Gaining Spiritual Power

The world is filled with men and women seeking pleasure, excitement, novelty; seeking ever to be moved to laughter or tears; not seeking strength, stability, and power; but courting weakness, and eagerly engaged in dispersing what power they have.

The world is filled with men and women seeking pleasure, excitement, and novelty. They constantly seek to be moved to laughter or tears, rather than seeking strength, stability, and power. Instead, they invite weakness and eagerly waste the power they have.

Men and women of real power and influence are few, because few are prepared to make the sacrifice necessary to the acquirement of power, and fewer still are ready to patiently build up character.

Few men and women have real power and influence. That is because few are prepared to make the sacrifices needed to gain power. Even fewer are ready to patiently build their character.

To be swayed by your fluctuating thoughts and impulses is to be weak and powerless; to rightly control and direct those forces is to be strong and powerful. Men of strong animal passions have much of the ferocity of the beast, but this is not power. The elements of power are there; but it is only when this ferocity is tamed and subdued by the higher intelligence that real power begins; and men can only grow in power by awakening themselves to higher and ever higher states of intelligence and consciousness.

If you let your changing thoughts and impulses control you, you are weak and powerless. If you control and direct those forces properly, you are strong and powerful. Men with strong animal passions often have the ferocity of a beast, but this ferocity is not power. The elements of power are there, but real power begins only when higher intelligence tames and subdues that ferocity. And men can grow in power only by awakening to higher and higher states of intelligence and consciousness.

The difference between a man of weakness and one of power lies not in the strength of the personal will (for the stubborn man is usually weak and foolish), but in that focus of consciousness which represents their states of knowledge.

The difference between a weak man and a powerful one is not the strength of his personal will. A stubborn man is usually weak and foolish. The difference lies in their focus of awareness, which reflects what they know.

The pleasure-seekers, the lovers of excitement, the hunters after novelty, and the victims of impulse and hysterical emotion lack that knowledge of principles which gives balance, stability, and influence.

People who seek pleasure, excitement, and novelty lack an understanding of principles. So do those ruled by impulse and overwhelming emotion. Understanding these principles gives people balance, stability, and influence.

A man commences to develop power when, checking his impulses and selfish inclinations, he falls back upon the higher and calmer consciousness within him, and begins to steady himself upon a principle.

A man begins to develop power when he controls his impulses and selfish tendencies. He turns instead to the higher, calmer awareness within him and begins to ground himself in a principle.

The realization of unchanging principles in consciousness is at once the source and secret of the highest power.

Recognizing unchanging principles in your consciousness is both the source and the secret of the highest power.

When, after much searching, and suffering, and sacrificing, the light of an eternal principle dawns upon the soul, a divine calm ensues and joy unspeakable gladdens the heart.

After much searching, suffering, and sacrifice, the light of an eternal principle dawns on the soul. When this happens, a divine calm follows, and the heart is filled with indescribable joy.

He who has realized such a principle ceases to wander, and remains poised and self-possessed. He ceases to be “passion’s slave,” and becomes a master-builder in the Temple of Destiny.

A person who has understood such a principle stops wandering and remains calm and self-controlled. He is no longer “passion’s slave,” but becomes a master builder in the Temple of Destiny.

The man that is governed by self, and not by a principle, changes his front when his selfish comforts are threatened. Deeply intent upon defending and guarding his own interests, he regards all means as lawful that will subserve that end. He is continually scheming as to how he may protect himself against his enemies, being too self-centered to perceive that he is his own enemy. Such a man’s work crumbles away, for it is divorced from Truth and power. All effort that is grounded upon self, perishes; only that work endures that is built upon an indestructible principle.

A man ruled by self-interest rather than principle changes his stance when his personal comfort is threatened. He is determined to defend and guard his own interests. He considers any means acceptable if they serve that purpose. He is always plotting ways to protect himself from his enemies. He is too self-centered to see that he is his own enemy. Such a man’s work crumbles because it is separated from Truth and power. All effort based on self-interest perishes. Only work built on an indestructible principle endures.

The man that stands upon a principle is the same calm, dauntless, self-possessed man under all circumstances. When the hour of trial comes, and he has to decide between his personal comforts and Truth, he gives up his comforts and remains firm. Even the prospect of torture and death cannot alter or deter him. The man of self regards the loss of his wealth, his comforts, or his life as the greatest calamities which can befall him. The man of principle looks upon these incidents as comparatively insignificant, and not to be weighed with loss of character, loss of Truth. To desert Truth is, to him, the only happening which can really be called a calamity.

