THE INNER SECRET

or
That Something Within
by X
there are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy."
Hamlet !"t #$ S"ene %.
&. '. ()W&*+ , -).
., #mperial !r"ade, &udgate -ir"us
&)'/)'. 0. -.
/#*H&, &!'/!1 , 2*TT#T
34 *ast 3.th Street
'*W 5)+6 -#T5
3788
210&#SH*+S9 ST!T*:*'T
!nti"ipating "ertain ;uite natural ;uestions
on the part of some of the readers of this un<
usual boo=, >e have felt it to be proper to
ma=e some sort of statement "on"erning the
a"tual nature of the e?perien"es forming an
important portion of its sub@e"t. When a""ept<
ing the manus"ript for publi"ation, >e as=ed
the author >hether the story should be an<
noun"ed as biographi"al, autobiographi"al, or
as allegori"al in treatment and "hara"ter$
>hether it >as a statement of the a"tual e?<
perien"e of a "ertain a"tual individual, the
"omposite a"tual e?perien"es of several su"h
individuals, or merely pure fi"tion, or perhaps
an allegori"al representation of "ertain deep
truths of human e?perien"e and life $ >hether
its statements >ere a"tual fa"ts, or merely
"based and founded on fa"ts". We as=ed
these ;uestions be"ause >e felt that the
readers, li=e ourselves, >ould feel that >hile
the story is set forth in the ordinary narrative
form of fi"tion >ritten from the assumed vie><
point of the "first person", nevertheless, there
is a "ertain unes"apable air of sin"erity and
a"tual e?perien"e pervading it >hi"h gives to
one the feeling that "this surely is fa"t, or
based on fa"ts".
A TH* #''*+ S*-+*T
The follo>ing some>hat "rypti" statement is
the reply of the author, in his o>n >ords #
prefer that you let the story spea= for itself.
Those for >hom it is intended, and >ho are
prepared for the re"eption of the Truth e?<
pressed in its lines, >ill re"ogniBe and a""ept
that Truth >ithout further assuran"e on your
part, or on mine$ those for >hom it is not
intended, and >ho are not as yet prepared to
re"eive that Truth, >ill see nothing but idle
fan"y and imagination in the story, and >ould
fail to be "onvin"ed to the "ontrary by any pos<
sible "laims of authority, 9proof,9 or assur<
an"es from yourselves or from myself.
"Whether the story represents the a"tual
e?perien"e of some one "ertain individual, or
of several su"h individuals, is not essential$
neither is it ne"essary to indi"ate the identity
of su"h person or persons, assuming that he,
or they, are a"tual individuals. #t is enough
to state that the e?perien"es related in the
story are a"tual human e?perien"es e?peri<
en"es >hi"h Cin >hole or in partD have "ome
to many persons, and >hi"h >ill be re"ogniBed
as real and a"tual by many >ho read the
story.
"#f it suits better the purposes of publi"a<
tion to announ"e the story under the "lassifi<
"ation of fi"tion, by all means do so but
here # ma=e the distin"tion bet>een the terms,
210&#SH*+S9 ST!T*:*'T %
"fi"tion" and "fi"titious, respe"tively. #n
the form and arrangement of its presentation,
this story may be te"hni"ally "lassified as fi"<
tion but in its essential substan"e it is fa"t,
a"tuality, truth. !gain, some portions of the
story may be regarded as allegori"al rather
than as literal but, as the trans"endentalists
ever tell us, there are "ertain high truths, and
"ertain deep human e?perien"es, >hi"h are
"apable of e?pression only through symbols
and the forms of metaphor and allegory $ many
an allegory is the e?pression of a"tual human
e?perien"e in the form of symbols. )n"e
more, # suggest that you let the story spea=
for itself. Those >ho re"ogniBe Truth in E
>hatever form it may present itself >ill =no> F
@ust ho> true is this story $ those >ho do not
=no> Truth even >hen it is in plain sight
>ho fail to see the forest be"ause of the pres<
en"e of the trees they >ill see naught but
mere fi"tion in this narrative. This is as it
should be it does not matter in the least."
So, you see, there is not mu"h more for us
to say in the "ase. We "an add only that >e
feel "onvin"ed that the author of this story
is >ell informed "on"erning the sub@e"t of
>hi"h he >rites, and that he is earnest and
sin"ere in his presentation of it. We have the
general impression Cand >e thin= that most of
the readers of the story >ill also have itD that.
4 TH* #''*+ S*-+*T
apart from the te"hni"al form and arrange<
ment of the narrative, there is involved in it
the a"tual e?perien"e of some a"tual human
being, or of several su"h$ and that, at least,
the story is founded on fa"t and based on the
real human e?perien"e of someone, some<
>here, at some time. 0ut inasmu"h as >e pos<
sess no "ertain, definite information on this
point, and as our "general impression" is
rather more a feeling than a"tual =no>ledge,
>e believe that >e >ould do >ell to a""ept the
suggestion of the author, and, a""ordingly, pro<
"eed to "let the story spea= for itself".
The 2ublishers.
THE INNER SECRET
I
THE QUEST
&oo=ing ba"=>ard over the spa"e of nearly
si?ty years, and re"onstru"ting in my mem<
ory the thoughts and in"idents of my boyhood
from the age of ten until # >as >ell advan"ed
into my "teens", # "an no> see that # >as
al>ays a see=er after a something but dimly
defined in my mind but >hi"h represented a
distin"t ">ant" of my nature. That some<
thing so early sought after may be said to
have been of the nature of an "#nner Se"ret"
of su""essful a"hievement and personal po>er.
Gust >hy # should have "ome to the "on"lu<
sion that there really e?isted an #nner Se"ret
of Su""ess and 2ersonal 2o>er a, something
>hi"h >hen on"e =no>n enabled one to
a"hieve su""essful results in >hatever >as
underta=en by him # do not =no>. 2erhaps
it >as the manifestation of an intuition $ per<
haps it >as the result of a suggestion >hi"h #
had absorbed from reading. !t any rate #
no> see that the idea had be"ome fi?ed in my
7
3H TH* #''*+ S*-+*T
"ons"iousness, and that it "olored all my
youthful thought.
# soon noti"ed that "ertain men seemed to
possess some se"ret po>er >hi"h enabled
them to "do things" and to step out from the
"ro>d. # noti"ed that men la"=ing this po>er
never >ere able to a""omplish anything >orth
>hile, and >ere apparently doomed to remain
in the "ro>d of those of medio"re attainment
and "ommonpla"e a"hievement. # in;uired
diligently of my elders "on"erning the sub@e"t
of this se"ret po>er, but my in;uiries >ere
ans>ered either by sage reproof or else by sug<
gestive shrugs of the shoulders. :y mother
assured me that su""ess >as the re>ard of
honesty and morality. :y father assured me
that su""ess >as the re>ard of perseveran"e
and hard >or=. )ne of my un"les told me
that it >as "something about" some men that
made them su""essful, but that that "some<<
thing" >as beyond human =no>ledge said
he "5ou either have it, or you haven9t it,
and that9s all there is to it". :y un"le >as
not in the ran=s of those >ho "had it", # may
add.
!pplying my mother9s standard, and meas<
uring the su""essful men # =ne>, as >ell as the
unsu""essful ones, # soon "ame to see that
honesty and morality, >hile ;uite e?"ellent
things, >ere not the infallible "auses of su"<
TH* I1*ST 33
"ess. # sa> that there >ere some very honest
and ;uite moral men >ho >ere far from su"<
"essful there must be something else needed,
thought #. #n the same >ay, # dis"overed that
>hile perseveran"e and hard >or= >ere im<
portant personal "hara"teristi"s, nevertheless,
they did not al>ays bring su""ess$ # =ne>
many persevering and hard >or=ing men >ho
>ere "ursed >ith poverty and failure here,
again, thought #, the #nner Se"ret must be
loo=ed for else>here.
So, finally, # "ame to a""ept, at least par<
tially, my un"le9s notion that the #nner Se"ret
>as to be found in that "something about" in<
dividuals >hi"h destined them for su""ess.
0ut, try as # >ould, # "ouldn9t get over the
idea that that "something about" su"h individ<
uals might be a";uired even >hen not orig<
inally possessed by the see=er after su""ess.
This idea, also, must have been more or less
the result of intuition, for it >as "ontrary to
all that # >as told by those around me >ho
asserted the e?isten"e of that inner "some<
thing" in persons >hi"h made for su""ess. So
# began to read the popular a""ounts of the
lives of su""essful men, in hopes of stumbling
upon that #nner Se"ret.
# remember very >ell that about this time
# >as greatly attra"ted by a boo= >hi"h one
of my "ousins had bought at a "ir"us it >as
38 TH* #''*+ S*-+*T
entitled 9The &ife of 2. T. 0amum", and >as
in the nature of an autobiography of that on"e
very >ell =no>n sho>man, >ho >as really
something more than a mere sho>man. !s
# no> remember the boo=, it >as mu"h better
than many of the later boo=s >ritten for the
purpose of pointing out the +oad to Su""ess.
#t told of the su""essive rises and the several
falls of that "apable man $ of ho> he >on su"<
"ess and lost it after>ard lost it several
times, in fa"t only to >in ne> su""ess by the
po>er of faith in himself and by intelligent
hard >or=.
0amum in"luded in this boo= his "elebrated
le"ture upon "The !rt of :oney<Jetting",
>hi"h, in its >ay, >as an e?"ellent treatise
upon >orldly >isdom. 0ut of far greater
value, in my eyes at least, >as the e?pression
of an inner faith and belief in himself on the
part of old "2. T." Cas >e boys "alled himD.
#t seemed to me as if this man had in some
>ay tapped a vein of something savoring of
an #nner Se"ret, >hi"h "arried him on to Su"<
"ess though he seemed un"ons"ious of that
fa"t and attributed all the "redit to himself
and his traits of "hara"ter.
# remember that # >as so impressed by this
idea that, about a year later, >hen the big
sho> >as in our to>n, # "alled upon :r. 0ar<
num at his hotel and as=ed him about it. He
TH* I1*ST 3K
dis"laimed any su"h "something", ho>ever,
although some>hat "onfusedly admitting that
there "might be something to it, if >e =ne>
more about it"$ he urged me to ">or= hard,
save your money and use your >its". !s #
left him, glan"ing ba"=>ard over my shoulder,
# sa> a strange e?pression on his fa"e, and a
>istful loo= in his eyes. "That man =no>s
more than he is >illing to tell", thought #.
# read Samuel Smiles "Self Help", and other
boo=s of that =ind$ all of these prea"hed e?<
"ellent sermons on Thrift, Wor=, *"onomy,
et"., a""ompanied by "onvin"ing illustrations
dra>n from the lives of su""essful men. !ll
this advi"e >as good some of it # after>ard
greatly profited by but my missing #nner
Se"ret >as not to be found there. !fter>ard,
# read a""ounts of the lives of great statesmen,
>arriors, and mer"hant prin"es, and obtained
useful information from them but there >as
no mention of the #nner Se"ret there, either.
!ll that # "ould get out of the sub@e"t from
my reading seemed to be that "ertain habits
and "hara"teristi"s made for su""ess self<"on<
fiden"e being one of the most important of
these. 0ut, nevertheless, # seemed to have
even more "learly fi?ed in my mind the fa"t
that there >as, indeed, a "something about"
these individuals >hi"h, if one "ould but also
a";uire it, >ould ma=e him su""essful.
3A TH* #''*+ S*-+*T
0y this time # >as in my early t>enties, do<
ing reasonably >ell in the >ay of >or=ing my
>ay up the ladder of business su""ess as an
employee. :y ;uest for the #nner Se"ret >as
unabated. #n spite of all the sage advi"e "on<
"erning the rules of su""ess >hi"h >as freely
besto>ed upon me by older men prin"ipally
by my employers # still "lung to my belief
in the e?isten"e of su"h an #nner Se"ret, al<
though at times my reason reproved me for
so doing. The ordinary rules did not seem
to a""ount for the results, although they >ere
useful ad@un"ts, # thought. 'either >ould #
for a moment a""ept the "on"lusion that "it is
all lu"=" >hi"h >as the final report of many
of my asso"iates in so"ial and business life. #
still believed in "that something about" "er<
tain persons, and # felt a =een desire to learn
the #nner Se"ret of that something.
!s # gre> older # "ame in "onta"t >ith a
number of "omparatively su""essful men, and
# lost no opportunity of ta"tfully sounding
them "on"erning this sub@e"t. :ost of them$
at least at first, pooh<poohed the idea $ but
after>ard, in moments of unusual "onfiden"e,
a number of them some>hat relu"tantly and
almost shamefa"edly a"=no>ledged to me
that at times they >ere "onvin"ed that there
>as"something about" them, or rather "some<
thing outside or above" them, >hi"h aided and
TH* I1*ST 3%
assisted them in their su""ess something
>hi"h inspired and glided them often in spite
of their o>n previous ideas and "onvi"tions
"on"erning their "ourse of a"tion. This >as
rather a ne> idea to me, or, at least, a varia<
tion of my old idea. # determined to investi<
gate the matter further.
