7 The Greatest Secret of the Ages

YOU WILL NEVER be truly effective in prayer until you awaken to the greatest of all truths and the secret of all the Bibles in the world. It is expressed in our Bible in Deuteronomy 6:4: Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one . . . which means: Hear (understand), O Israel (illumined or awakened man): the Lord (the Lordly Power, the Supreme Power) our God (our Ruler, the Cosmic Power) is one (One Power—not two, not three, not ten, not 1,000—just one).

THE TRULY EFFECTIVE PRAYER WHICH TRANSFORMS YOUR LIFE

God is, and all there is, is God. This Presence and Power are within me, flowing through me as harmony, health, peace, joy, right action, abundance, true expression, and inspiration. I am a clear channel for the Divine, and I know that as I think and feel these truths I will experience all the blessings of life. I make a habit of this prayer, and wonders happen in my life. This establishes a new cycle of consciousness which transforms my life.

KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE COSMIC BEAM AND MOVE AHEAD IN LIFE

Cease going around in circles! Keep your eyes on the beam of God’s glory and move forward in the Light. Cease going through life like a stereotyped machine repeating the same old clichés, thinking the same old way, and reacting in a mechanical way.

When your car becomes old, you get a new one. For much the same reason, from time to time, you get a new suit of clothes, a new home, or perhaps a new and better office. What about acquiring a new vision, a new image of yourself, right now? Expect the best, look forward with anticipation to a most glorious future, believe it is possible, live with the new image of yourself, and you will experience the joy and thrill of the fulfillment of your dream.

What are you aware of today? What is the level of your perception? You are looking at members of your family, you see your wife, your husband, your children, and you hear them speak. Yet there are many things in your home of which you are not aware. You know if you turned the dial of a television set or a radio, you would hear voices and music which are here now. But are you aware of the Divinity within you, which can heal, inspire, lift you up, reveal your hidden talents to you, and literally work miracles in your life? This untapped Power is always there. Begin now to use It!

HOW A SPACE SCIENTIST GETS ANSWERS IN SPACE RESEARCH

Dr. Lothar Von Blenk-Schmidt, an air space scientist and member of the Rocket Society who lives near me, told me that whenever he has a problem in the engineering department relative to space projects, he stills the wheels of his mind and affirms quietly: Infinite Intelligence within me casts light on this project, and suddenly his mind is illuminated with the answer, which sometimes appears as a graph in his mind. Infinite Intelligence within him responds to his requests.

GET A NEW IMAGE AND BECOME WHAT YOU WANT TO BE

You must move mentally from the old patterns of thought and in the realm of your own mind dwell on the way you want things to be. If you want to go to San Francisco, you obviously must leave Los Angeles. Likewise, if you want to be a happy man, a joyous man, a prosperous man, and a successful man, you must leave behind you as a closed book your old grudges, peeves, negative thinking, and self-denunciation and get a new self-image.

Picture yourself as the man you want to be. Be faithful to the new image, and it will sink down, by a process similar to osmosis, to your subconscious mind where it will gestate in the darkness, and after a while it will come forth in your experience as the joy of the answered prayer. You will become a new man in God and go forward from glory to glory.

HOW YOU CAN ACHIEVE GREAT THINGS

Direct your mind joyously, positively, and definitely in the direction of advancement, promotion, achievement, and accomplishment. Move mentally and spiritually to establish in your mind a new residence wherein you may live in the mental atmosphere of achieving, accomplishing, and fulfilling your heart’s desire. Your assumption that the new image of yourself is real, and your sensing the reality of it in your mind, will cause your idea to jell within you and thereby become a living fact.

Don’t go home or to work the same way every day; don’t read the same old newspapers all the time; don’t talk the same old way. Avoid the clichés of your everyday speech. Get a new set of friends, go home by a different route—you may perceive opportunities and values you never saw before! Think about everything and every person from the standpoint of the Cosmic Power, and you will achieve and accomplish mighty things.

HOW TO BANISH A “JINX”

Last year I interviewed a man who had gone bankrupt a short time previously; he had developed ulcers and high blood pressure and was, as he said, “in a mess.” He believed that there was a curse following him, that God was punishing him for his past sins, that God had it in for him, and that he was now reaping his just deserts. All these were false beliefs in his mind.

