarbelowa
manwalkingalongaroadwaypushingahandcartandonthishandcartwasatinysilverbellthatwas
tinkling very clearly, and so overcome with curiosity, the little skylark suddenly dived towards the
earthlikeaplummet,justasskylarksalwayshavedone;theysoarupwardsingraceful,sweepingspi
rals,singingastheymount,andthentheydescend.Theydropstraightdownward,andthat'salotlike
manwhocanclimbupwardonlywithgreateffort,butcanplungedownveryrapidlyfromsteptostep.

Andsoitwasthelittleskylarkflyingaroundwithhispapa,hearingabouthiswondrouslineagehe
heard also the tinkling bell on the handcart and dived down towards the ground, and he heard the
mansaying,Earthwormsfortradeforskylarkfeathers,earthwormsfortradeforskylarkfeathers!It
seemedastrangethingthelittlemanwasshouting,butthelittleskylarkthoughtearthwormsagreat
delicacyandsoheasked,Howmanywormsdoyougiveforafeather?Themanreplied,Twoworms
for a single feather. So the skylark plucked a feather from his tail, made a trade and ate his two
worms with great relish. Then he spiralled upward again to join his father, hoping that his father
wouldn't notice the absence ofafeatherfromhisplumageandfather skylarkdidn't notice.But day
afterdaytheyoungbirddidthesamething,exchangingfeathersforearthworms,untilonemorning,
hediscovered,whenheliftedhiswings,hecouldn'tfly.Somanyofhisfeathersweremissingthathis
wings could no longer bear his weight up into the air. So, for long months, while his feathers were
growingoutagain,thelittleskylarkhadampletimetorepent hisfoolishbargainofearthwormsfor
skylarkfeathersandtoregretthechoicehehadmade.Soitiswithus,aswemakeourdailychoices.
Weeithertradegoodexperienceforevenbetterones,orwetradeearthwormsforskylarkfeathers.
Every decision you make leads you onward and upward or downward and downward, every single
choice.


IdeaNumber43

YouAreNotAlone

SometimesIthinkthatwefeelcompletelyhelplessinthejobofremakingthisworldofours.Doyou
feelimpotenttomakeyourlife,yourhome,yourtown,yourfamilyandyourworldanybetter?Well,if
youdo,letmetellyouofasimpleincidentthatchangedmymindonthissubject.

One time I visited a bee farm where beehives are kept and maintained. It was in the middle of the
summer,andasIwalkedfromhivetohivetherewasastrangeswishingnoiseratherlikethesoundof
theseacomingupfromtheshore.Iaskedtheoldbeekeeperwhatitwasaboutandheexplainedtome
that these were Fanner Bees. Yes, Fanner Bees. Inside the hive were thousands of bees that stood
therewiththeirheadsdownturnedtowardsthecenterofthehiveandtheirwingswerebeatingas
rapidly as they could. What they actually did was to draw the bad air out through one side of the
entranceanddrawcleanairinfromtheothersidesothatthewholehivewasairconditionedbythese
thousandsofFannerBees.Theydidnothingbutfanairthroughthehivetokeepthehoneybeautiful
andsweetsmelling.Ithoughttomyself,IwonderwhattheindividualFannerBeemustthink?There
heisfanninghiswings;heisn'tmakinganyimpressionone tinybeewhatcanonetinybeedo?
Butyousee,whenhiseffortisaddedtotheotherthousandsofFannerBees,therewefindaperfect
airconditioningsystemforthehive.Icontinuedtothinktomyself,Isn'tthisjustlikeourhumanlife?
Ofmyself,Icandonothing,butwheretwoormorearegatheredtogether,ah,there'sadifference.

Youareprobablythinkingatthismoment,Yes,wouldn'titbegoodifagroupofpeoplegottogether
toairconditionthistroubledworldofours,tofanoutguilt,hatred,misery,fearanddoubt,buthereI
am, all alone, what can I do? You are not alone. Many people feel as you do. By joining our total
consciousness,weareatremendousforce,justlikethatwholeforceofFannerBees.