!s # gre> still older, and >as thro>n more
and "loser in "onta"t >ith men of affairs and
of prominen"e in the >orld, # found that in
the se"ret heart of most of them there e?isted
a silent, indefinite, but still strong feeling that
there >as a "something outside" >hi"h >as
"on their side", and >hi"h >as al>ays >or=<
ing silently in their behalf a brooding Some<
thing >hi"h >as a fount of strength and an
unfailing resour"e. This seemed to be the
fundamental idea the essen"e of the thought
or e?perien"e $ but nearly all of these persons
had ea"h his o>n interpretation of the essen<
tial fa"t.
Those of strong religious "onvi"tions held
that "the &ord is on my side$ He has been
good to me, and al>ays has responded to my
"all". )thers seemed to believe in a (avoring
/estiny, or even a "lu"=y star". )thers spo=e
vaguely of "higher po>ers", or "beings on the
other shore", >ho >ere >or=ing in their be<
half.
)thers had rather gross superstitions "on<
34 TH* #''*+ S*-+*T
"eming the "ase in"redible superstitions they
seemed, "onsidering the standing of the men
holding them. )ne and all, ho>ever, held
that "that something about" them >as really
a "something above" them in >hi"h they had
"ome to believe and to trust, by reason of their
o>n e?perien"e in the matter.
! fe> points, ho>ever, >ere impressed upon
my mind, in "onne"tion >ith these "ases,
namely, that C3D the greater the degree of
faith in the "something above" held by the
individual, the greater seemed to be his degree
of su""ess attributed to su"h influen"e$ C8D
that it seemed to ma=e but little differen"e
@ust >hat the person believed to be his benefi<
"ent and po>erful "something above", pro<
vided that he believed in it >hether it >as
/ivine 2roviden"e, /estiny, or a :agi"
-harm, it seemed to ">or=" provided that he
believed in it "hard enough"$ and CKD that
the more faith and belief the person had in
that "something", the greater gre> his faith
and belief in himself.
When the person got to believe that the
"Something and himself >ere in partnership,
the former as silent partner, and himself as
a"tive partner, then the firm be"ame a mighty
one, and he, himself, as the out>ard front of
the "ombination be"ame filled >ith self<"onfi<
den"e and self<relian"e. #t >as all merely the
TH* I1*ST 3.
variation of the old theme of "Jott und #"h",
"Jott mit uns", or "The &ord is on my side",
not>ithstanding the fa"t that the idea of the
helpful Supreme 0eing >as absent in the "on<
"eption of many of these firm believers in the
"Something".
# sometimes thought that if one of these per<
sons firmly believed that "Something to be an
old brass door<=nob, and provided that he be<
lieved in it impli"itly @ust as the others be<
lieved in 2roviden"e, or in /estiny, or in ":y
&u"=y Star", then that door<=nob >ould "do
the >or=" for him in li=e manner.
#n short, # "ame to the "on"lusion that the
"Something" >as 1n=no>n perhaps 1n<
=no>able and that the verbal, ideal or phys<
i"al symbols employed by various persons to
represent it, and by them believed to be the
thing itself, >ere really >hat might be "alled
"points of "onta"t" >ith that, Trans"endent
+eality, by means of >hi"h there >as estab<
lished a sort of "ondition of "rapport" bet>een
the individual and that "Something".
0ut, in spite of all of my spe"ulations and
theoriBing about the matter, the thought never
o""urred to me that this "Something" might
be found >ithin the being of the individual
himself, rather than "about" or "above" him.
# seemed to have a mental or spiritual "blind
spot" >hi"h "aused me to ignore that imme<
3L TH* #''*+ S*-+*T
diate sour"e of +eality and 2o>er that
Something Within. # don9t =no> ho> # hap<
pened to miss this important point, but miss
it # did. # >as li=e the man >ho fruitlessly
sought all over the >orld for many years for
a "ertain buried treasure, only in the end to
find it in the garden around his o>n home to
>hi"h he had returned in his old age. )r,
li=e the ship>re"=ed "re>, par"hed >ith thirst
and dying for >ant of >ater, >ho had un<
=no>ingly entered into the e?tended "urrent
of a great sea<flo>ing river, and >ho perished
though they had but to dip their pails over
the side of their boat.
So, a""ordingly, # sought on all sides and
from all sour"es to obtain a =no>ledge of this
mysterious "Something" in >hi"h >as vested
the #nner Se"ret of Su""ess and 2ersonal
2o>er. # investigated the various "ne>"
metaphysi"al "ults >hi"h >ere "oming into
prominen"e even at that early day, but # found
in them merely a more or less fantasti" and
fan"iful appli"ation of the prin"iple of >hi"h
# have spo=en. They obtained results, of
"ourse all of them, in spite of their "onfli"t<
ing dogmas and theories. *a"h "laimed to
possess the #nner Se"ret, and to have the
one and only truth yet all obtained results
in about the same measure.
#t seemed to me here, as in the other "ases
TH* I1*ST 37
mentioned, that these people >ere but em<
ploying symbols by means of >hi"h, to some
degree, they managed to ""onta"t" the Some<
thing they >ere employing different =inds of
brass door<=nobs, that9s all, it appeared to me.
# "ould have obtained a measure of good
results by adopting the methods and beliefs
of some of these fol=s, @ust as # "ould have
obtained the same by adopting some of the
various methods and beliefs of some of the
su""essful business men, and men of affairs,
>hom # have mentioned. 0ut these Cto meD
mere "brass door<=nobs" >ere not suffi"ient.
# refused to temporiBe or to "ompromise >ith
Truth # >anted the Truth, the Whole Truth,
and nothing but the Truth, and >ould be sat<
isfied >ith nothing short of that. # >as stiff<
ne"=ed and stubborn but # >as unable to
a"t other>ise.
!nd so, # "ontinued my Iuest for the
"Something" for the #nner Se"ret. (rom the
"ne>" metaphysi"al s"hools, and the ;uasi<
religions or pseudo<religions based upon the
same general prin"iples, # passed on to the
numerous so<"alled "o""ult" and "mysti"" "ults
>hi"h >ere even then found in "onsiderable
number, though not in the great variety mani<
fested in after years. # found that these >ere
for the most part mere re<hashes of the philos<
ophies of !n"ient #ndia or of !n"ient Jree"e,
8H TH* #''*+ S*-+*T
often garbled and distorted by reason of the
ignoran"e of their founders or tea"hers.
0rushing aside the superfi"ial "overings, #
found in them also but the effort to ""onta"t"
a "Something by means of verbal or formal
symbols. 99:erely some ne> varieties of brass
door<=nobs", thought #.
# "ould have obtained benefit by employing
the methods of some of these s"hools, or "ults
for undoubtedly they had "gotten hold of
something", as a pra"ti"al business friend of
mine on"e brus;uely stated it. 0ut # felt
that >hile this >as probably so, still even the
"head ones" seemingly did not =no> @ust >hat
it >as >hi"h they had "gotten hold of" $ and
in their endeavors to build up a philosophy
or an organiBation upon the results obtained
by their methods, they often lost entirely the
original spirit of the Something, and buried
the >hole thing under a heavy ro"= of form
and dogma, upon >hi"h they too= the e?alted
pla"e of the "marble figger" of "laimed abso<
lute authority. # >as not satisfied >ith this
# >anted to get ba"= to the )riginal Sour"eF
# too= up the study of the leading philos<
ophies, an"ient and modern, oriental and o"<
"idental$ here # found mu"h to e?er"ise my
intelle"t, and to enable me to =no> that # did
not =no>, and >hy # did not =no>, and ho>
to dis"over philosophi"al error and falla"y.
TH* I1*ST 83
0ut, other>ise, there >as no a>a=ening of
#ntuition, and no arousing of #nner *?perien"e
all >as on the surfa"e of #ntelle"t. # had
failed to find my "Something," of >hi"h an
an"ient sage said "When TH!T is =no>n,
all is =no>n."
0ut, all the more, # be"ame "onvin"ed that
su"h "Something" e?isted, and might be found
by him >ho =ne> ho> and >here to loo= for
it. # felt that its doors >ere "apable of flying
open in response to "The +ight 6no"=." #
had loo=ed every>here but Within and # did
not =no> the talismani" +ight 6no"=. !ll the "
time, ho>ever, as # no> see it, # >as prepar<
ing myself for the Truth >hen it should be
revealed to me. !ll the time, # >as treading
the 2ath >hi"h led to Truth. # do not regret
a single in"ident or stage of my @ourney, or
a fa"t of my e?perien"e. t

!s the years passed by, and >hile # >as pur<
suing the investigations of >hi"h # have
spo=en, # >as far from negle"ting my material
or ">orldly" affairs. # >as regarded as an
intelligent >or=er along the lines of my vo"a<
tion and a hard >or=er as >ell. # applied
all of the a""epted and tested rules of Worldly
Wisdom all the +ules for Su""ess announ"ed
by the "pra"ti"al" men of the >orld or at
least the essen"e and substan"e of them sepa<
88 TH* #''*+ S*-+*T
ratMd from the non<essential and in"idental. #
had met >ith a fair degree of su""ess, as su"h
is usually measured. # had my "ups and
do>ns", al>ays "oming "up" after a "do>n",
# am glad to say. #n short, # >as the fair
average of the reasonably su""essful ambitious
man nearly forty years of age.
0ut, in my heart # =ne> that # had failed,
inasmu"h as at the best, # >as only a fair,
average, "ommonpla"e su""essful man of af<
fairs there >ere thousands of others li=e me,
some a little better and some a little >orse.
# had done nothing >hi"h seemed to me to
be >orthy of the po>ers >hi"h # felt should
be innate >ithin me.
# >as still in the "ro>d # had never been
able to step very far out of it, never more
than a foot or t>o at the most. The dreams
of my youth >ere unrealiBed. :y se"ret am<
bitions >ere still nothing more than hopes.
While # >as spo=en of as a >orthy e?ample
of reasonable su""ess, and though # >as fa<
vorably regarded by those "higher up", yet
# =ne> in my heart of hearts that # had done
nothing really ">orth >hile" that a""ording
to my o>n standards # >as a failure. Worst
of all, # had failed to find that "Something"
>hi"h >as "about" or "above" persons >hi"h
served as their inspiration and tou"hstone of
TH* I1*ST 8K
su""ess # had failed in my Iuest of the #nner
Se"ret.

!bout this time, shortly before # had rea"hed
the age of forty years, the /eluge overtoo=
me. # seemed to be the vi"tim of a mali"ious
fate, and at the mer"y of sardoni", "ruel super<
natural for"es. *verything that # valued in
the material >orld >as s>ept a>ay from me
by a series of avalan"he<li=e happenings. 0y
reason of "ir"umstan"es apparently beyond my
"ontrol, and through "auses seemingly beyond
in"lusion in any possible previous "al"ulation
on my part, there >ere set into motion a series
of events >hi"h >hen they rea"hed the field
of my interests had attained the for"e and de<
stru"tive motion of a tornado. #t seemed li=e
the happening of the impossible. !ll "ir"um<
stan"es seemed to "onspire for my destru"<
tion.
:y business prospe"ts >ere ruined. :y in<
vestments >ere >iped out. :y so"ial and
business standing >as destroyed. :y busi<
ness passed into other hands. 0y reason of
;uite unfounded and un@ust a""usations, seem<
ingly supported by an almost diaboli"al "hain
oi "ir"umstantial eviden"e, my good name >as
almost lost, and the respe"t of my business
and so"ial asso"iates >as seriously @eopardiBed.
8A TH* #''*+ S*-+*T
:y family >as alienated from me $ my "hil<
dren felt that # had disgra"ed them $ my life<
"ompanion believing the slanderous tongues
of those >ho >ere arrayed against me, and
refusing to allo> me to e?plain a>ay the ugly
appearan"es and "ir"umstan"es "onne"ted >ith
my do>nfall, insisted upon a legal separation
>hi"h after>ard >as made permanent.
5et # >as as inno"ent as a babe "on"ern<
ing the offenses "harged against me. Time
has sin"e fully vindi"ated me in the eyes of
the publi", and in the "ourts of the la> the
mills of the gods have ground to dust my
enemies and un@ust a""users. 0ut, at that
time, # seemed destined to utter ruin.
:y health bro=e under the strain, and #
be"ame a mental and physi"al >re"= for the
time being. # >as eventually for"ed to see=
employment at a meagre re"ompense in a dis<
tant "ity, under most dis"ouraging "ir"um<
stan"es and >ith most unattra"tive prospe"ts
for the future. #n the eyes of my former
friends and asso"iates # >as "do>n and out",
a "has been", a man "all in" and "through".
&oo=ing ba"= over the period of thirty years
>hi"h intervenes bet>een that time and the
present, # "an see that # >as then a living
e?ample of the "ondition e?pressed in the
lines of Henley9s "#nvi"tus". (or surely the
s"roll >as "harged >ith punishments, and #
TH* I1*ST 8%
>as "overed >ith the night that >as bla"=
as the pit from pole to pole"$ truly # >as in
the "fell "lut"h of "ir"umstan"e", and my
head >as bloody "under the bludgeonings of
"han"e".