I explained to him that just as long as he believed there was a jinx following him he would suffer, for the simple reason that man’s beliefs take form as experiences, conditions, and events. I gave him the following prayer which worked miracles in his life; it will do the same for you:

There is but one Creator, one Presence, and one Power. This Power is within me as my Mind and Spirit. This Presence moves through me as harmony, health, and peace. I think, speak, and act from the standpoint of Infinite Intelligence. I know that thoughts are things, what I feel I attract, and what I imagine I become. I constantly dwell on these truths. Divine right action governs my life. Divine Law and Order reign supreme and operate in all phases of my life. Divine guidance is mine now. Divine success is mine. Divine prosperity is mine. Divine love fills my soul. Divine wisdom governs all my transactions. Whenever fear or worry come into my mind, I affirm immediately: “God is guiding me now,” or, “God knows the answer.” I make a habit of this, and I know that miracles are happening in my life.

He prayed out loud in this manner five or six times daily, and at the end of a month his health was restored and he was taken in as a partner in a growing concern. His whole life had been transformed. The new idea enthroned in his mind became his master and compelled him to express the riches of life.

Ideas are our masters. We are controlled and governed by ideas. Enthrone in your mind the Divine ideas suggested to this man, and watch wonders begin to happen in your life.

HER BELIEF IN ONE COSMIC POWER HEALED HER

Recently I talked to a woman who was being treated with ultrasonic therapy and aspirin for arthritis. She had been praying, but she said, “Every time I begin to think of health, harmony, and peace, the thoughts of incurability, pain, and deformity fill my mind, and I can’t think of health.”

The reason for this was that since infancy she had been conditioned to a belief in the incurability of many diseases, and since she believed that arthritis is crippling and cannot be healed, she seemed to lack the capacity to deliberately, incisively, and decisively choose health, harmony, and wholeness. She was able to neutralize this attitude, however, after she followed my instructions.

I explained to her that the first thing she had to do was to disabuse her mind of a belief in two powers, one causing sickness and the other determining the degree of health. She actually believed in these two powers and failed to perceive the simple truth that the cause of all sickness, poverty, misery, and suffering in the world is the rather prevalent belief in them which causes the mind to be doubleminded and unstable in all its ways.

She decided to get back on the beam, so to speak, and, bringing her mental field of vision into focus, she affirmed boldly:

I believe once and for all that there is but one Cosmic Power, which is all wholeness, beauty, and perfection. I know and believe that the greatest secret in life is to know and to believe in the one Power which is infinitely good and perfect. I consciously claim that the healing love of this Power which created me is now dissolving all deposits in my body which do not belong there. I am a temple of the Living God, and I glorify God in my body.

As she continued in this prayer, her faith in the one Power increased and her belief in an evil power gradually diminished until her conviction of the one Cosmic Power reigned supreme in her mind. She continued with ultrasonic therapy, and gradually her limbs became supple. All the calcareous deposits characteristic of arthritis were eliminated, the edema subsided, and her body became a channel for the one Presence and the one Power which always moves as beauty, love, and peace. Her enthronement of the one Power in her mind and her belief that It was functioning in her body neutralized everything that contradicted this in her subconscious mind.

LET YOUR HEAD-KNOWLEDGE BECOME HEART-KNOWLEDGE

A woman once told me about her wonderful philosophy of life. She had written a thesis called A Way of Life, all of which was very sound scientifically and true spiritually. Yet her personal life was chaotic: she had been divorced four times (her age was 25), she was an alcoholic, and she was unable to pay the rent.

I explained to her that her theories, postulates, and philosophical niceties must become embodied and made manifest in her experience; otherwise they were meaningless. In other words, her “head-knowledge” had to become “heart-knowledge”; that is to say, she had to assimilate and appropriate these truths until they became a living part of her, in the same way as a piece of bread becomes a part of her blood stream.

Her thoughts, theories, and ideas—while lovely—were not demonstrated in her body, her experience, or her character. The only way she could demonstrate her theories was to put them into practice in her life, which is exactly what she had failed to do.

I gave her a pattern of prayer, and as she regularly and systematically filled her mind and heart with these truths, she became completely transformed. This is the prayer she used:

God is love, and His love fills my soul. God is peace, and His peace fills my mind and body. God is perfect health, and His health is my health. God is joy, and His joy is my joy, and I feel wonderful!

The scientist puts forth a theory or a hypothesis, but before it is generally accepted as a scientific fact it has to be validated objectively on the screen of space; otherwise it remains merely a theory. The thought must be made flesh, which means it must be embodied in your experience. You must demonstrate your religious beliefs in all areas of your life.

WHY DOESN’T GOD DO SOMETHING ABOUT WAR, CRIME, AND DISEASE?

