W. W. A.
Chicago, October 2, 1902.
CONTENTS.
| THE KEYNOTE. | |
| "I Can and I Will"—The recognition—Equal to any task—A feelingof calm confidence—An abiding sense of power, reserve force andsecurity—The Something within—The triple key to the door ofattainment—The vibrations of Success | [9] |
| THE SECRET OF THE I AM. | |
| The Ego—The physical plane—the mental plane—the new planeof consciousness—The Real Self—The "I"—The Temple of theLiving Spirit—Development of the "I Am" consciousness.—TheHigher Reason | [12] |
| "LET A LITTLE SUNSHINE IN." | |
| The young people's song—Good "New Thought" doctrine—Plentyof sunshine in life, if you look for it—Don't make a darkdungeon of your mind—Throw open the windows of your soul—Howto let a little sunshine in | [17] |
| THE HUNGER OF THE SOUL. | |
| The soul, as well as the body and mind, requires nourishment—The want, a promise of the fulfillment—The law of unfoldment—Nourishment provided when it is needed—Provided for in theDivine Plan—The feast of good things | [19] |
| LOOK ALOFT. | |
| The old sailor's advice—The warning cry—Peace and content—Mental balance recovered—The glory of the Universe—All governedby Law—The Law manifests everywhere—A reverent feeling of calm,peaceful faith—Look aloft | [24] |
| TO-MORROW. | |
| The work and cares of to-day easy if we do not worry about thoseof To-morrow—The mysterious To-morrow and its terrors—The way tomeet the cares of To-morrow—To-morrow's opportunities will come assurely as To-morrow's cares—Law supreme—No need to be afraid—Thereal To-morrow | [26] |
| IN THE DEPTHS OF THE SOUL. | |
| Stores of information; rich mines of knowledge; uncut gems andprecious metal awaiting the discoverer—Psychic and spiritualfaculties—Strange attraction of soul to soul—The Rock ofAges—The Voice of the Soul | [29] |
| FORGET IT. | |
| Why worry about the past—Hugging old sorrows to your Bosom—What to do with them—Don't Poison your life—Pain bringsexperience—Learning your lesson—How to get rid of a gloomythought—Throw it away—Forget it | [34] |
| THE KINDERGARTEN OF GOD. | |
| Life a great school—Man a child learning his lesson—Preparingfor higher grades—The game-task—What it all means—Things asthey are—The rules wise and good—Each task means something—Greeting the Kindergartner | [36] |
| THE HUMAN WET BLANKET. | |
| Sees no good in anything—Expects the bad and gets it—Attractsit to him—Depresses everything and everyone—Carries an aura ofnegative depressing thought—Clammy—Puts out the fire of energy—Take Warning | [39] |
| AIM STRAIGHT. | |
| Fear attracts as well as Desire—Learn to aim straight and aimat the right thing—Examples—The bowler—The bicyclist and thecar—The bicyclist and the post—The boy and the marbles—Wisdomfrom the babe—Look straight; Think straight; Shoot Straight | [41] |
| AT HOME. | |
| Don't be afraid—You are at home—Not here by chance—You belonghere—YOU are the soul—YOU cannot be hurt—YOU cannot bebanished—YOU are right in the universe, and there is nooutside—Great things are before you—Make yourself at home | [46] |
| THE SOLITUDE OF THE SOUL. | |
| Lorado Taft's group—Description—Each stands alone—Each isin touch with every other—Soul communion in silence—Silence isthe sanctuary of the soul—The oneness of life and its apparentseparateness—The message | [48] |
| JERRY AND THE BEAR. | |
| The Law's plan of developing an individual—Folly of clinging toold worn out sheaths—The story of Jerry and the Bear—Who Jerrywas—He meets the Bear—The fight—The result—The consequences—The change in Jerry—The moral | [51] |
| THE UNSEEN HAND. | |
| The consciousness of the hand—When it first was felt—Alwaysthere—Now as the hand of a father—Now as that of a mother—Alover—A brother—Always guiding—Always leading—A mystery—Some day we will know the owner of the hand | [55] |
| HOW SUCCESS COMES. | |
| Seeking success through mental powers—Holding the thought alonenot sufficient—How to get the real benefit of thought-force—Fall in with the workings of the Law—Stand on your own feet—One step at a time—"I Do" as well as "I Am" | [58] |
| THE MAN WITH THE SOUTHERN EXPOSURE. | |
| Southern exposure as good a thing in a man as in a room—Theman who faces the sun—Lives one day at a time and does the besthe knows how, and is kind—Finds Joy and carries it to others—Simple, loving, kind—Open yourself to the sun | [60] |
| A FOREWORD. | |
| An individualist—Wearing no ticket or label—No one has acorner on Truth—Enough to go around—The Infinite Power backof all things—The Real Self is Spirit—The Law of Attraction—Fearthought—The Brotherhood of Man | [63] |
| PARTNERSHIP. | |
| Next to marriage, partnership is the most important association—Mental partnerships—Be careful whom you choose as your mentalpartners—Get into partnership with the best thoughts—Dissolvepartnership with the other kind—"I Can, I Will; I Do, I Dare." | [65] |
| THE SEEKERS. | |
| The secret of life—the riddle of existence—Sought now as ever—The whyness of things—Attempts to answer the riddle—TheSeekers—Fantastic creeds and queer philosophies—Revampingold ideas—The story of the man and the stars—The answer tobe found within the soul | [69] |