5et in the dar=est hour # felt >ithin me
that there >as a >ay out, and that # should
find it. Strange as it may seem in vie> of
the "ir"umstan"es, # felt >ithin me a still
stronger "onvi"tion that there >as really an
#nner Se"ret of Su""ess and 2ersonal 2o>er
and that # should find it. #ndeed, it >as
this "onvi"tion alone >hi"h enabled me to
bear the burden, and to =eep my soul alive.
Without this # doubtless should have sun=
deeper and deeper into the mire, never to rise
therefrom.
# >as not as yet the possessor of "the un<
"on;uerable soul" not yet "the master of my
fate, the "aptain of my soul" "ertainly not
"ons"iously so, at least. 5et, under the debris
>hi"h had a""umulated on the surfa"e of my
nature, the spar= of "That Something Within"
>as still glo>ing, and >as ready to burst into
a blaBe of manifestation >hen the air of under<
standing >as allo>ed to penetrate to it. #
=no> this no>$ but at that time # merely
"sensed" it in a faint glo> of intuition.
0efore leaving this disagreeable stage of my
story, ho>ever, # >ish to state positively that
84 TH* #''*+ S*-+*T
not>ithstanding the pain and torture of that
e?perien"e, my humiliation and the tremendous
pri"e demanded of and paid by me, # do not
no> regret even a single in"ident of it. #
"onsider the pri"e >ell paid for that >hi"h
has "ome to me through the e?perien"e and
all "onne"ted >ith it. Though it "aused me
to >al= through the Nalley of the Shado>
of /eath, yet it brought me safely through
the pass >hi"h leads out of that valley into
the >onderful region lying on the other side
of the mountains >hi"h en"ompass that "vale
of doubt and fears". # paid, and paid in full$
but # have been repaid a thousand<fold, and
the pri"e no> seems but a mere bagatelle >hen
"ompared >ith >hat # have gained.
+ather than to lose my present "ons"ious<
ness of Truth, and to return to my old "ondi<
tion of half<truths, bondage, and ignoran"e,
# >ould gladly pay this pri"e not merely on"e
but many times. # seemed at that time to
have lost everything that made life >orth
living$ yet through losing this # found all
that "onstitutes +eal &ife, the light of >hi"h
ma=es all that >ent before no> to seem piti<
fully >ea= and mean.
'ot every one >ho dis"overs "That Some<
thing Within" the #nner Se"ret is "alled
upon to pay this pri"e$ many, indeed, seem<
ingly es"ape this ordeal entirely, >hile others
TH* I1*ST 8..
e?perien"e it in merely a slight degree. 0ut,
>ith some, li=e myself, >ho seemingly are
blind to the Truth so near to them, and >ho
apparently are determined to "es"ape their
o>n good", there seems to be needed the inter<
position of for"es >hi"h first destroy in order
that other for"es may build on the va"ated
site of the interposition of the 1nseen Hand
>hi"h, often roughly, pi"=s up the individual
and removes him from his old environment
and "ondition, despite his "ries and protests,
only later to deposit him gently but firmly in
a ne> environment and "ondition more nearly
in a""ord >ith his heart9s desire.
#t >ould seem that that "Something With<
in", determined to be free and a"tive, some<
times is "ompelled to tear asunder the
enshrouding and "onfining "hrysalis of "ir"um<
stan"e, in order that the living entity may
bathe in the sunshine and breathe the air of
freedom. )r, perhaps, it is the "labor pains"
of the spiritual birth, >hi"h, though so painful
to undergo, are so easily forgotten in the @oys
of the after e?perien"e. !t any rate, >hatever
may be the final "ause or e?planation, it some<
times seems ne"essary for the "# !m # to
des"end into hell in order that it may as"end
to the heaven of its being and e?pression.
II
THE MYSTERIOUS STRANGER
What has been related in the pre"eding
pages is merely the prelude to my story. The
story itself really begins >ith the a""ount of
my meeting >ith that remar=able individual
>hom # at first, half<lightly but still half<
"amestly, thought of as "the mysterious
stranger. This >onderful individual "ame
into my life apparently by "han"e, but # no>
=no> that # had attra"ted him to myself, and
that # had been attra"ted to him, by the opera<
tion of that strange and potent la> of 'ature
=no>n as "The &a> of !ttra"tion".
Ho> little does the average person realiBe
that this >onderful la> is "onstantly mani<
festing in and "on"erning him. He notes from
time to time that "things happen" in strange
>ays, bringing remar=able results$ but he
usually thin=s that this is but the operation
of -han"e, never realiBing that it is the logi"al
result of a fi?ed la> pro"eeding >ith an un<
erring and inevitable rule of a"tion, bringing
results in stri"t a""ordan"e >ith its nature
results mathemati"ally e?a"t and logi"ally per<
8L
TH* :5ST*+#)1S ST+!'J*+ 87
feet. -han"e, in the sense of the manifesta<
tion of un"aused effe"ts, does not e?ist.
-han"e, in the light of stri"t logi"al reason<
ing, is seen to be but the operation of "auses
un=no>n, and perhaps beyond =no>ledge, but
nevertheless a"tually and "ertainly e?istent
and operative.

# had @ourneyed to a far<distant "ity, >here,
un=no>n and a stranger, # >as endeavoring
to start life ane>, hoping eventually to obtain
a foothold in the business >orld by means of
>hi"h # might by hard >or= and diligent en<
deavor finally again mount the ladder of su"<
"ess. # >as frightfully handi"apped, ho>ever,
by my state of ill<health >hi"h had resulted
from my finan"ial, so"ial, and mental troubles.
The physi"ians "onsulted by me gave me but
little en"ouragement $ they >arned me against
over>or=, and seemed to regard me as one
>ho had but s"ant "han"e of ever again be<
"oming effi"ient and vigorous.
# >as filling a subordinate position, re"eiv<
ing but a nominal re"ompense for my >or=,
and the opportunities for my advan"ement
>ere but slight. The memory of my former
position in the business >orld a"ted as a >eight
around my ne"=, rather than as an en"ourag<
ing fa"tor. )ften # >as tempted to rash a"<
tion >hi"h >ould have ended it all for at
KH TH* #''*+ S*-+*T
times the fight seemed almost hopeless, the
odds all against me.
&oo=ing ba"= in memory to that time, #
no> sometimes >onder ho> and >hy # made
the effort at all. #t no> seems to me that
the tiny spar= of that Something Within must
have even then been glo>ing brightly, though
hidden by the rubbish of the outer self, and
that its radiations penetrated through the en<
"umbering a""umulation and inspired me >ith
at least a glimmer of faith and of hope #
must have had an un"ons"ious or sub"on<
s"ious intuition of the Truth even then. #t
is hard to smother >ith rubbish, or to ;uen"h
>ith the >ater of dis"ouragement, this tiny
spar= of the +eal Self >hen on"e it has been
=indled into super"ons"ious a>areness of it<
self, its po>ers, and its destiny.
# >as living in a small ""ourt room" in an
unpretentious boarding house >hi"h sought
dignity by assuming the title of a "family
hotel". The establishment "onsisted of sev<
eral large, on"e<fashionable, d>elling houses
>hi"h had been thro>n into one by means
of the "utting of doors bet>een the several
houses. The neighborhood, though still re<
spe"table, >as no> "run do>n", its former
fashionable o""upants having long sin"e re<
moved mu"h farther up<to>n. The >hole
atmosphere of the hotel >as that of "has been"
TH* :5ST*+#)1S ST+!'J*+ K3
even the guests o""upying the larger and
more pretentious of its rooms or suites being
those >ho "had been used to better things".
# had been living in this pla"e a fe> months
>hen # first heard a mention of this "myste<
rious stranger of >hom # have spo=en. #t
"ame about in the follo>ing >ay. )ne eve<
ning # >as sitting in the basement smo=ing<
room and men9s lounging pla"e >hi"h >as
one of the most popular features of the pla"e
and >hi"h >as really ;uite "omfortable, all
things "onsidered. # heard one of the "old
timers"# hear that -olonel (orbes is "oming
ba"= from Washington". The other replied
"#s that soO Iueer old di"=, the -olonel is,
to my notion. That man has had an inter<
esting past, if #9m any guesser".
The first guest re@oined "5es, # guess
you9re right. He9s an odd one, all right$ but
he9s far from being a fool. #n fa"t, he is one
of the =eenest observers, and most pra"ti"al
thin=ers # have ever run a"ross $ yet, at times,
he seems to be but an idle dreamer. # >ouldn9t
>onder but >hat he has been a somebody in
his time, but that the hot sun and the "limate
of #ndia tou"hed him and made him a little
off on some sub@e"ts".
"5es", said the other, "but one time >hen
a fello> in the house >as sneering at some
K8 TH* #''*+ S*-+*T
>riter >hom he "alled 9a mysti"9, the -olonel
said >ith "onsiderable for"e and earnestness,
9! pra"ti"al mysti" #s a man to be re"=oned
>ith in any >al= of life he is a dreamer >ho
has found out ho> to ma=e his dreams "ome
true, and >ho is able to ma=e his ideals be<
"ome real9. # have sin"e thought at times
that that is @ust >hat the -olonel himself is
9pra"ti"al mysti"9, though # am not ;uite
sure @ust >hat that may be. !t any rate,
that man "ertainly is no fool, and # >ouldn9t
be surprised to learn that he had been a some<
body in his time, and that he "ould tell some
interesting tales if he had a mind to but >e
have never been able to get him to tal= about
himself or his past, nor, for that matter, of
his present affairs".
"5es", said the first spea=er, "he is li=e a
"lam >hen it "omes to tal=ing about himself,
though he tal=s freely about everything else.
Still, he9s an *nglishman, and *nglishmen of
his type don9t tal= mu"h of themselves$ be<
sides >hi"h, he lived in #ndia many years, #
understand, and that often ma=es men reti"ent,
at least so # have heard. # heard a >oman
on"e say that the -olonel reminded her of
:arion -ra>ford9s 9:r. #saa"s9 in his story of
that name. ! man >ho heard her said that
his thoughts had been running along the same
lines, only, to his mind, the -olonel >as li=e
TH* :5ST*+#)1S ST+!'J*+ KK
9&urgan Sahib9, in 6ipling9s story, 96im9. #
haven9t read either story, ho>ever, so "an9t
say @ust ho> that is. 0ut, for all that, # be<
lieve that a good >riter, >ho "ould dra> out
of the -olonel some of the fa"ts of his past
life, "ould build up an e?"iting tale by using
the material >hi"h the old man "ould furnish
if he only >ould open up a little. Jee WhiB F
>ouldn9t that be a "ra"=ing good title for a
novelO 9-olonel (orbes, of Simla9"F !nd
both of them laughed at the suggestion.
What # had heard of the dis"ussion inter<
ested me. # in;uired of the t>o men, and
later of others in the house, "on"erning this
person >ho had proved su"h an interesting
topi" of "onversation. (rom them # learned
that -olonel (orbes >as a retired *nglish
army<offi"er >ho had served many years in
#ndia, living at Simla during the latter years
of his servi"e and after his retirement$ he
>as no> visiting !meri"a on matters of per<
sonal business of some un=no>n nature, and
he intended returning to *ngland, and later
to Simla, before very long.
He >as said to be a "ultured, refined in<
dividual of very ;uiet tastes, and >as believed
to have "hosen that hotel as his pla"e of so<
@ourn be"ause of his distaste for the more
pretentious houses, rather than from the usual
reasons of e"onomy or of limited means. !ll
KA TH* #''*+ S*-+*T
those "onsulted seemed to li=e and to respe"t
him, but to all of them he seemed "some>hat
different", odd, and "a little ;ueer", though,
as the old guest had mentioned, "far from
being a fool". !ll agreed, also, that "he =no>s
a >hole lot, but you "an9t get him to tell it
to you". *vidently a very interesting per<
sonality, thought #.
!bout ten days later, # had my first sight
of -olonel (orbes. # >as sitting >ith the
others in the smo=ing<room >hen the door
opened and the -olonel entered. # >as "on<
s"ious from the first that # >as in the presen"e
of a remar=able personage. !gain, # >as
distin"tly a>are that he had that unmista=<
able, though indefinable, "hara"teristi" =no>n
as "personal atmosphere". That is to say,
>hen he entered a room you "felt" that he
>as present$ moreover, >hen and >here he
>as present that "atmosphere" manifested it<
self in some subtle manner in the dire"tion of
"ausing a "hange in the general mental at<
mosphere of the pla"e. # noti"ed that after
his entran"e to the smo=ing<room the tone
of the "onversation "hanged for the better,
and the mental atmosphere be"ame "learer
and "leaner. This >ithout any apparent effort
on his part, and >ithout any "ons"ious desire
to please him manifested by the o""upants of
TH* :5ST*+#)1S ST+!'J*+ K%
the room. He "raised the vibrations", as it
>ere$ that9s all.