A man recently said to me, “If God exists, why doesn’t He stop war and crime and wipe out disease?” This same cry is on the lips of many people, and it has been so for ages. Often you hear people cry, complain, whine, and say, “Why does God allow me to suffer so? Why did God visit this sickness on me? I am so good, I follow all the rules and tenets of the Church, and yet I am suffering. Why?”

The answer is rather simple, I am glad to say, and that is that God (the Cosmic Power), which is Infinite Mind, Infinite Intelligence, and Infinite Life, indwells each man, and every time man thinks, he is using the creative power—for good or for evil. Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Man is what he thinks all day long,” and the Bible says, . . . as he thinketh in his heart, so is he . . . (Proverbs 23:7).

Occasionally I visit people in the hospital, and some say, “Why did this happen to me? I hate no one.” Others say, “God is punishing me. Why?” The explanation is the cure, in most cases: If you think good, good follows; if you think evil, evil follows.

Down through the ages theologians have brainwashed and hypnotized people into believing that evil was caused by a devil with hoofs and horns, bat-like ears, and a pointed tail which stings—a sort of hideous monster that tempts us to do evil. There is no such being; it is a figment of the imagination and a projection of the distorted, twisted imagination of man.

When we are very young, our minds are impressionable and we are not capable of indulging in abstract reasoning; therefore, we accept these weird pictures which are suggested by our parents and others, just the same as if you hypnotized a person and said to him, “You now see a snake crawling across the room.” His subconscious14 would automatically accept that suggestion, and he would see the thought-form of a snake. To him it would seem to be real. This is why you read that Martin Luther threw an inkwell at the devil, which was nothing more nor less than a projection of his own thought caused by the illusions and delusions of his mind regarding good and evil.

THE SUPERSTITIOUS ORIGIN OF THE BELIEF IN TWO POWERS

When we were children, we thought only in pictures or mental images, and, not knowing better, we projected these images of a God and a Devil. We envisaged God up in the heavens and the Devil down below somewhere in hell, not realizing that in actual fact we create our own heaven and our own hell by the way we think, feel, and believe.

Primitive man in the jungle attributed pleasure to the gods and all pain and suffering to evil spirits or devils of his own creation. Prehistoric man realized that he was subjected to forces over which he seemed to have no control. The sun gave him heat, but it also scorched the earth. The fire burned him; the thunder terrified him; the water flooded his lands; and his cattle were drowned. His understanding of external powers consisted of primitive and fundamental beliefs in many types of Gods.

From this crude reasoning, he proceeded to supplicate the intelligences of the winds, the stars, and the waters, hoping they would hear him and answer his prayer. He proceeded to make offerings and sacrifices to the gods of the wind and the rain. Primitive man divided the gods and genii into beneficial and malignant powers. Hence, the universality of these two characters in all systems of religion. Today we have a hangover from these age-old superstitious beliefs.

YOUR FREEDOM TO CHOOSE HEALTH, HAPPINESS, AND PROSPERITY

When I was a very young boy, and before I had the ability to think abstractly, I was told that God was a beneficent, kindly old man up in heaven with angels all around him, that the streets of heaven were paved with gold, and that if I would be good I would some day go to heaven, but if I was bad I would go to hell.

Man is a free being, and he has the freedom to become a cutthroat, a gangster, a murderer, or a healthy, happy, joyous, and prosperous man dedicated to God, to his country, and to the world. Man is not compelled to be good. He has freedom to be good or to be bad. If he were compelled to be good, there would be no freedom; man would be an automaton with no free choice or will.

All of our suffering, pain, and misery are due to our ignorance, misuse, and misapplication of universal laws and principles. Our ignorance of the laws of life must yield to the wise use of both these laws and those of the universe.

There is only one Creative Power, but It is called by many names, such as God, Allah, Brahma, Reality, Cosmic Power, etc. In the absolute sense this Power moves as unity, harmony, peace, beauty, order, rhythm, and love; but man has freedom to use this Power constructively or destructively, as he chooses. Behold I set before you this day, a blessing and a curse; A blessing if ye obey the commandments . . . and a curse if ye will not obey . . . (Deut. 11:26–28).

There is only one Cosmic Power, and I would like to insist that you can never really experience true happiness and true peace of mind until you acquire a deep and abiding conviction in the one Presence and the one Power operating in your life.

Your real freedom from want, fear, and sickness comes with your new awareness, conviction, and absolute belief in the one Power in which there are no divisions or quarrels. There cannot be two powers; one would cancel out the other, and there would be chaos everywhere. Become an open channel and let God’s love, harmony, and peace flow through you at all times.