So,don'tthinkhowhelplessyouare,justthinkofhowmanypeoplefeelasyoudoandresolveright
now that we are going to be the FannerBeesofthisday. We're goingtoairconditionthisworldof
ours by fanning out fear, doubt, dislike, discouragement and all negative thoughts. Instead, we are
goingtostartfanningintoourworldlove,light,laughter,joyandinquisitivewonder.

Everyone of us can add the flap of our wings to the wings of angels glorifying this world and all
togetherweareamightyforceforairconditioningthisworldforgood.


IdeaNumber44

ListenForTheMeaning

Didyoueverhearthestoryaboutthehumanearthatcausedawar?

It'strue,youknow.Therewasatimewhenonehumanearcausedagreatinternationalwar.Theear
belongedtoanEnglishseacaptainwhosenamewasJerkinsandtheSpaniardsthoughtthatCaptain
Jenkins wasn't as honest as he might be. In fact, they were quite convinced that he wasapirate,so
theycapturedCaptain Jenkins andsimplycut offhis ear.Jerkins,righteouslyindignant,broughtthe
restofhimselfandhisearbacktoEnglandandcomplainedtotheMonarchaboutthisterriblerough
handling.Atthattime,theEnglishwerejustspoilingforawarwiththeSpaniardsandtheywereable
tousethisincidenttolaunchthegreatwarcalled,THEWAROFJENKINS'EAR.Ifyoudon'tbelieve
me, go look it up, it's absolutely true. There was once a war between England and Spain known as
THEWAROFJENKINS'EAR.Now,whatIwanttoaskyouis,willtherebeawarofyourearthisday?
I wonder how many days your ears draw you into war? You see the educated ear is a selective
instrument. It doesn't just hear the vibrations of somebody's larynx, it hears the feelings, the
sufferings, the anguish, the difficulty, the joy, the love and whatever lies behind the words. The
educatedearavoidssomanywars,whichmightotherwisehavebeencaused.

Now, as you go out into your world today, ask yourself How educated is my ear? If somebody
comesuptoyouandinthemiddleofaconversationtheysaytoyou,WHYDON'TYOUMINDYOUR
OWN BUSINESS? what do you hear? Do you hear anger, hurt, hatred, resentment? Or do you hear
somebody who is saying, I AM HURT ON THE INSIDE. I DON'T KNOW HOW TO DEAL WITH THIS
PROBLEM? I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT POSSIBLY BECAUSE I'M ASHAMED. HELP ME
SOMEHOWTOOVERCOMETHISPROBLEMINSIDEME.Isthatwhatyouhearordoyouhear,Mind
yourownbusiness,asadeclarationofwar?Doyouthenstompofftoyourdeskorstompofftoyour
ownkitchen?Warisdeclared,unspokenwarandsilencereignsbetweengoodfriendsforalongtime.
Orwhataboutwhenyou'reouttodayandsomebodysaystoyou,WHYDON'TYOUGETOUTOFMY
WAY? Do you feel rejection? Do you feel hatred or are you able to sense in somebody else a deep
senseofinnerfrustrationorloneliness?Doyoulistenbehindthewords,Getoutofmyway,andsee
a hurt, bruised soul? Is your ear educated enough not to go to war over the phrase Get out of my
way?

Yousee,ifyouaregoingtoserveyourCreatorandyourfellowmaninthetruestsense,youwillwalk
throughyourworldwithaneducatedear.Whenyoudothis,youwillbringpeaceandharmonytothe
worldaboutyouandyouwillneverhaveaWarofJerkins'Ear.


IdeaNumber45

TheLimitedView

Doesitseemtoyouthatattimesyourlifeishopelesslytangled,thethreadsofyourlifebecometotally
enmeshed and you can't see your way out and life becomes so complicated that you wonder if it's
evenworthgoingon?

Well, when we become perplexed by difficulties and seeming inconsistencies of life, we should re
member that at any one moment we have only a partial view of things and that a partial view of
anythingnevershowsthethingasitreally is.Wesimplyget oneviewpoint.Anytimethatweseea
particularsegmentasawhole,weseeitinalimitedfashion.Wecan'thopetounderstandthewhole
patternfromourlimitedview.

Forexample,supposingyouweretoshowanEskimoanynumberofpicturesofpartsofacamel;the
Eskimohadneverseenacamel;youmightshowhisrearlegsandahumpandalongneckandahead;
hecouldnevergetanoverallviewofwhatacamelreallylookedlike.