/o not gather from this that the -olonel
>as a prig, or a puritan no one "ould have
thought of applying those terms to him. He
>as rather a refined, "ultured, thorough "man
of the >orld". !pparently, nothing in life
>as alien to him, and, li=e the sun, he had
evidently gaBed upon the good and the bad,
ali=e. 0ut there >as an essential and funda<
mental "leanness about his mind you "ould
feel that. He >ould freely dis"uss matters
>hi"h ordinarily are the sub@e"t of ribald @est,
but >hi"h to him seemed to be but fa"ts of
s"ientifi" interest his mind >as as "lean as
that of a surgeon or a mathemati"ian engaged
in his "hosen >or=. While he sho>ed an
intimate =no>ledge of all phases of life, many
strange phases for that matter, yet there >as
al>ays the impli"ation of a "urious deta"h<
ment therefrom a, strange impersonal vie>
"on"erning them.
Well, to get ba"= to my story # gaBed
>ith interested attention upon -olonel (orbes
as he entered the smo=ing<room of the hotel.
# thin=, ho>ever, that he >ould have a>a=ened
interested attention in almost any human be<
ing of average intelligen"e. #nterest and at<
tention atta"hed to him as readily as bits of
K4 TH* #''*+ S*-+*T
steel atta"h themselves to the magnet. He
did not demand attention, ho>ever, for he
>as very unassuming, modest, and absolutely
la"=ing in "pose" or "strut". His presen"e
did not shout, "Here # am, a somebody of "on<
se;uen"e, loo= at me"F 'othing of the sort,
# assure you. 0ut, @ust as truly, it said in
;uiet, firm tones, "# am here, a real being, an
individual" F
His personality >as unobtrusive$ his in<
dividuality >as attention<"ompelling and in<
terest<arousing # trust that you >ill ma=e
the distin"tion and differentiation bet>een
these t>o respe"tive terms, "personality" and
"individuality", for su"h is important. 2er<
sonality, at the best, is "on"erned >ith the
outer aspe"t of the human being. #ndivid<
uality, at the last, is "on"erned >ith his inner
aspe"t. 2ersonality is the garments >orn by
one$ #ndividuality is that one "in himself",
or "in herself". 2ersonality is the e?pression
of the ":e". #ndividuality is the e?pression
of the "#".
-olonel (orbes, as he entered the room,
seemed to be about si?ty years of age. His
hair >as thi"= though fine, abundant in ;uan<
tity, and of an iron<grey "olor. He >as tall,
rather slender, mus"ular and >iry, >ith >ide
shoulders and full "hest. His arms and legs
>ere long, though so >ell proportioned to the
TH* :5ST*+#)1S ST+!'J*+ K.
trun= that their length >as not espe"ially
noti"eable. His s=in evidently had been orig<
inally fair, but >as no> tanned to a deep
bro>n by reason of his years of e?posure to
the sun of a >arm "ountry. His forehead
>as high and >ide$ his "hin >as firm and
broad, yet not aggressively so. His mouth
>as evidently firm, though partially "on"ealed
by an iron<grey musta"he. He >as >ell<
dressed so >ell, in fa"t, that one did not
thin= of this at first, nor >as one9s attention
"aught by any parti"ular part of his apparel
by reason of its "olor, "ut, or te?ture.
# remember no> that my interest and at<
tention >ere espe"ially attra"ted by t>o par<
ti"ular features of his general appearan"e,
namely, his po>erfully pier"ing eyes, and his
some>hat >istful, "ertainly ins"rutable, smile
as he entered the room. #n thin=ing of him
no>, my memory brings to me the pi"ture
of those eyes and that smile for # after>ard
gre> to =no> both of them very >ell, and
to dis"over an ever ne> interest in them.
*ven his >ell<modulated, vibrant voi"e, >ell
remembered as it is, is less strongly impressed
upon the tablets of my memory than are those
>onderful eyes and that strange smile. These
features of the outer appearan"e of this good
and great man >ere the first to attra"t my
interest and attention$ the ones >hi"h most
KL TH* #''*+ S*-+*T
strongly held that interest and attention dur<
ing my asso"iation >ith him$ and the ones
>hi"h no> are strongest in my memory.
His eyes >ere of a "lear blue<grey "olor,
and possessed that ;uality of depth or dis<
tan"e >hi"h reminded one of peering into a
deep >ell filled >ith the "learest >ater, or
of gaBing at the "lear, deep<blue summer s=y
from the mountain<top. They indi"ated mas<
tery but rather a mastery of his o>n physi"al
and mental nature than over the >ill of others,
though that last po>er seemed to be there,
also, lur=ing in the ba"=ground. They in<
di"ated po>er but rather the po>er over the
for"es of 'ature, >ithin and >ithout, than
over subordinate human beings. They indi<
"ated =no>ledge not alone the =no>ledge
"ontained in boo=s, but also the =no>ledge
of the hearts and souls of men, and the =no>l<
edge of the se"rets of 'ature. )ne felt that
those eyes >ere "apable of reading and =no><
ing the inmost se"rets of one9s soul but one
did not resent this, for the reading seemed
to be the a"t of a friendly, not an alien, mind $
their earnest gaBe brought pea"e, and not fear
or unrest.
His mouth, sho>ing itself to be firm though
rather >ell "overed by the grey musta"he, had
a tri"= of moving at its "omers into a little
smile >hi"h may be e?pressed only by the
TH* :5ST*+#)1S ST+!'J*+ K7
>ord ">istful", though it >as that and more.
!t times the >istfulness >as tinged >ith a "er<
tain patheti" ;uality, as though the memory of
pain and suffering "lung to it. !t other times
it sho>ed the presen"e of a ;uaint, >himsi"al
spirit >ithin the soul of >hi"h it >as the e?<
pression. #t sho>ed a =indliness, mingled
>ith a "ertain sternness $ and it plainly denoted
a subtle, =een, and a"tive sense of humor
it seemed to laugh >ith man=ind, rather than
at men$ it laughed at their foibles, but not
at the real man ba"= of these out>ard e?<
pressions. #t had something of the ins"rutable
;uality of the smile of the :ona &isa, yet there
>as present also a "ertain =indness, under<
standing, and patien"e >hi"h are la"=ing in
the portrayed smile of &a Jia"onda.
#t may interest you to be told at this point
Cthough # did not learn it until long after<
>ardD, that -olonel (orbes Cto use the name
>hi"h he had adopted at that time for the
purpose of avoiding that attention and publi"
noti"e >hi"h the mention of his real name
>ould have brought upon himD, >as an im<
portant figure in the publi" affairs of the "oun<
try of his nationality, parti"ularly those "on<
"erned >ith #ndia and other oriental lands.
He >as the son of a distinguished *nglish<
man, his mother being a brilliant !meri"an
>oman >ho had been one of the first of her
AH TH* #''*+ S*-+*T
=ind to marry an *nglishman of high ran=
and position.
6eeping >ell in the ba"=ground, he had
played an important part in the affairs and
destinies of his native land. #n fa"t, at the
time of my first meeting >ith him he >as
engaged upon a deli"ate diplomati" mission in
our "ountry, and >as in "onstant tou"h >ith
important affairs and high personages of our
government. His retirement to the unimpor<
tant hotel >here # met him >as deliberately
designed, for in this >ay he >as able to =eep
a>ay from those >hom he sought to avoid,
or at least those >hom he did not "are to
meet, >hile remaining "lose to those >ith
>hom his negotiations >ere "on"erned.
#n addition to his diplomati" >or=, he >as
the >riter of important boo=s along the lines
of s"ien"e, philosophy and metaphysi"s, and
>as ;uite >ell =no>n by reason of this.
Though this >as not nearly so >ell =no>n,
he >as also a leading member in several of
those esoteri" "entres and so"ieties >hi"h are
generally =no>n as being of an "o""ult" or
"mysti"" "hara"ter the real so"ieties, ho><
ever, not the "heap and base imitations >hi"h
are "ondu"ted upon a "ommer"ial basis, and
>hose prime ob@e"t seems to be the aggran<
diBement of ambitious leaders. He >as also
TH* :5ST*+#)1S ST+!'J*+ A3
P9very high up in :asonry", and >as an au<
thority upon the esoteri" aspe"ts of that order.
Some ten years later, he >as reported to
have perished in 1pper #ndia, by reason of
an a""idental plunge into a fathomless abyss,
and history no> re"ords him among the dead.
! fe> "hosen ones, ho>ever, =no> him to be
living in se"lusion in a remote region of the
Himalayas, at an advan"ed age but in unim<
paired physi"al and mental health and vigor.
#t may be that he is destined again to play
an important part in the affairs of this troubled
>orld. 0e that as it may, his influen"e upon
many men has lived on after his disappearan"e
from the s"ene and >ill live on, and on,
and on.
!s the -olonel entered the room upon the
o""asion of my first sight of him, as # have
related, there >as manifested a feeling of gen<
eral interest on the part of those seated around
the pla"e, most of >hom had made his a"<
;uaintan"e during his previous so@ourn in the
hotel. +oom >as made for him in the "entre
of the group >ho had gathered around the
large table at one end of the room, >hi"h >as
the favorite gathering pla"e of the "regular
guests" of the pla"e, the other parts of the
room being left for the ne>er "omers. # after<
>ards noted that room >as al>ays made for
A8 TH* #''*+ S*-+*T
him in the "entre of things >herever he >as
present, although there >as nothing in his
manner >hi"h indi"ated a desire or determina<
tion that he should be so re"ogniBed as an
important member of the gathering.
The "onversation >as resumed, but it too=
on, as # have said, a some>hat higher and
broader s"ope, and a "leaner and "learer e?<
pression. # noti"ed that the -olonel soon be<
"ame the "entre of all the dis"ussions and
arguments. !lthough there >as no tra"e of
self<assertion or dogmatism in his manner or
spee"h, it soon be"ame evident that he >as
uttering the final and "on"lusive >ord regard<
less of the sub@e"t dis"ussed. This be"ause
he seemed to possess the unusual gift of being
able to brush aside the non<essential fa"tors
and elements, and to pla"e into bold relief
the t>o opposing fundamental propositions or
premises of the matter under "onsideration.
These pairs of opposites", or antitheti"al
ideas, he soon managed to harmoniBe and to
re"on"ile, the result being that there al>ays
appeared the Jolden :ean, or 0alan"ed
Truth, resting bet>een the t>o e?tremes.
The respe"tive t>o e?tremes usually >ere then
seen to be but half<truths different sides of
the same general truth the Truth itself being
the result of the re"on"iliation and harmoniBa<
tion of the "pair of opposites". This does not
TH* :5ST*+#)1S ST+!'J*+ AK
mean that he >as a >ea=<=need "ompromiser,
or a trader of one advantage in argument for
another$ on the "ontrary, on matters of posi<
tive prin"iple he >as ;uite determined and
un>illing to surrender even an in"h of >hat
seemed to him to be the truth. 0ut he >as
the most "onsistent possible e?ample of the
"onvi"tion that "Truth lies in the :iddle<of<
the<+oad".
/uring the "ourse of the evening, one of
the most interesting and instru"tive evenings
# had ever spent up to that time, someone in<
trodu"ed me to the -olonel. He "ourteously
a"=no>ledged the introdu"tion >ith a grave
nod a""ompanied by a =indly smile, at the
same time besto>ing on me a =een, sear"hing
glan"e. # felt that that glan"e >as penetrat<
ing into the very depths of my soul, and yet
# >as not disturbed. !s his attention and
thought seemed to fo"us upon me in the glan"e,
# >as "ertain that # per"eived in his eyes a
some>hat surprised flash of re"ognition of
something >ithin myself, though # had no
idea of >hat that something might be.
This impression seemed to abide >ith him
for >hen he left the room shortly after>ard,
he laid his hand on my shoulder in passing,
and said >ith >hat to me seemed to have a
spe"ial emphasis and meaning, 99# >ould li=e
to see more of you >hile # am here, :r. X.
AA TH* #''*+ S*-+*T
Then, after ma=ing a half<turn a>ay from
me, he added, "0etter loo= me up, soon".
!fter the door had "losed behind him, one
of the old guests of the house said to me,
"5ou have evidently made an impression on
the old boy$ # never =ne> him to say any<
thing li=e that to anyone before". !nother
of the old guests added, flippantly, "5es, that9s
right. 0etter ma=e love to the old "hap, :r.
X. He loo=s li=e money to me, and he might
ma=e you his heir". *verybody laughed at
this, but # felt that there might be something
more in it than appeared in the >ords. #
had a strange "onvi"tion that the "mysterious
stranger" had something for me, but some<
thing >orth more than money though money
>as an important item of my thought in those
days, for # had but little, and needed mu"h
of it.
That night # had a strange dream some<
thing different from anything in the >ay of
dreams that # had ever e?perien"ed though,
to tell the truth, # >as not mu"h of a dreamer,
and too= but little interest in them, and "er<
tainly atta"hed no importan"e to them. # men<
tion this last fa"t be"ause # do not >ish you
to @ump to the "on"lusion that # >as Cor amD
one of those unpleasant individuals >ho are
al>ays "seeing things" in their dreams, try<
ing to interpret their dreams, and, >orst of
TH* :5ST*+#)1S ST+!'J*+ A%
all, boring their friends >ith the re"ital of
them.