THE KNOWLEDGE THAT GIVES YOU PEACE, HARMONY, AND ANSWERS TO YOUR PROBLEMS

God is Infinite, and Infinity cannot be divided or multiplied. The Bible says, I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things (Isaiah 45:7).

This Bible quotation dramatizes and portrays lucidly that there is but one Power which you can use to give you light, which means that when called upon consciously by you, Infinite Intelligence will cast light on any problem. You create darkness when you say, “I’m stymied; I’m blocked. There is no way out. It’s hopeless.” By your conscious decree, when you have adopted this mental attitude, you are simply saying: “Infinite Intelligence does not know the way out,” and according to your belief you live in the darkness and confusion created by your ignorance or misuse of this Cosmic Power.

You create peace by dwelling mentally on whatsoever things are true, lovely, noble, and God-like. You create evil in your experience by thinking negatively, viciously, and destructively. In other words, ask yourself this question: “How am I using this Power?” When you use It constructively, harmoniously, and according to Its nature, you may call It “God in action,” and when you use It destructively, negatively, and contrary to Its nature, you may call It “the Devil” or “Satan.”

GOOD AND EVIL IN YOUR LIFE ARE DETERMINED BY YOUR THOUGHT

All the forces of nature may be used two ways. How can any man on the face of the earth become a new man and experience a new birth, or an inner transformation, except he understands the simple truth expounded here? Remember, you can never really grow and advance spiritually until you come to the absolute conviction that there is but one Power. I am the Lord: that is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images (Isaiah 42:8).

You can use electricity to vacuum the floor, to illuminate your home, or to kill someone. You can use water to drown a child or to give it a bath. The same wind that drives a ship onto the rocks will also carry it to safety. You can use nitric acid constructively in various chemical and industrial processes, or you can use it to blind someone. You can use atomic energy to drive a ship across an ocean or to destroy cities, towns, and people.

Good and evil are in the mind of the individual—they are nowhere else. Whether a thing is good or bad depends on the use to which it is put, and in the final analysis, that is determined by the thought of man.

YOU BECOME WHAT YOU CONTEMPLATE

Believe nothing you do not understand. Put it on the shelf of your mind and say to yourself, “My Higher Self sheds light on this subject.” Every belief tends to manifest itself. For example, if you believe you have to come back again and again to this plane to expiate for your sins, you are definitely placing yourself in chains of bondage and thralldom, thereby inhibiting your spiritual growth.

Think big from now on. Enlarge your vision. Contemplate freedom, peace of mind, abundance, and goodwill to all. You become what you contemplate. Your new self-image has its own mathematics and its own power of self-expression; there is nothing to oppose you, so there is no cause for anxiety or worry.

YOUR HEAVENLY VISION

Turn your eyes to the Cosmic Power within and keep yourself on the beam of God’s glory, and you will rise higher and higher every day. You will go from power to power, from octave to octave, and from glory to glory. God keep you on this path now and forevermore.

SUMMARY

IDEAS WORTH RECALLING

The greatest secret of the ages is to know there is only one Power, God—not two, not three or more, just one.
The truly effective prayer is voiced while realizing that God’s Presence flows through you as harmony, health, peace, joy, right action, abundance, true expression, and inspiration.
Keep your eyes on the beam of God’s glory and move forward in the Cosmic Light.
If you have a problem and can’t solve it, affirm quietly: “Infinite Intelligence within me casts light on this project.”
Picture yourself as the person you want to be. Be faithful to the new image, and your subconscious will bring it to pass.
Think from the standpoint of Divine Principle about everything, and you will accomplish and achieve great things.
Ideas are our masters. We are controlled and governed by ideas of our own making.
Consciously claim that the healing power of God which created you is now dissolving all disease deposits in your body. Let God’s love heal you.
Head-knowledge is not enough; it must become heart-knowledge to be truly effective.
Every time a man thinks, he is using the Creative Power. Use It for Cosmic good in your life.
Man creates his own heaven and his own hell by the way he thinks, feels, and believes.
You have the freedom to choose health or sickness, wealth or poverty. You are a choosing, volitional being. Choose health, harmony, and happiness as your Cosmic birthright.
When you use the one Cosmic Power constructively, It is called God. When you use It negatively, men call It the devil or Satan. All the forces of nature can be used two ways. Whether a thing is good or bad depends on the use to which it is put, and that is determined by the thought of man. The key to the degree of happiness in every man is his thought.
Our good and evil depend on the way we use our mind.
Every belief tends to manifest itself. Believe only that which is lovely, noble, and God-like and it will come into your experience.
Focus your attention on the great truths of God—this is the Heavenly Cosmic vision.