about forcing particular conditions into existence—they
will grow spontaneously out of the seed we have planted.
All we have to do now, or at any time, is to take the
conditions that are ready to hand and use them on
the lines of the sort of “being” towards
which we are directing our Thought—use them
just as far as they go at the time, without trying
to press them further—and we shall find
by experience that out of the present conditions thus
used to-day, more favourable conditions will grow
in a perfectly natural manner to-morrow, and so on,
day by day, until, when later on we look back, we shall
be surprised to find ourselves expressing all, and
more than all, the sort of “being”
we had thought of. Then, from this new standpoint
of our being, we shall continue to go on in the same
way, and so on ad infinitum, so that our life
will become one endless progress, ever widening as
we go on. And this will be found a very quiet
and peaceful way, free from worry and anxiety, and
wonderfully effective. It may lead you to some
position of authority or celebrity; but as such things
belong to the category of “Having” and
not of “Being” they were not what you
aimed at, and are only by-products of what you have
become in yourself. They are conditions, and
like all other conditions should be made use of for
the development of still more expanded “being”;
that is to say, you will go on working on the more
extended scale which such a position makes possible
to you. But the one thing you would not try to
do with it would be to “boss the show.”
The moment you do this you are no longer using the
Word of the larger Personality, and have descended
to your old level of the smaller personality, just
John Smith or Mary Jones, ignorant of yourselves as
being anything greater. It is true your Word
still directs the operation of the Law towards yourself—it
always does this—but your word has become
inverted, and so calls into operation the Law of Contraction
instead of the Law of Expansion. A higher position
means a wider field for usefulness—that
is all; and to the extent to which you fit yourself
for it, it will come to you. So, if you content
yourself with always speaking in your Thought the Creative
Word of “Being” from day to day, you will
find it the Way of Peace and the Secret of a Happy
Life—by no means monotonous, for all sorts
of unexpected interests will be continually opening
out to you, giving you scope for all the activities
of which your present degree of “being”
renders you capable. You will always find plenty
to do, and find pleasure in doing it, so you need
never be afraid of feeling dull.
But perhaps you will say:
“How am I to know that I am not speaking my own Word instead of that of the Creative Spirit?”
Well, the word of the smaller personality is always based on the idea of possessing, and the Word of the Spirit is always based on the idea of Becoming—that is the criterion. And also, if we base our speaking of the Word on the Promises of Spirit, we may be sure that we are on the right track.