#n my youthful days # had never bought a
"/ream 0oo=", and # never had mu"h respe"t
for those >ho did. # never have been able
to listen >ith patien"e to a person >ho >ishes
to tell ">hat a strange dream he had last
night$ or ho> one of his dreams "ame true$
or anything else of that sort. # even no> feel
an impatien"e at the over<emphasis pla"ed on
dreams by the follo>ers of (reud. 'ot>ith<
standing this, # am no> about to as= you to
listen to my a""ount of the dream # had that
night after # had met "the mysterious stran<
ger" -olonel (orbes, of Simla.
#n my very vivid dream that night, # seemed
to be >al=ing hand in hand >ith the -olonel,
traversing a blea= and barren plain "overed
>ith >hat seemed to be the an"ient lava<
deposits of an e?tin"t vol"ano. #t >as a region
of desolation, a veritable >ilderness, >ith no
signs of life apparent to my gaBe. 'either the
-olonel nor # spo=e a >ord, but # seemed to
=no> that he >as leading me some>here for
my o>n good$ and # trusted him and felt
glad to have him to guide and lead me on the
@ourney. The tou"h of his hand seemed help<
ful to me, and filled me >ith "onfiden"e and
"ourage.
(inally, >e rea"hed a pla"e at the foot of
A4 TH* #''*+ S*-+*T
a high mountain. Then the -olonel un"lasped
his hand from mine, and said to me, "Jo to
your trial. 0e fearless, for there is nothing
to fear"F Then # seemed to be ta=en up to
the mountain<top by an invisible host. The
air seemed to be vibrating >ith a strange
for"e, and there seemed to be a rosy glo> all
around me, as if the >orld >as on fire.
Then the invisible host, having led me to
the top of the mountain, and then to the brin=
of an abyss of seemingly infinite depth, said,
"2lunge into the !bysmal !byss"F Then,
strange to say, all fear dropped from me, and
# leaped into the spa"e of the abyss >ith @oy
in my heart, and a laugh on my lips. # seemed
to =no> that it >as all a part of a play a
sort of game of initiation of some un=no>n
se"ret order. (ear seemed to be a laughable
illusion >hi"h # had left behind me for ages
of time. !fter # had been apparently falling
in the !bysmal !byss for an *ternity, >ith<
out even a vestige of fear, the >hole s"ene
disappeared in a flash. ! ne> s"ene presented
itself. This time # >as "ommanded to plunge
into the (iery (urna"e an enormous mass of
flame apparently of unbearable heat. !gain
# felt the illusion of the >hole thing the
ma=e<believe nature of it$ and # plunged into
the mass of seething fire >ith @oy in my heart,
and a laugh on my lips. !fter >hat seemed
TH* :5ST*+#)1S ST+!'J*+ A.
to be another *ternity of time passed in the
(iery (urna"e, the s"ene again "hanged for
me.
# >as su""essively sub@e"ted to the test of
the #nfinite )"ean, into >hi"h # >as ordered
to plunge $ to the test of the #nvin"ible S>ord
>hi"h seemed destined to "ut me to pie"es$
but from all these tests # emerged a vi"tor,
unafraid and unharmed. #n fa"t, the >hole
thing, from beginning to end seemed li=e a
huge @o=e to me, so "onvin"ed >as # of the
unreality of the dangers >hi"h seemed to
threaten me. #t >as not that # felt that #
>as superior to these apparently dangerous
things $ rather it >as that they seemed unreal
to me, mere illusions, phantasmagoria of a
dream<state. !t least, that is as near as #
"an des"ribe my feelings and mental states in
this dream.
(inally, # heard a supernal voi"e utter these
>ords "5ou have dis"overed the #llusion.
Hen"eforth you are free from the burden of
fear of it. 6no> you that 5)1, your +eal
Self, is beyond harm, hurt, or destru"tion.
(ire "annot bum it$ >ater "annot dro>n it$
spa"e has no po>er over it neither "an spear
pier"e it, nor s>ord "ut it. This is the proph<
e"y that >hen you =no> the # for >hat
it is, then >ill the fears of the >orld seem
as illusory as the fears of the magi"<sho>
AL TH* #''*+ S*-+*T
>hi"h you have @ust >itnessed. 5our great<
est good no> "onsists of the dis"overy of your
+eal Self $ bend everything to that end. That
is the one thing >hi"h, >hen =no>n, all in
=no>n $ >hi"h, >hen found, all else is >ithin
your rea"h"F
Then, # found myself ba"= on the plain
>ith -olonel (orbes, but this time he did not
"lasp my hand so as to guide and dire"t me
# seemed to be able to stand alone and to
find my o>n >ay home. 0ut he turned to
me, and said in gentle but firm tones, "So far,
>ellF :ay it "ontinue to be so >ith youF
Then the dream "ame to an end, and # a>o=e
to find myself safe in my bed in my hotel
""ourt room".
Then # be"ame "ons"ious of a strange fa"t.
Gust before dropping to sleep and into the
dream, # had heard the "lo"= sound the first
stro=e of "t>o" # =ne> it >as t>o o9"lo"=,
be"ause # had been a>a=e an hour before
>hen it stru"= "one". 'o>, as # a>o=e from
my dream, # distin"tly heard the se"ond stro=e
of "t>o". The >hole dream had been "om<
pressed into the time elapsing bet>een the
first and the se"ond stro=e of the "t>o", #
remember saying to myself, "Well it seems
that Time as >ell as Spa"e >as annihilated for
me in that dream".
TH* :5ST*+#)1S ST+!'J*+ A7
That >as all that there >as to it. The
dream >as finished. # am not "laiming that
it >as more than a dream but it "ertainly
>as an unusual dream, # thought, and still
thin=. Whatever may have been its "ause,
nature or meaning, it "ertainly >or=ed for
good in me. The ne?t morning, # found that
a "ertain "hange had "ome upon me. # "an<
not say that # felt stronger or more real than
before rather, # may say that # felt that the
diffi"ulties, dangers, trials and troubles of life
>ere less real than # had before thought them.
# began to feel more and more that the hideous
dragons in my path >ere but lath<and<plaster
"reations, >ith phonographi" atta"hments in
them shouting "0oo" F at me.
# first found myself able to loo= ba"= at
my late series of misfortunes as something
li=e the lath<and<plaster dragons then #
"eased loo=ing ba"= at them at all. # >as
through >ith the past illusions $ and the pres<
ent and future fantasies # >ould be able to
re"ogniBe as being @ust >hat they >ere.
'ever again >ould # mista=e them for reali<
ties # "ould never again be fooled by those
bugaboos. (inally, # remember the parting
advi"e of the unseen host the advi"e to find
my +eal Self. # determined to a"t upon it
at on"e. # determined to a""ept the invita<
%H TH* #''*+ S*-+*T
tion of -olonel (orbes to loo= me up". So
that very night after the dream found me
=no"=ing at the door of his suite in the hotel.
!s # =no"=ed, # remembered the >ords
"6no"=, and it shall be opened unto you $ as=,
and you shall re"eive". # determined to give
the +ight 6no"= F
III
THE REVELATION
-ome in"F "ame the message sounded by
the firm, >ell modulated voi"e of -olonel
(orbes.
# entered the room and too= the "omfortable
"hair pushed for>ard for me by my host.
The room seemed in some strange >ay to be,
as it >ere, an e?tension of his o>n personality,
so saturated >as it >ith his unusual mental
atmosphere. )ne >ould need no further evi<
den"e of the fa"t that the spirit of strong in<
dividuals is refle"ted in some subtle >ay by
the pla"es in >hi"h they spend mu"h of their
time. 2la"es have their "hara"teristi" at<
mospheres >hi"h result from the mental vibra<
tions of those >ho abide in them$ modem
s"ien"e is re<dis"overing this an"ient truth.
#n a fe> moments after entering # felt per<
fe"tly at ease, and # may say, also at home,
in the -olonel9s room. !lthough # had met
him for the first time only the previous eve<
ning, and even then had been >ith him only
for a short time, yet # felt that # >as in the
presen"e of one >ho =ne> me even better
than # =ne> myself, and one in >hom # might
%3
3%8 TH* #''*+ S*-+*T
repose the utmost "onfiden"e >ithout any fear
that it >ould be abused. !lthough there >as
nothing of the priest about -olonel (orbes,
one "ould not help feeling that he >ould ma=e
an ideal father<"onfessor.
!lthough nothing "ould have been further
from my thought and intention >hen # en<
tered the room, nevertheless, in a fe> moments
# found myself telling him >ithout embarrass<
ment the story of my strange dream of the
night before, and as=ing him >hether in his
opinion there >as really anything in the e?<
perien"e more than e?uberant fantasy of
dreamland. )rdinarily, a ;uestion of this
=ind "on"erning su"h a sub@e"t >ould have
been the last possible one >hi"h # >ould have
addressed to any man, even one >hom # had
=no>n intimately for years. 0ut, neverthe<
less, there # >as doing this parti"ular thing.
The -olonel listened patiently, and then,
spea=ing @ust as he >ould about the most "om<
monpla"e sub@e"t, replied "'o$ # do not
thin= that there >as anything more to your
dream than a symboli" representation of "er<
tain truths and fa"ts =no>n to that part of
your being >hi"h fun"tions on planes of men<
tation other than those of the ordinary "on<
s"iousness those planes >hi"h are no> "om<
monly =no>n as 9the sub"ons"ious9, or, more
properly, 9the super"ons"iousness9. #t hap<
TH* +*N*&!T#)' %K
pens at times that truths and fa"ts held in
the =no>ledge of 9the super"ons"iousness9 are
represented in symboli" form in dreams, or
even in day<dreams. !s a rule, ho>ever, the
o""urren"e of su"h e?perien"es indi"ates that
the =no>ledge is passing do>n>ard to the field
of ordinary "ons"iousness, and may be e?<
pe"ted to manifest on that plane before very
long".
"# should say", "ontinued the -olonel, "that
you are destined to undergo a "ertain e?peri<
en"e >ell =no>n to advan"ed students of the
subtle for"es of 'ature, in >hi"h a >onderful
truth of your o>n being >ill be revealed to
you. # am in"lined to thin= that this fuller
e?perien"e >ill not be long in "oming to you.
When it "omes, you >ill pra"ti"ally enter into
a ne> phase of "ons"ious e?isten"e on this
earth<plane, and you >ill never after>ard be
the same as you have been up to this time.
#t >ill be literally a 9ne> birth9 a, birth into
a ne> and higher "ons"iousness.
"#n some "ases this da>n of a ne> "on<
s"iousness is pre"eded by unusual e?perien"es
similar to those of your dream of last night,
and is often follo>ed by another and even
more remar=able e?perien"e of a similar na<
ture$ but this does not al>ays happen, and
many pass into the ne> "ons"iousness @ust
as the little "hild at some time in its early
%A TH* #''*+ S*-+*T
years easily passes from the 9third person9
stage into the 9first person9 stage from the
stage in >hi"h it thin=s of itself as 9Gohnny9,
or 9:ary9, into that in >hi"h it thin=s of it<
self as 9#9.
"So far as is "on"erned the part played by
myself in your dream, # >ould say that #
had no a"tual personal parti"ipation therein,
though it might appear other>ise to the
amateur o""ultist >ho has been dabbling in
tea"hings "on"erning 9the astral plane9. 5our
dream e?perien"e >as of an entirely different
order, ho>ever, and is purely symboli". #
>ould say that the appearan"e of myself in
the dream e?perien"e >as a symboli" e?pres<
sion of the super"ons"ious idea that # might
be of assistan"e to you in the >ay of dire"t<
ing you to>ard the ob@e"t of your "oming
9ne> birth9 in "ons"iousness $ if so, # am very
glad, and >ill be only too pleased to be of
servi"e to you in the matter.
"!s to the statement "on"erning the in<
vin"ibility of the Self, or 9#9, >hi"h you heard
at the "on"lusion of your e?perien"e, # >ould
haBard the surmise that this >as but the un<
"ons"ious re"olle"tion of a similar aphorism of
the an"ient oriental sages, >ith >hi"h # am
;uite familiar, and >hi"h you have probably
happened a"ross in some of your past reading.
5our super"ons"ious mentality evidently re"<
TH* +*N*&!T#)' %%
ogniBed its appropriateness in your "ase, and
so "aused your memory to reprodu"e it for
you in the form of a symboli" message from
supernatural authority.
"So, you see", "ontinued the -olonel, "there
is a perfe"tly natural e?planation of the e?pe<
rien"e of your dream, in all of its in"idents.