TheotherillustrationthatIliketothinkofintermsofconfusedlivesandperplexityisthecomparison
withaPersianrug.ItissaidthatifyousawonlytheundersideofaPersianrug,itwouldseemtobean
absolutejumbleoflinesandcolorswithnobeautyandnoapparentpatternorlogic.Butthiswouldbe
only because we didn't have the key we couldn't see the whole. If you then turned the rug over,
you'd see it from the right side and you would recognize the pattern, you would realize that the
chaoticthreadsunderneathweremakingupabeautifulandconsistentwhole.

Nowthisisexactlythewayitiswithyourlife,andsomedaywhenwehaveallhadenoughofspiritual
growthinthishumanclassroom,wewillcometoseethatthevariousthreadsthathavegonetomake
upthishumanlife,theseeming disjointedhappenings,thejumbleofevents,theapparentaccidents,
werereallyapartofanorderly,beautifulandperfectpatternthewrapofsomethingsplendid,that
wearesteadilyweavingwithandforourCreator.

Ifyourlifeseemslikeameaninglessjumbleofevents,itsimplymeansthatfromwhereyoustandat
thismoment,yourviewpointenablesyoutoseeonlyatinysegmentofthewhole.Ifwecanstandback
a little further, we see more of the whole, but even then, we have to wait until we achieve a high
degreeofSpiritualunfoldment,torecognizethatwithinthisjumbleofeventsiswoventhepatternof
Perfection.

TheCreatordoesn'tmakemistakes.Knowthatwhateverishappeninginyourliferightnowispartof
apatternofPerfection.


IdeaNumber46

Don'tBreakTheKey

Did you ever break a key in a lock? I was looking at a bunch of keys on a friend's key ring and I
discoveredthattherewasonethatonlyhadtheshankonit.Thekeywascompletelybrokenoff.Isaid
tohim,Howdidthathappen?Hesaid,Well,Ihadthekeyinthedoorandjustkeptturning.NowI
thinkthat'slikemostofusattimes.Wewantthingstoworkoutourwayeventhoughwehavethe
wrongkeyinthelock.Wewantthekeytoturn.Weinsistthatitcomesoutourwayandallwesucceed
indoingistobreakthekey.Youknow,therewasarightkeyforthatlockthatmyfriendwastryingto
open,andhadhechosentherightkey,itwouldhaveturnedvery,veryeasily.Mostofusarelikethis.
Wewanttoturnthekeysthewaywewanttheminourhumanrelationships.

Have you ever noticed how perturbed we get when other people tend to do something differently
fromthewaythatwewouldhavedoneitorwhenotherpeopleseemtomakewrongdecisions,they
decidedifferentlyfromthewaywewouldhavedecided?Webecomeveryangrywhensomebodyelse
drops the ball, misses an opportunity or fails to grab onto something that we think we would have
grabbedonto.Weareallinclinedtodoourshareofsidelinecoachingandtryingtoforceourkeyinto
thelocksofotherpeople'slives.Itisn'teasy,isit,tositbyandwatchsomebodyelsedosomethingina
mannerwhich youthink isless efficientthan the wayyoucoulddoit. Thisis nevermoretruethan
when we're dealing with children. Children don't do things as well as we do; their fingers aren't
nimbleasoursareandit'ssuchagreattemptationtograbsomethingoutoftheirhandsanddoitfor
them.Wetrytoforcethekeyofourunderstandinginthelockoftheiryoungminds,andthisisnotthe
waytohelpthemgrow.

Lifehastobelearnedbyeveryone.Ifonlytheskillfulandcapablepeoplewerepermittedtodothings,
there would be no chance for anyone else to learn those skills and capabilities. Almost anyone can
learntomaketheirownway;andthemostsuccessfulleadersarethosewhodiscoverearlyintheir
livesthatthere'snogoodreasonorpurposetobeservedinputtingsquarepegsintoroundholes,or
intryingtoforcethewrongkeysintotherightkeyholes.Wehavetotakepeopleaswefindthemand
then help them to be useful in their own way, not in ours. We'll never find anyone who will do
anything the way we would do it. Once we recognize that, then we stop chafing at the bit, we stop
tryingtoforcethekeyofourlifeintothelockofotherpeople'sexistenceandweallowthemtogrow
intheirownway.Ithinkit'ssummedupbeautifullyformeinalittlepoemthatsays:

Andinselfjudgment,ifyoufindyour
deedstoothersaresuperior,Toyou
Providencehasbeenkind,andyoushouldbeso
tothoseinferior.