| MENTAL PICTURES. | |
| "I hang bright pictures in my mind"—Bright picturesencourage one; gloomy ones depress—Get rid of your old,gloomy mental pictures—Make a bonfire of them—Get ridof the particularly miserable one, first of all—Then putbright ones in their places | [73] |
| DON'T RETAIL YOUR WOES. | |
| A miserable habit—It grows as it is fed—A nuisance tofriends and neighbors—It brings to you more of the samekind—You will get what you look for—Looking for troublebrings it—Don't imagine that you are being "put upon"—Don't retail your woes | [75] |
| LIFE. | |
| There is in each of us a potential Something seeking forexpression—The Something Within—The plant of life—No usetrying to repress it, for develop it must—Life has a meaning—Growth, development and unfoldment—The lesson of life | [79] |
| LET US HAVE FAITH. | |
| Faith necessary in every human undertaking—You have faith inman, but are afraid to trust GOD—The Universe if governed byLaw—The Law is in operation everywhere—Don't be afraid—Youare a part of the plan—Fall in with the Law—Have faith, havefaith | [83] |
| DO IT NOW. | |
| Do to-day's tasks now—Don't try to do to-morrow's work to-day,but be sure and do the day's work Now—The baneful effects ofprocrastination—Not fair to yourself—Demoralization attendantupon putting off things—The world looking for people who cando things Now | [87] |
| GET IN TUNE. | |
| Marconi's wireless messages—Vibrations reach only theinstruments attuned to the sender—The same law in operationon the mental plane—The correct pitch is the thing—Get intune with the proper vibrations—Get the messages from thebest senders | [89] |
| MENTAL TOXIN AND ANTI-TOXIN. | |
| A new toxin—The microbes in the thoughts we think—The newanti-toxin—Thoughts may poison—Fear causes paralysis—Hatecauses insanity—Fear and Hate have killed their thousands—Gates' experiments—How to overcome the poison of bad-thinking | [91] |
THE KEYNOTE.
"I Can and I Will"—The recognition—Equal to any task—A feeling of calm confidence—An abiding sense of power, reserve force and security —The Something within—The triple key to the door of attainment—The vibrations of Success.
"I Can and I Will!!!" Have you ever said these words to yourself with a firm conviction that you were speaking the truth—with the strong feeling that needed no other proof. If so, you then felt within you a thrill which seemed to cause every atom of your being to vibrate in harmony with some note in the grand scale of Life, sounded by the Real Self. You caught a momentary glimpse of the Inner Light—heard a stray note of the Song of the Soul—were conscious for the moment of YOURSELF. And in that moment of ecstasy you knew that untold power and possibilities were yours. You felt that you were in touch with all Strength, Power, Knowledge, Happiness and Peace. You felt that you were equal to any task—capable of executing any undertaking. For the moment there was no Fear in the world for you. All the Universe seemed to vibrate in the same key with your thought. For the moment you Recognized the Truth.
But alas, the spirit of doubt, distrust, fear and unfaith called you again to Earth—and the vision faded. And yet, the remembrance of the sight—the echo of the sound—the remnant of the new-found strength—is with you still. You still find that memory to be a stimulus to great efforts—a comforting thought in times of weakness and trial. You have been able to accomplish much by the aid of the lingering vibrations of the mighty thought.
In times of great peril—grave perplexities—life and death struggles, a feeling of calm confidence and strength often comes to us, and we are borne on by a power of us and in us (and yet in everything else, too) that seems to lift us off our feet and sweep us on to safety—to peace—to rest. We are possessed of an abiding sense of power, reserve force and security. When extraordinary conditions confront us—when our bodies seem paralyzed—our minds stupefied—our will power gone, we are often made conscious of the existence of the Real Self, and it answers our involuntary demand, and comes to rescue with the cheering cry: "I AM HERE"!
Many of us have made use of this inner strength without realizing it. One day we were sorely distressed and made the demand, and lo! it was answered. We knew not from whence came this new-found strength, but we were conscious of the uplift, and felt more confidence in ourselves. The next time we confidently demanded the aid, and again we were answered. We acquired that which we call confidence and faith in ourselves, and were carried over many a dark place and started on the road to Success. Our repeated success caused us to think and speak of our "luck," and we grew to believe that we had a "star," and took chances and risks that others would not dream of. We dared. We made some apparent failures, but we soon came to know them as only lessons leading to ultimate success. The "I Can and I Will" feeling carried us over rough places safely, and we got to simply know that we would "get there" in the end.