:en are far too apt to see= supernatural e?<
planations >here perfe"tly natural ones are
suffi"ient and are at hand. This is a mista=e
'ature is so filled >ith >onderful things that
>e have no need to drag in the supernatural
by the horns in order to a""ount for strange
and unusual e?perien"es. #t is true that these
natural e?planations ta=e a>ay something of
the mystery and fas"ination, but to the true
student of Truth these things do not "ount$
to them. 'ature is ;uite as interesting and as
fas"inating, and fully as mysterious, as any<
thing in the realm of the Supernatural that
the imagination of man has yet "on@ured
forth.
"'o>", suddenly said the -olonel, "tell me
about yourself. 5ou are evidently see=ing
something very earnestly, and your super"on<
s"ious mentality has "aused you to see= out
myself as a probable agent "apable of help<
ing you to attain the ob@e"t of your ;uest.
(rom all the indi"ations, # thin= it probable
that # may be able to assist you$ in fa"t, #
%4 TH* #''*+ S*-+*T
really e?perien"ed a feeling of this =ind >hen
# met you last night # am seldom mista=en
in su"h intuitions or instin"ts. What is it
you see=O Tell me the story of your past
e?perien"es in life
# then told "the story of my lifeto the
-olonel mu"h the same story that # have re<
lated to you in the foregoing pages. 0ut,
strange as it may seem, # found myself pass<
ing rapidly and lightly over the tale of my
late do>nfall and misfortune this seemed to
have lost its former importan"e to me, and to
be but an in"onse;uential in"ident of some<
thing of far more importan"e. &i=e>ise, #
found myself d>elling at length, and >ith
earnestness, upon my life<long sear"h for the
#nner Se"ret of Su""ess and 2ersonal 2o>er.
This one idea shone forth >ith su"h strength
that all the others >ere dimmed by its po>er.
The -olonel again listened silently and at<
tentively. ! fe> ;uestions as=ed from time to
time, in the "ourse of my narrative, suffi"ed
him. When # "on"luded, he said
"5ou >ere ;uite right in your intuition and
instin"ts. There is, indeed, an #nner Se"ret
of Su""ess and 2ersonal 2o>er and to mu"h
else beside. There is in e?isten"e and po>er
that Something >hi"h you have sought$ but
you have not sought for it in the right pla"e.
5ou have sought afar for that >hi"h really
TH* +*N*&!T#)' %.
lies nearer to you than does anything else.
5ou have sought for the 9something about9,
and the 9something above9, but you have failed
to sear"h for that Something Within this last
is that >onderful 9Something9 >hi"h is the
ob@e"t of your ;uest, and in >hi"h is to be
found the #nner Se"ret of Su""ess and 2er<
sonal 2o>er.
"That Something Within is the ;uintessen"e
of that >hi"h you e?perien"e in "ons"iousness
as the "onvi"tion of 9# !m # 0ut this P# !m
# is not the petty thing of personality, built
up and "omposed of the personal physi"al,
mental, and emotional ;ualities and states
>hi"h you usually regard as yourself. These
"ompositive parts, elements and fa"tors of your
personality may be said to "onstitute your
9:e9 your 9# !m #9, ho>ever, is something
mu"h higher, mu"h greater, mu"h more essen<
tial, mu"h more fundamental than the aggre<
gate of the ;ualities and attributes of your
personality. When you have dis"overed the
#nner Se"ret of the 9# !m #9, then you be"ome
the :aster of those "ompositive elements of
your personal being, and, "onse;uently, of all
the things of the outside >orld >hi"h are in<
fluen"ed by them and this field of outside
things, so possible of being thus influen"ed,
is far greater than you no> imagine.
"(rom no> on", said the -olonel, "the "hief
%L TH* #''*+ S*-+*T
aim and purpose, end and intention, of your
thought, desire and >ill, should be that of
the dis"overy or unfoldment of that Something
Within this +eal Self this 9# !m #9. :ain<
tain firmly and "ontinuously the definite idea
to a"hieve it an ideal strongly and "learly
defined in your mental pi"tures. &et the flame
of your desire burn fier"ely for it. :anifest
full hope, faith and "onfident belief in the su"<
"essful out"ome of your efforts in that dire"<
tion. :anifest to>ard it the persistent de<
termination of your >ill<of<>ills "ontinue to
>ill<to<>ill it so persistently, determinedly and
strongly that all 'ature >ill "ome to your aid
and assistan"e".
# >as amaBed by this revelation of the
-olonel, but # felt >ithin me the assuran"e
that he spo=e the truth. # felt immeasurably
nearer to the su""essful termination of my
;uest. # determined to follo> his instru"tions
to the letter, from that time on. 0ut # first
sought to obtain ans>ers to the many ;ues<
tions >hi"h >ere then arising in my mind.
The -olonel, ho>ever, =indly but firmly de<
"lined to pro"eed further in the instru"tion
at that time. +ising, he dismissed me "our<
teously, saying "That is enough for this les<
son. &et >hat # have said sin= deep into your
mind. # have planted the seed$ it is for you
to >ater and to "are for it if you do this it
TH* +*N*&!T#)' %7
>ill ta=e root, sprout, put forth leaves and
blossoms, and finally bring forth fruit. -ome
to see me tomorro> evening".

/uring the follo>ing day # found myself
inspired by the glimpses of the Truth >hi"h
had been furnished to me by my good friend
and tea"her, the -olonel, in our "onversation
of the evening before. :y mind, ho>ever, in<
stead of being distra"ted from the duties and
tas= of my daily >or=, seemed to have ta=en
on an in"reased =eenness and a"tivity and,
indeed, # managed to solve several perple?ing
;uestions >hi"h had heretofore baffled me in
the "ourse of my >or=. The mental a"tivity
>hi"h >as "on"erned >ith the matter of the
dis"overy of the Something Within seemed to
be manifesting beneath the level or plane of
my ordinary "ons"iousness, though # >as in
a >ay a>are of the pro"ess. While the sur<
fa"e a"tivities >ere operating >ith even greater
profi"ien"y and effi"ien"y, # >as =eenly a>are
that something >as ta=ing pla"e belo> the
surfa"e in the depths of my mental being.
!fter dinner, # again sought the room of
the -olonel, and >as as before "ordially
greeted by him. !fter telling him of the e?<
perien"es of the day, # >as informed by him
that he felt that # >as no> prepared for the
se"ond of the three fundamental lessons >hi"h
4H TH* #''*+ S*-+*T
he intended to give to me as he smilingly
e?pressed it, "5ou are no> ready for the se"<
ond degree".
He pro"eeded as follo>s "5ou are a>are
that the entity >hi"h you "all 9#9 your Self
is the same entity >hi"h you have e?pe<
rien"ed as 9#9 from the first days of self <"on<
s"iousness. #t is 9the same old #9, and not
the su""essor or des"endent of the 9#9 >hi"h
you first =ne>, and have sin"e =no>n. This
entity is your 9id<entity9 your 9identity9 or
9same entity9. This identi"al 9#9 has per<
sisted, not>ithstanding that your body, your
thoughts, your beliefs, your feelings, and your
"ourses of a"tion, have "onstantly "hanged
from time to time sin"e you first be"ame a>are
of this 9#9 in self<"ons"iousness. #t is the iden<
ti"al, "hangeless, "onstant, persistent Some<
thing >hi"h has remained inta"t and unaffe"ted
by the pro"ess of "hange in your physi"al,
mental, and emotional personality.
"5our body is not the same body as that
in >hi"h your 9#9 d>elt at the beginning$
there is not a "ell, part, or portion of your
body at the present time >hi"h >as there even
a fe> years ago. 5ou are d>elling in a ne>
body >hi"h is but one of a series of bodies
"omposed of "onstantly "hanging parts >hi"h
you have used during your present life on
earth. -learly, then, your physi"al body is
TH* +*N*&!T#)' 43
not 5ou not the 9#9 entity or identity >hi"h
is your +eal Self. ,
"#n the same >ay, you have e?perien"ed a
"onstant "hange of thoughts, ideas, beliefs,
feelings, desires, emotions and >ill<a"tivities,
all through your life. 5our mental being,
your intelle"tual being, your emotional being,
all of your personal being, in fa"t is differ<
ent from that possessed by you in the begin<
ning. 5our physi"al, mental and emotional
personal being is but the present stage of a
"onstant pro"ess of "hange and be"oming. #t
is "lear that this "hanging series, and its pres<
ent stage, is not 5ou not your 9#9 entity or
identity >hi"h is your +eal Self.
"-onse;uently, your physi"al, mental, and
emotional being is a=in to the @a"=<=nife of
the boy in the story the =nife had three ne>
handles and seven ne> blades repla"ed in it
during the years of his o>nership of it, yet he
"alled it 9the same old =nife9. 0ut it >asn9t
9the same old =nife9 at all<<<it >as simply the
su""essor or des"endent of the original =nife
o>ned by the same boy. The boy >as the
only 9identi"al9 fa"tor or element the only
9same old9 thing in ;uestion. 'o>, your 9# !m
#9 is li=e the boy your physi"al, mental, and
emotional being is the renovated and re<
vamped old =nife employed by him as his in<
strument or tool. 5)1 are the only identi"al
48 TH* #''*+ S*-+*T
real thing your physi"al, mental, and emo<
tional being is but your instrument or tool
employed by you in your >or= and e?pression
of personal life. Things >hi"h "onstantly
"hange are merely pro"esses not entities.
5ou your 9# !m #9 has not "hanged it is
your +eal Self, that Something Within, your
a"tual entity and identity. (i? this >ell in
your mind.
"When you are able to set aside in self<ana<
lyti"al thought all that "omposes your physi"al
body $ all that "onstitutes your intelle"tual and
emotional being $ and to see these in "ons"ious<
ness as being merely tools and instruments to
be employed by your 9# !m #9 in its individual
e?pression and manifestation @ust as the boy
"ould distinguish bet>een himself and his
@a"=<=nife then, and then only, >ill you be<
"ome 9#<"ons"ious9 in truth. #n su"h "ons"ious<
ness, you >ill undergo the 9ne> birth9 you
>ill 9be born again9, this time into the >orld
of +eal Selfhood, *gohood, and -ons"ious
#dentity. When you are able to see yourself
as your +eal Self your 9# !m #9 e?isting in
identi"al being, and surrounded by its phys<
i"al, mental, and emotional tools and instru<
ments of e?pression, then you >ill have dis<
"overed that Something Within."
TH* +*N*&!T#)' 4K
With these >ords, >hi"h sun= deep into my
inner "ons"iousness, the -olonel again dis<
missed me, bidding me return on the follo>ing
evening for my "third degree".

# laid a>a=e that night, unable to sleep by
reason of the intense a"tivity of my mind. #
>as "ons"ious of a gradual "learing<up pro"ess
under>ay in my mentality. # employed the
pro"ess of self<analysis, and dis"rimination be<
t>een my T !m #" and my mental and emo<
tional fa"ulties and states of "ons"iousness
# had already learned to dis"riminate bet>een
my Self and my body. # plainly sa> that it
>as the same # !m #" >hi"h had e?perien"ed
the "hanging series of mental and emotional
pro"esses and states during the past years of
my life. # sa> that the things of personality
>ere but as garments >orn by the individual,
identi"al "# !m #". # sa>, by the e?er"ise
of my imagination, that # might even a"t the
parts of different personalties, in different
bodies one at a time, ho>ever but that the
"# !m #" playing ea"h and all of these parts
>ould be the same, identi"al Self.
Try as # did, ho>ever, # >as unable even in
imagination to thin= a>ay this "# !m #, or
to e?"hange it for another similar to it. #t
refused to be thought a>ay, or to be e?<
"hanged for another. # sa>, finally, that so
IV
THE THIRD DEGREE
The day passed rapidly. !lthough there
>as an unusually large and heavy a""umula<
tion of important >or= to be performed by
me, # found myself manifesting a ne> and
mar=ed effi"ien"y and "apa"ity for performing
my tas=s. :y mind seemed to fun"tion >ith
a smoothness and rapidity un=no>n to me for
many years. 2lans flashed into my mind, and
the means of "arrying them out follo>ed >ith
a ma"hine<li=e regularity. -ertain ideas "on<
ne"ted >ith the improvement of some of the
operations of the business arose in my mind,
and >hen these >ere mentioned by me to
those persons in "harge of the business they
attra"ted immediate attention and brought a
promise to investigate the matter >ith a vie>
of adopting my re"ommendations. # instin"<
tively felt that # had begun to a>a=en an in<
terested attention to>ard myself on the part
of those in >hose employ # >as. There >as
a subtle "hange in my position in the "on"ern,
and my e?perien"e taught me that # had ta=en
a distin"t step for>ard in my @ourney to
su""ess.
44
TH* TH#+/ /*J+** 4.
!s # no> remember it, # be"ame vividly "on<
s"ious of a ne> relation bet>een myself my
"# !m #" and my mental fa"ulties, states,
and ma"hinery. # no longer seemed to be in<
e?tri"ably "mi?ed up >ith" these, but, rather ,
# seemed to e?ist as an independent entity in
the "entre of my mental, emotional, and phys<
i"al >orld of personal being, having my hands
on the various levers of my mental ma"hinery
and being endo>ed >ith the po>er to operate
the same >ith a ne> and higher degree of effi<
"ien"y. :oreover, # be"ame a>are that # >as
setting into operation "ertain a"tivities on
those planes of my mind and >ill >hi"h >ere
belo> the plane of ordinary "ons"iousness.