A man who stands by his principles remains calm, fearless, and in control of himself in all circumstances. When tested, he may have to choose between his personal comfort and Truth. He gives up his comfort and stands firm. Even the prospect of torture and death cannot change his mind or stop him. A selfish man sees the loss of his wealth, comfort, or life as the greatest disasters that could happen to him. A man of principle sees these losses as relatively unimportant. He would not weigh them against the loss of character or Truth. To him, abandoning Truth is the only thing that can truly be called a disaster.

It is the hour of crisis which decides who are the minions of darkness, and who the children of Light. It is the epoch of threatening disaster, ruin, and persecution which divides the sheep from the goats, and reveals to the reverential gaze of succeeding ages the men and women of power.

A crisis reveals who serves darkness and who belongs to the Light. Times of threatened disaster, ruin, and persecution separate the sheep from the goats. They reveal men and women of power, whom future generations will regard with reverence.

It is easy for a man, so long as he is left in the enjoyment of his possessions, to persuade himself that he believes in and adheres to the principles of Peace, Brotherhood, and Universal Love; but if, when his enjoyments are threatened, or he imagines they are threatened, he begins to clamor loudly for war, he shows that he believes in and stands upon, not Peace, Brotherhood, and Love, but strife, selfishness, and hatred.

As long as a man is free to enjoy his possessions, he can easily persuade himself that he believes in and follows the principles of Peace, Brotherhood, and Universal Love. But his enjoyments may be threatened, or he may imagine they are. If he then begins to demand war loudly, he shows what he truly believes in and stands for. It is not Peace, Brotherhood, and Love, but conflict, selfishness, and hatred.

He who does not desert his principles when threatened with the loss of every earthly thing, even to the loss of reputation and life, is the man of power; is the man whose every word and work endures; is the man whom the afterworld honors, reveres, and worships. Rather than desert that principle of Divine Love on which he rested, and in which all his trust was placed, Jesus endured the utmost extremity of agony and deprivation; and today the world prostrates itself at his pierced feet in rapt adoration.

A man of power does not abandon his principles, even when threatened with the loss of everything on earth, including his reputation and life. His every word and deed endures. Future generations honor, revere, and worship him. Jesus endured the deepest agony and deprivation rather than abandon the principle of Divine Love. He relied on that principle and placed all his trust in it. Today the world bows at his pierced feet in rapt adoration.

There is no way to the acquirement of spiritual power except by that inward illumination and enlightenment which is the realization of spiritual principles; and those principles can only be realized by constant practice and application.

The only way to gain spiritual power is through the inner illumination and enlightenment that come from realizing spiritual principles. And those principles can only be realized through constant practice and application.

Take the principle of divine Love, and quietly and diligently meditate upon it with the object of arriving at a thorough understanding of it. Bring its searching light to bear upon all your habits, your actions, your speech and intercourse with others, your every secret thought and desire. As you persevere in this course, the divine Love will become more and more perfectly revealed to you, and your own shortcomings will stand out in more and more vivid contrast, spurring you on to renewed endeavor; and having once caught a glimpse of the incomparable majesty of that imperishable principle, you will never again rest in your weakness, your selfishness, your imperfection, but will pursue that Love until you have relinquished every discordant element, and have brought yourself into perfect harmony with it. And that state of inward harmony is spiritual power. Take also other spiritual principles, such as Purity and Compassion, and apply them in the same way, and, so exacting is Truth, you will be able to make no stay, no resting-place until the inmost garment of your soul is bereft of every stain, and your heart has become incapable of any hard, condemnatory, and pitiless impulse.

Take the principle of divine Love and meditate on it quietly and diligently, seeking to understand it fully. Shine its searching light on all your habits, actions, speech, and dealings with others, and on every secret thought and desire. As you continue, divine Love will reveal itself to you more and more fully. Your own shortcomings will stand out in ever sharper contrast, spurring you to renewed effort. Once you have glimpsed the incomparable majesty of this imperishable principle, you will never again settle for your weakness, selfishness, and imperfection. Instead, you will pursue that Love until you have given up every element that conflicts with it. You will bring yourself into perfect harmony with it. That state of inner harmony is spiritual power. Take other spiritual principles, such as Purity and Compassion, and apply them in the same way. Truth is so exacting that you will find no place to stop and rest. You will continue until the innermost garment of your soul is free of every stain. Your heart will then be incapable of any harsh, condemning, or pitiless impulse.