Examplesshedagenialrayoflightwhichmenareapttoborrow,sofirstimproveyourselftodayand
thenimproveyourfriendstomorrow.

Dothat,andyou'llbeabetterselfandthey'llbebetterfriendsorchildren.


IdeaNumber47

SelfDiscipline

IntheWadiNatrunintheThevayidDesertinEgypt,rightinthemiddleofadesert,milesandmiles
fromanywaterorfromanylivingthing,theregrowsanalmondtree.Yes,analmondtree,rightinthe
blankest,bleakestdesertyoucanimagineanditgetsthereasaresultofselfdiscipline.

Intheyear346,therewasanoldmonknamedAbbaAmoyandhewasinthedesertprayingwithone
ofhispupilsandAbbaAmoywastryingtoteachthepupilaboutthefruitsofselfdisciplineandthe
pupilfounditdifficulttounderstandtheprinciplesthattheoldmonkwasteachinghim.Sothemonk
tookhisstick,whichwasanalmondbranch,andstuckitonthesand.Thenhesaidtohispupil,whose
namewasJohn,theShort:

Water this, he told John, the Short, until it bears fruit and you will know what I mean. Well, the
spot was miles and miles from the nearest well, but that night, when it got cool, John, the Short,
walkedallthewaytothewell,filledhisjarwithwater,andwalkedbackandwateredthestick.Hedid
thiseverysinglenightforthreeyearsandattheendofthreeyears,thestickbegantobearfruit.When
itdid,John,theShort,tookthekernelstothenearbymonasteryandsaidtothemonks,Behold,the
fruitsofselfdiscipline.

Are you at the moment living in a mental desert? Are you faced with sickness, loneliness, family
problems,businessproblems,moneyworries,thatmakeitfeelasthoughyouarelivinginthemiddle
ofadesert?Thenletmetellyou:Thatdesertcanflourish,justasthealmondtreedid,intoeverything
youneed,withselfdiscipline.BythisImeanthedisciplineofyourownmind.

Do as old John, the Short, did and constantly become aware of that which you are thinking and
discipline your thoughts so as only to think of the good. Also, refuse to allow defeat or negative
thoughtstoenteryourmind.Wateryourmindwiththoughtsoflove,health,joy,peaceandharmony
and you will have the fruits of selfdiscipline blossom and flourish in the desert of your present
experience,nomatterwhatitmaybe.


IdeaNumber48

UptheDownStaircase

IfyouarelikemostpeopleinAmerica,youwillhustleandbustlethrougheverysinglemomentofthe
day. I wonder just how much of this hustling and bustling is really necessary for maximum
production.

IrememberwhenIwasayoungboy,myparentswouldtakemeto adepartmentstorethathadan
escalator.Iwouldalwaysrunaheadofthemtotheescalator,tothemovingstaircase,andstarttorun
upthedownstaircase.I'msureeveryonehastriedit.It'saninterestingprocedure.Yourunlikemad
andstayinthesameplacewhileotherpeopleonthestaircase arenotrunningatallandyetthey're
goingsomewhereand,youknow,humanlifeissomuchlikethis.

Activitydoesn'talwaysmeanaction.Sometimeswedothemostwhenweappeartobedoingnothing.
A lot of time is wasted in fussing over nonessentials. We can ill afford this extravagant output of
wasted strength. Sooner or later we simply have to decide what is important and what is not
importantbecauseifwetrytodoeverythingatoncewe'llendupbydoingmoreharmthangood.

Themindisadelicateandcomplexinstrumentsubjecttostrainsandstressesfromwithinandwith
out.Toomuchpressurecanoftenresultinabreakdown.Mental fatiguecanbefarmoreexhausting
thanbodilyweariness.AsIseeit,thereisonlyonewaytokeepgoingandthat'sbyconstantcommuni
cationwiththeSourcewithinus,theSourceofalllifeandvitality.