These under<the<surfa"e po>ers or fa"ulties
seemed to be busily engaged in performing
>or= for me, and to be preparing reports
>hi"h >ould later be raised to the plane of
my ordinary "ons"iousness. (inally, # >as
also at least faintly a>are that these sub"on<
s"ious mental for"es >ere beginning to e?ert
an undefinable but positive influen"e on my
environment, and >ere a"ting so as to bring
me into a ne> relationship >ith the individ<
uals >ith >hom # >as asso"iated, dire"tly and
indire"tly, in my business life.

*vening "ame, and >ith a feeling of deep
emotion # again =no"=ed at the door of the
.H TH* #''*+ S*-+*T
fundamental nature and in its real and a"tual
being. Without this =no>ledge the individual
is apt to be led astray by his ne><found
po>er $ >ithout it he often tends to attribute
to his personal self, and derivative "hara"ter,
the po>er >hi"h really is vested in a mu"h
higher part of his being. )ne must =no>
ho> to re"ogniBe the real gold of his being,
else he may be deluded by the glittering imi<
tations and "ounterfeits >hi"h abound in the
realm of personality.
Here the -olonel paused, and rested for a
fe> moments as if striving to find >ords fitted
to des"ribe the tremendous truth >hi"h he
>ished to "onvey to me $ or, perhaps, to "hoose
simple >ords "apable of being understood by
me rather than those terms employed by him
in his o>n advan"ed and e?alted thought on
the sub@e"t this, as # no> =no>, >as no easy
tas=. !fter a fe> moments of deep, "on"en<
trated thought, he said
"&et us begin at the beginning. The begin<
ning of all thought "on"erning the Truth is
Truth itself. The first and last Truth "on<
"erning *?isten"e or 0eing is this There is
present and a"tive a S12+*:* 2+*S*'-*<
2)W*+ from >hi"h all things pro"eed,
dire"tly and indire"tly, and >hi"h is the 0ase,
Jround, Support, -ause, -orrelator, -oordi<
nator, *ssen"e, Substan"e, &ife, 2rin"iple,
TH* TH#+/ /*J+** .3
2resen"e and 2o>er of the entire World<of<
Things. !ll intelligent human thought re<
ports this "on"lusion$ all a>a=ened intuition
sustains and "orroborates it$ all philosophy #
finds in it its first and last fa"ts.
99!ll attempts to identify this Supreme 2resen"e<
2o>er >ith things of the phenom<
enal >orld must meet >ith failure, for it tran<
s"ends all of these. Spe"ulation upon its
essential nature is futile, and >orse than use<
less, for it is far beyond the po>er of human
representation in >ords. The finite "annot
e?plain the #nfinite $ the relative "annot define
the !bsolute $ the "onditioned "annot diagram
the 1n"onditioned. 5et all human thought,
spe"ulation, reason, intuition, imagination and
instin"t affirm the ne"essary presen"e and
a"tion of this Supreme 2o>er.
"Human reason, e?tended to its utmost
limits, and "orroborated by intuition, ho>ever,
is able to furnish the follo>ing report "on"ern<
ing its "on"ept of the Supreme 2resen"e<
2o>er, namely The Supreme 2resen"e<
2o>er must be !bsolute, #nfinite, 1n"ondi<
tioned$ it must be *ternal and 1n"aused$ it
must be !bsolutely #denti"al, #mmutable,
and 1n"hangeable in its *ssen"e$ it must be
!bsolute #ntegrity, #ndivisible, and #nsep<
arable. :oreover, all philosophy >orthy of
the name holds that it must be S2#+#T, in
.8 TH* #''*+ S*-+*T
the sense of being the *ssen"e of &ife, the
*ssen"e of -ons"iousness, the *ssen"e of
Will.
"#t is very "lear that this #nfinite 2resen"e<
2o>er must "ontain >ithin its essential pres<
en"e and po>er everything that is for there
is no pla"e outside of its infinite presen"e and
po>er. &i=e>ise, its presen"e and po>er
must abide in everything that is for its pres<
en"e and po>er, being infinite, must be every<
>here, and "onse;uently in everything that is
any>here. Thus, you see, this Supreme
2o>er must not only be that from >hi"h all
things pro"eed, but also that in >hi"h all
things live, and move, and have their being,
and, finally, that >hi"h is imminent and abid<
ing in everything.
"(i? >ell in your mind this triple "on"ep<
tion of the Supreme 2resen"e<2o>er, viB., C3D
its #nfinite 2resen"e, in >hi"h all things must
abide and be "ontained $ C8D its #nfinite 2o>er,
from >hi"h all a"tivities must pro"eed and
flo>$ and CKD its #nfinite #mmanen"e, by rea<
son of >hi"h it is present and a"tive in every<
thing that is. #f you >ill hold fast to these
three elemental and fundamental fa"ts, you
"annot go very far astray in your thin=ing on
the sub@e"t.
"#n your former thin=ing you "ame to see
that there >as 9something about9 persons
TH* TH#+/ /*J+** .K
>hi"h gave them spe"ial po>er$ this >as, of
"ourse, this #nfinite Something Cor one of its
e?pressions or manifestationsD. &ater, you
sa> that many "onsidered this Something to
be a 9something above9 them$ this, li=e>ise
>as this #nfinite Something Cor one of its e?<
pressions or manifestationsD. (inally, you
no> have learned that the Something you have
sought is that Something Within $ this li=e>ise
must be this #nfinite Something, Cor one of its
e?pressions or manifestationsD. The #nfinite
Something is that Something sought in ea"h
"ase, though it may be loo=ed for in three dif<
ferent dire"tions. .
"The superstitious person prefers to #dentify Q
this #nfinite Something >ith a 9something
about9 individuals. The religious person pre<
fers to identify it >ith a 9something above9
him >hi"h vie> is all right so far as it goes,
but >hi"h is usually in error in refusing to
admit that the #nfinite Something is also >ith<
in the being of ea"h and every individual. The
>ise thin=ers of the past, and of the present,
>hile freely a"=no>ledging that the #nfinite
Something is ever 9about9 persons, and is al<
>ays 9above9 them, also =no> that it is also
"ertainly 9>ithin9 themselves and they prefer
to see= for it there, for reasons >hi"h # shall
no> e?plain to you. R
"The 9something about9 "an only be vie>ed
.A TH* #''*+ S*-+*T
from the outside you "an never get #nto the
a"tual presen"e of it, but "an only vie> it from
afar. The 9something above9, li=e>ise, e?ists
"hiefly as an abstra"t "on"eption in your mind,
and is never dire"tly "onta"ted in this >ay.
5ou may feel in"lined to dispute this last fa"t,
but if you >ill in;uire "losely of persons of
deep and sin"ere religious e?perien"e, you >ill
find that their real "onvi"tion arises by rea<
son of an 9inner e?perien"e9 a "onvi"tion of
the /ivine 2resen"e<2o>er >ithin themselves,
in their 9heart9 as they e?press it. Though the
devoutly religious person may 9thin= about9
the Supreme 2resen"e<2o>er as 9above9 him,
yet his supreme e?perien"e is obtained by rea<
son of the fa"t that he 9feels9 >ithin himself
the glo> of an !biding 2resen"e and 2o>er.
:any of the orthodo? religionists see= to deny
this, yet in their hearts they =no> that the
9religious e?perien"e9 is al>ays really an 9inner
e?perien"e9 that it is an e?perien"e of the
9heart9, rather than of the 9head9.
"The esoteri" o""ult tea"hing has al>ays
been that the Supreme 2resen"e<2o>er may
be immediately "onta"ted by dire"ting the "on<
s"iousness into the depths of one9s o>n being
there to dis"over that Something Within.
The most profound pra"ti"al philosophers have
taught li=e>ise, though in different terms.
The reasoning in both "ases pro"eeds as fol<
TH* TH#+/ /*J+** .%
lo>s #f there is a Something 9in >hi"h >e
live, and move, and have our being9, and 9from
>hi"h all things pro"eed9 $ and if, as must be,
that Something is immanent >ithin the being
of ea"h and every one of us$ then, logi"ally,
that Something must abide as the essen"e and
fundamental substan"e of the being of the in<
dividual, and must be dis"overed there, if any<
>here.
"The ne?t step of the mysti"s, and of the
pra"ti"al philosophers as >ell, is that of a"tual
e?perimentation along these lines. The result
is that all of the great mysti"s, and all of the
great pra"ti"al philosophers, have ea"h re<
ported that at the very "entre of his being
at the very =ernel of his "ons"iousness he has
dis"overed a Something >hi"h is different
from anything else about himself, and >hi"h
"annot be des"ribed in terms appli"able to the
latter. #n fa"t, that this Something Within,
>hen ;uestioned, seems unable to define or
e?plain itself in >ords other than these 9#
!m #9, or >here the individual has advan"ed
still further in his ne> e?perien"e, as 9# !m
TH!T # !m.9
"This e?perien"e, and the appli"ation of
severe logi"al thought, has led the deep
thin=ers of the ra"e to hold that the #nner
Se"ret of 0eing is to be found only in this
inner e?perien"e of that Something Within.
.4 TH* #''*+ S*-+*T
9Why9, as= they, 9should one see= in outer
e?perien"e or in the e?perien"e of others that
>hi"h may be found in the dire"t e?perien"e
of oneselfO 9Why9, as= they, 9should one see=
in distant lands, and over strange seas, for
the treasure that lies buried in one9s o>n gar<
denO Say they, 9#f this Truth lies every<
>here, it lies >ithin myself$ and >ithin myself
is the only pla"e in >hi"h # "an find it, for my
dire"t =no>ledge is "onfined to the dis"overy
of my o>n states of "ons"iousness.9
"'o>", said the -olonel, "if you admit that
the #nfinite 2resen"e<2o>er really abides
>ithin your o>n being Cas in all elseD, >here
>ould you e?pe"t to find it there and >hat
must it seem li=e >hen you have found it. !
little thought >ill sho> you that if it is there
at all it must abide at the very "entre of your
individual being and at the deepest pla"e of
your "ons"iousness. 'o>, then, >hat do you
find >hen you determinedly e?plore your "on<
s"iousness and your beingO !t the very "en<
tre of your being, and at the e?treme depths
of your "ons"iousness, you find >hatO 5ou
find this 9# !m #9 your +eal Self standing
as a -entral Sun around >hi"h >hirl the lesser
planets of your mental and emotional nature.
This is the fi?ed and final fa"t >ithin you
this fa"t of 9# !:9, and 9# !m #9.
"'o matter ho> your mental and emotional,
TH* TH#+/ /*J+** ..
as >ell as your physi"al, attributes of person<
ality "hange and be"ome different, your 9# !m
#9 remains ever the same immutable, un<
"hangeable, fi?ed, "ertain, "onstant. 'o mat<
ter ho> you may "hange your opinions and
feelings about other things, you "an never
thin= and feel other>ise than 9# !:9, and 9#
!m #9. 5ou "an never say >ith truth and
"onvi"tion, 9# !m ')T9, or 9# !m 'ot<#9
the very idea is ridi"ulous. :oreover, you
"annot thin= ba"= of or under the "# !m #"
it is the final report of your "ons"ious e?<
perien"e, @ust as it is its first report. #n find<
ing the 9# !m #9, disentangled from its sur<
rounding sheaths and its garments of person<
ality, you have found the (undamental (a"t
of your individual being and that, if any<
thing, must be the fo"al point or fo"al "entre
of the #nfinite Supreme 2resen"e<2o>er >hi"h
is immanent in presen"e and po>er >ithin you.
#t is die #nd>elling Spirit the +eal Self
that Something Within.
"'o>", said the -olonel, "here is a stage of
the @ourney at >hi"h many >ho tread the path
stumble and fal& They sometimes see= to
identify that Something Within >ith the 9per<
sonal self, instead of the +eal Self the super<
fi"ial personality of 9Gohn Smith, gro"er, aged
A7 years9, >ith the 9# !m #9, above<all<person<
ality, >hi"h is the individuality. This leads
.L TH* #''*+ S*-+*T
them a>ay from the main road of +ealiBation.
)r, again, they may "ease all efforts to e?<
press and manifest that Something Within,
and to enter into a fuller "ons"iousness of
identity >ith it, but, instead, they devote their
thought to vague and futile spe"ulations as
to 9@ust >hy9 the Supreme 2resen"e<2o>er
see=s to e?press and manifest its presen"e<
po>er in the World<of<Things. #n the first
"ase, the mista=en person >anders off into the
pitfalls and ;uagmires of /elusion and *rror $
in the se"ond "ase, he pro"eeds to run 9round<
and<round9 in "ir"les, or li=e the s;uirrel in the
"age, he travels the >hirling >heel of spe"u<
lation, ever moving but never arriving any<
>here.