Only in so far as you understand, realize, and rely upon, these principles, will you acquire spiritual power, and that power will be manifested in and through you in the form of increasing dispassion, patience and equanimity.

You will gain spiritual power only to the extent that you understand, realize, and rely on these principles. That power will show itself in you through growing detachment, patience, and evenness of mind.

Dispassion argues superior self-control; sublime patience is the very hall-mark of divine knowledge, and to retain an unbroken calm amid all the duties and distractions of life, marks off the man of power. “It is easy in the world to live after the world’s opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude.”

Freedom from passion shows great self-control. Profound patience is the true mark of divine knowledge. A person of power remains completely calm amid all the duties and distractions of life. “It is easy to follow the world’s opinions when among others. It is easy to follow our own opinions when alone. But a great person keeps the independence of solitude, with perfect sweetness, even in the midst of a crowd.”

Some mystics hold that perfection in dispassion is the source of that power by which miracles (so-called) are performed, and truly he who has gained such perfect control of all his interior forces that no shock, however great, can for one moment unbalance him, must be capable of guiding and directing those forces with a master-hand.

Some mystics believe that perfect freedom from passion is the source of the power to perform so-called miracles. And surely, a person who has gained such perfect control of all his inner forces must be able to direct them with a master's skill. No shock, however great, can throw him off balance for even a moment.

To grow in self-control, in patience, in equanimity, is to grow in strength and power; and you can only thus grow by focusing your consciousness upon a principle. As a child, after making many and vigorous attempts to walk unaided, at last succeeds, after numerous falls, in accomplishing this, so you must enter the way of power by first attempting to stand alone. Break away from the tyranny of custom, tradition, conventionality, and the opinions of others, until you succeed in walking lonely and erect among men. Rely upon your own judgment; be true to your own conscience; follow the Light that is within you; all outward lights are so many will-o’-the-wisps. There will be those who will tell you that you are foolish; that your judgment is faulty; that your conscience is all awry, and that the Light within you is darkness; but heed them not. If what they say is true the sooner you, as a searcher for wisdom, find it out the better, and you can only make the discovery by bringing your powers to the test. Therefore, pursue your course bravely. Your conscience is at least your own, and to follow it is to be a man; to follow the conscience of another is to be a slave. You will have many falls, will suffer many wounds, will endure many buffetings for a time, but press on in faith, believing that sure and certain victory lies ahead. Search for a rock, a principle, and having found it cling to it; get it under your feet and stand erect upon it, until at last, immovably fixed upon it, you succeed in defying the fury of the waves and storms of selfishness.

To grow in self-control, patience, and calmness is to grow in strength and power. You can only grow in these ways by focusing your mind on a principle. A child tries hard to walk unaided, falls many times, and finally succeeds. In the same way, you must begin the path to power by trying to stand alone. Break free from the tyranny of custom, tradition, convention, and other people's opinions. Keep going until you can walk alone and stand tall among others. Rely on your own judgment. Be true to your own conscience. Follow the Light within you. All outward lights are like will-o’-the-wisps. Some people will tell you that you are foolish and that your judgment is faulty. They will say that your conscience is completely wrong and that the Light within you is darkness. But do not listen to them. If they are right, the sooner you discover this as a seeker of wisdom, the better. You can only find out by putting your own powers to the test. So follow your path bravely. At least your conscience is your own, and following it is what makes you a man. To follow another person's conscience is to be a slave. You will fall many times, suffer many wounds, and be battered for a while. But press on in faith, believing that certain victory lies ahead. Search for a rock, a principle, and cling to it when you find it. Get it under your feet and stand tall upon it. Then, firmly planted on it, you will finally withstand the furious waves and storms of selfishness.

For selfishness in any and every form is dissipation, weakness, death; unselfishness in its spiritual aspect is conservation, power, life. As you grow in spiritual life, and become established upon principles, you will become as beautiful and as unchangeable as those principles, will taste of the sweetness of their immortal essence, and will realize the eternal and indestructible nature of the God within.

For selfishness in every form is waste, weakness, and death. Unselfishness, in its spiritual aspect, is preservation, power, and life. As you grow spiritually and become firmly grounded in principles, you will become as beautiful and unchanging as those principles. You will taste the sweetness of their immortal essence and realize the eternal and indestructible nature of the God within you.