Thereisapointofstillnessatthehubofthewhirlingwheeloftimeandit'stothatcenterthatwemust
learntowithdrawifwearenottobebrokenonthespokesorfallofftheedge.Quietnessattheheart
ofactivityistheonlyplacewhereGodcangettous,soifwewantpeace,wemustputourselvesina
positiontoreceiveit.Thisisthesecretoftherenewalofmental,physicalandspiritualstrength.

Havingfoundthisplacewithinyou,youwillexperiencetheconfidenceofmindthathasfounditstrue
center. A mind that has found its true center has found a place of poise like an ant walking along a
balancebeam,whofindsthecenterandthebeamisstationary.Soitiswithus.

Amongyourhustlingandbustlingtaketimeouttobestillandsay,AmIreallyrunningupthedown
staircase?Alltoooftenwearewithourownwillrunningagainstthetideoflife.Ifyoufindyourself
runningupthedownstaircase,swiftly getoffandstandstill ontheupstaircase,andthatup
staircaseisastaircaseofquietmeditation.


IdeaNumber49

TheSinofOmission

HereisabeautifulpoembyMargaretSangster.It'scalled,TheSinofOmission:

Itisn'tthethingthatyoudo,dear;itisthethingthatyouleaveundone.
Thatgivesyouabitofheartache.Atthesettingofthesun.
Thetenderwordforgotten.Theletteryoudidn'twrite,
Theflowersyoudidn'tsend,dear.Areyourhauntingghostsatnight.
Thestonethatyoumighthaveliftedoutofabrother'sway.
Abitofkindlycounsel.Youweretoohurriedtosay:
Thelovingtouchofahand,dear;thegentlewinningtone;
Butyouhadnotimenorthoughtfor,withtroublesenoughofyourown.
Thoselittleactsofkindness,soeasilyoutofmind
Thosechancestobeanangel,whichwepoormortalsfind;
Theycomeinnightandsilence,eachsadreproachfulwraith,
Whenhopeisfaintandflagging,andachillfallsonourfaith;
Forlifeisalltooshort,dear,andsorrowisalltoogreat
Tosufferourslowcompassion,thattarriesuntilit'stoolate.
Anditisn'tthethingyoudo,dear,it'sthethingyouleaveundone,
Thatwillgiveyouabitofaheartache,atthesettingofthesun.

What is it that lies before you to do this day, to gladden somebody else's life, that in a short while,
when you no longer have the opportunity, will hang heavy on your heart, if you haven't done it?
Perhapsitistheloveyouwantedtosharewithaparent,orachild,oralovedone,orthepatchingup
ofaquarrelthat'sgoneontoolong.

Life is too short, my friend. Spend this day catching up. Do it today. Express the love that remains
unexpressed;forgivetheerrorthatremainsunforgiveninyourheart;patchupthatquarrelthatneeds
patchingup.Youhavethisdaytorepairalltheravagesoftimeandtodothatwhichisrightandthat
whichisloving.WhynotreachouttosomeonetodayandovercometheSinofOmission.Iguaranteeit
willmakeyourlifesomuchhappier.


IdeaNumber50

VoiceorEcho?

Areyouavoiceoranecho?Itseemstomethatwiththevastincreasesinhumanknowledgeandwith
themagnificentinventionsbywhichknowledgeisdisseminatedandspreadaround,we'reallindan
gerofjustbecomingplainparrots,theechoofsomeoneelse'sopinions.

Fromourdailynewspapers,fromcinemas,fromtelevision,booksandplatformscomevoicesofother
peopletellinguswhatweshouldthink;tellingushowtoliveorwhattobelieve.I'moneofthese.Isit
here and try to share ideas with you, and as I was thinking about this, I thought, There is a grave
dangerthatyouwillallowmythinkingtobecomeyourthinking.IsuddenlyrealizethatI'mnotreally
tryingtogetyoutothinkwhatIthink.WhatI'mreallytryingtodoistogetyoutothinkforyourself.
TaketheideasthatIcommunicate,takethemawayandhasslethemwithinyourself.

DR.ROBERTANTHONY

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