Nuggets of the New Thought: Several Things That Have Helped People

by William Walker Atkinson

It is difficult to convey even a hint of this Truth to any but those who are prepared to receive it. To others it will seem to be arrant folly. As Emerson says: "Every man's words, who speaks from that life, must sound vain to those who do not dwell in the same thought on their own part. I dare not speak for it. My words do not carry its august sense; they fall short and cold. Only itself can inspire whom it will * * * * Yet I desire even by profane words, if sacred I may not use, to indicate the heaven of this deity, and to report what hints I have collected of the transcendent simplicity and energy of the Highest Law."

If you prefer to try to solve the Problem of Life—the Riddle of the Universe—by scientific investigation, by exact reasoning, formal thought, mathematical demonstration—by all means follow this method. You will be taught the lesson of the power and the limitations of the human intellect. And after you have traveled round and round the circle of thought and find that you are but covering the same ground over and over again—after you have run into the intellectual cul de sac, the blind alley of Logic—after you have beaten your wings against the cage of the Unknowable and fall exhausted and bruised—after you have done all these things and have learned your lesson—then listen to the voice within, see the tiny flame which burns steadily and cannot be extinguished, feel the pressure of the Something Within and let it unfold. You will then begin to understand that as the mind of Man developed by slow stages from mere sensation to simple consciousness; from simple consciousness to self-consciousness (in its lower and higher degrees) so is there a consciousness, higher than we have heretofore imagined, in store for Man, which is even now beginning to manifest itself. You may then understand that there may be an Intelligent Faith which knows, not simply believes. These and other lessons you will learn in time. And when you have reached the stage where you feel the promptings of the Higher Reason, and live in accordance therewith, you will say with Carpenter:

"Lo! the healing power descending from within, calming the enfevered mind, spreading peace among the grieving nerves. Lo! the eternal saviour, the sought after of all the world, dwelling hidden (to be disclosed) within each * * * * O joy insuperable."

"LET A LITTLE SUNSHINE IN."

The young people's song—Good "New Thought" doctrine—Plenty of sunshine in life, if you look for it—Don't make a dark dungeon of your mind—Throw open the windows of your soul—How to let a little sunshine in.

The other night, just as I was dropping off to sleep, a crowd of young people passed along, returning from some social gathering. They were bubbling over with mirth and joy, and every girl seemed to be talking at the same time, the voices of the young men serving merely to punctuate the sentences of their fair companions. Just after they passed my window, some one started up a song, and the rest joined in. I do not know the song they sang, but the chorus went something like this:

"Let a little sunshine in;

Let a little sunshine in;

Open wide the windows,

Open wide the doors,