"The sane "ourse is to strive earnestly to
enter into a fuller and fuller re"ognition of
that Something Within as the 9# !m #9, or
+eal Self$ to pro"eed to a fuller and fuller
realiBation that this P# !m #P is not a part of
your intelle"tual or emotional ma"hinery, but
is its :aster$ and, finally, to endeavor to e?<
press and manifest more fully and more effe"<
tively the po>er >hi"h flo>s into your "on<
s"ious field of mentation as the result of your
re"ognition and realiBation @ust mentioned.
5ou are no> a -ause, not merely an *ffe"t$
you are no> a -reator, not merely a -reature $
therefore, pro"eed to -ause and to -reate
effe"tively, effi"iently, and >orthily.
TH* TH#+/ /*J+** .7
"This then, said the -olonel, "is >hat the
9# !m #9, or that Something Within, or +eal
Self, really is a fo"al point or "entre of the
#nfinite 2resen"e<2o>er from >hi"h all things
pro"eed, and in >hi"h >e live and move and
have our being. The #nfinite 2resen"e<2o>er
is e?pressed and manifested through that fo"al
point or "entre >hi"h is your 9# !m #9 $ your
understanding of the 9>hy and >herefore9 of
this >ill in"rease but be not over an?ious
about this, for the understanding follo>s only
upon the heels of the e?pression and mani<
festation, and never pre"edes it. 5ou learn by
doing. 5our "# !m #", as it e?presses and
manifests itself through you, >ill be mu"h li=e
a person a>a=ening from a deep sleep per<
haps still under the influen"e of a dream of
the night. #t >ill 9find itself only gradually,
so mingled >ith its >a=ing realities still are
the illusions of its dream<state. #t >ill 9"ome
to9 only gradually its attainment of =no>l<
edge of itself >ill be mu"h li=e the re"olle"<
tion of =no>ledge previously had by it. /o
not perple? yourself "on"erning the 9@ust >hy9
of this at this time you have >or= before you
to do, and in"reased =no>ledge >ill follo> the
performan"e of that >or=.
"!nd, no>", said the -olonel, "# have given
you as mu"h as you "an mentally digest at
LH TH* #''*+ S*-+*T
this time. # do not >ish you to suffer from
spiritual indigestion or mental dyspepsia. #
have more to say to you $ but this >ill all "ome
in due time. /esire insistently your unfold<
ment in "ons"iousness$ "onfidently e?pe"t its
realiBation$ and determinedly >ill its attain<
ment. /esire, (aith, and /etermination >ill
>in the day for you. To some this unfold<
ment "omes ;uite gradually, and >ithout spe<
"ial phenomenal e?perien"es. #n your "ase,
ho>ever, the tremendous pressure of the un<
folding flo>er of your 9# !m #9 may end in
a sudden, tremendous effort >hi"h >ill bring
to you a strange e?perien"e symboli" in "har<
a"ter, as >as that one of the other night in
>hi"h in a flash of intense super"ons"iousness
there >ill be given to you a glimpse into the
2romised &and, but >hi"h >ill last only for
a moment but for a moment that >ill never
after>ard be forgotten by you. #n fa"t, # feel
that you are on the very eve of su"h an e?peri<
en"e. See me again >hen you feel deeply im<
pelled to see= me but not before."
With these >ords, the -olonel rose and in<
di"ated that the intervie> >as at an end.
With a strange feeling of e?altation, and
>ith the intuition that # >as about to undergo
a transforming e?perien"e from >hi"h # >ould
emerge as a ne> individual or, rather, as the
same individual endo>ed >ith a ne> and
TH* TH#+/ /*J+** L3
fuller insight, "ons"iousness, and po>er #
pro"eeded to my room and sought my pillo>.
Shortly after, my trans"endental e?perien"e
began.
# "ould not be said to be "thin=ing" rather
did # seem to be #mmersed in a >orld >hi"h
>as all #dea. #n this ne> >orld all the
things >ere ideas the "thoughts >ere things"
therein, in a"tual fa"t. :y mind >as perfe"tly
"lear # >as not in a daBed or perple?ed state
of mind. #t seemed to me, rather, that my
mind had es"aped its former limitations, and
had attained infinite trans"endental po>ers. #
seemed to have attained the po>er of thin=<
ing >ith infinite po>er and >ith absolute
logi"al a""ura"y.
/>elling in this realm of 2ure #deation for
a time # do not =no> no> >hether it >as
but for a moment, or else for hours, so rapt
in the e?perien"e >as # # then passed into
a state of mental and emotional ;uietude,
"almness, and @oy. !ll finite thought seemed
stilled. The "# !m #" seemed to be d>elling
in the #nfinitude of Spa"e, and in the *ternity
of Time. This #nfinite Spa"e seemed to be
filled >ith a >ondrous rosy light, vibrating
>ith an a>ful intensity and rate of speed. #n
it, # seemed to be abiding undisturbed and un<
affe"ted. # had the "onvi"tion that my Self
>as eternal that it had al>ays e?isted and
L8 TH* #''*+ S*-+*T
>ould al>ays e?ist, in its essential identi"al
being$ death or interruption of its life seemed
li=e a laughable impossibility. # seemed to
have ta=en on #nfinite and *ternal &ife.
!""ompanying this "onvi"tion, >as the
realiBation of >hat # "an des"ribe only as #n<
finite Wisdom. # seemed to =no> everything
from the highest Truth to the most trivial
fa"t of e?perien"e. There >as "no great and
no small" to me all >as in"luded in the "on<
tent of my "ons"iousness and =no>ledge. The
+iddle of the !ges the :ystery of 0eing
>ere "learly understood by me. 0ut greatest
of all this =no>ledge >as the =no>ledge of
my o>n being # =ne> the inner truth that
"# !m TH!T # !mF"
With this also manifested the "ons"iousness
of #nfinite Goy, of !bsolute 0liss # seemed
to have "on"entrated and "ondensed >ithin me
the 0liss and Goy, the Happiness and -on<
tent, of all time and all pla"es. 5et, # seemed
to realiBe that all this happiness, bliss, @oy and
"ontent, "ame from >ithin myself, and not
from things e?ternal to me.
&oo=ing ba"= at this e?perien"e, in the
light of my after a";uired =no>ledge and
understanding, # no> see that in that flash of
#llumination for su"h it >as # momentarily
"onta"ted or "tapped" the trans"endental
planes of "ons"iousness >hi"h the an"ient
TH* TH#+/ /*J+** LK
oriental sages des"ribed as "Sat<-hit<!nanda",
or "0eing<!bsolute $ Wisdom !bsolute $ 0liss<
!bsolute". #t >as doubtless largely, or en<,
tirely, symboli"$ it >as very far from being
>hat is popularly =no>n as a "psy"hi" e?peri<
en"e".
# no> =no> this to have been a perfe"tly
natural e?perien"e, though a "omparatively
un"ommon one. :any others have undergone
it many others >ill undergo it. The a""ounts
of its e?perien"e tally "losely, in the reports
of the ages. 5et, be it remembered, many >ho
attain the very highest re"ognition, realiBation,
and manifestation of that Something Within, .
have not undergone this e?perien"e. #t is
merely in"idental, and not essential let there
be no mista=e about this point.
The trans"endental e?perien"e passed. The
rea"tion >as at first most painful and distress<
ing, # felt that # had dropped from the highest
heaven do>n to the barren earth. Jone >as
my =no>ledge of everything but there still
persisted the firm "onvi"tion that # had so
=no>n it, and it >as at least "omforting to
=no> that it >as =no>able. Jone >ere my
bliss, @oy, and happiness unspea=able though
the memory of them has served to "omfort
and bring happiness and pea"e to me ever
sin"e. # had as"ended to the heights, but
great had been my subse;uent fall 5et, the
LA TH* #''*+ S*-+*T
resulting memory of it all >as >orth the pri"e
of the disappointment >hi"h follo>ed.
# >ould rather give up all that # have sin"e
attained, in material possessions, a"hievement,
and =no>ledge, rather than no> to have
erased from my memory the re"olle"tion of
that e?perien"e. The mere thought of its in<
"idents and fa"ts gives to me a thrill far be<
yond that produ"ed by any other thought of
past, present, or future. This is a faint idea
of >hat this e?perien"e meant, no> means,
and shall al>ays mean to me.

# must have after>ard dropped into a deep
sleep, for # a>o=e in the morning greatly re<
freshed in mind and in body. # >as "ons"ious
of a ne> spirit animating my physi"al and
mental being. # must have refle"ted this inner
state, for # no> remember that for several
days after>ard my asso"iates, and others, per<
sisted in as=ing me if # had heard good ne>s,
had "ome into a fortune, had fallen in love
or had e?perien"ed something else of a most
gratifying nature. # had, in fa"t but some<
thing different from >hat they supposed.
# "an see from photographs of myself, still
in my possession, that my physi"al appearan"e
began to "hange for the better from the time
of that e?perien"e$ # am sure that # too= on
a ne> e?pression of "ountenan"e. :y body
TH* TH#+/ /*J+** L%
began to ta=e on ne> strength and vigor, and
the years seemed to drop a>ay from me. The
Spirit of 5outh seemed to have des"ended
upon me, and # refle"ted this in physi"al ap<
pearan"e and energy, and in mental vigor and
effi"ien"y. :oreover, material "onditions be<
gan to "hange rapidly, and in my favor$ of
these things # shall have more to say as # pro<
"eed >ith the story.
# >ish to be "learly and positively under<
stood here, ho>ever, that all of the benefits
>hi"h follo>ed this trans"endental e?perien"e
have been pra"ti"ally dupli"ated by others of
my subse;uent a";uaintan"e, even though
many of these persons had no sign of su"h e?<
perien"e. !s the -olonel said, the tran<
s"endental e?perien"e is merely in"idental, and
not essential. #t arises by reason of the e?<
isten"e of "ertain "onditions $ these "onditions
not being present, the e?perien"e does not
arise.
0ut, in all "ases of the ne> birth", ho>ever,
there is al>ays to be found a da>ning, and
heightening re"ognition and realiBation of the
reality of the presen"e<po>er of the "# !m #
that Something Within and at least a "er<
tain intuition, instin"t, or realiBation that this
is in some intimate >ay or manner "onne"ted
>ith, in "onta"t >ith, or "losely related to the
#nfinite and *ternal Supreme 2resen"e<2o>er
L4 TH* #''*+ S*-+*T
from >hi"h all things flo>, and in >hi"h >e
live and move and have our being. This in<
tuitive "ons"iousness is the essential element
the rest is largely non<essential and merely
in"idental. The gist of the matter is the /is<
"overy of the "# !m #", and the intuitive "on<
vi"tion that this is based upon the #nfinite and
*ternal +eality.

Some >ho have read this story in manu<
s"ript form, have advised me to omit the
a""ount of the above re"ited e?perien"e of
the flash of #llumination, and also of the sym<
boli" dream e?perien"e >hi"h a""ompanied my
a>a=ening to the realiBation of the presen"e<
po>er of the "# !m #". They have been
moved to this suggestion by reason of their
fear that the message "ontained in the >hole
story might perhaps be >ea=ened by the in<
"lusion of the re"ital of these e?perien"es, on
a""ount of their being mista=en for the "om<
mon "psy"hi"" e?perien"es of >hi"h >e have
heard so mu"h, far too mu"h, of re"ent years.
They felt that the story ran the ris= of being
mista=en for a re"ord of "psy"hi"" or super<
natural phenomena. #n short, they feared that
the story might be misunderstood as being
"on"erned >ith the "moonshine" e?perien"es
of abnormal psy"hology, rather than >ith the
"sunshine" e?perien"es of supernormal psy<
TH* TH#+/ /*J+** L.
"hology >ith "ertain valueless phases of sub<
"ons"ious mentality, rather than >ith "ertain
high phases of the super<"ons"ious mentality.
# have "arefully >eighed these ob@e"tions
and have overruled them. This, be"ause, in
the first pla"e, these e?perien"es have a right<
ful and proper pla"e in the narrative $ and, se"<
ondly, be"ause there are many persons >ho
are no> beginning to e?perien"e the unfold<
ment into "ons"iousness of that Something
Within, and >ho are having "ertain "bits or
flashes of this super<"ons"ious e?perien"e >ith<
out realiBing their true nature. #n some "ases,
indeed, su"h persons have been led by others
to believe that they are "psy"hi"s", or have
been en"ouraged in "developing psy"hi"
po>ers", instead of realiBing that they >ere
but beginning to be"ome "ons"ious of their
o>n real, inner nature, and that they should
but allo> the pro"ess to pro"eed naturally. #
am no follo>er of the :oon<path the Sun<
path is the one upon >hi"h # have set my feet $
and # >ish to en"ourage others to refuse to be
attra"ted by the baleful rays of the :oon, and,
instead, to fa"e the Sun fearlessly and "on<
fidently.
)n"e more, then, this is not a story of "psy<
"hi"" or "supernatural" happenings $ it is a nar<
rative of perfe"tly natural e?perien"es and of
their results.
V
THE MANIFESTATION
(rom this point of my story # shall "ontent
myself >ith relating my a"tual personal e?<
perien"e in living the ne> life into >hi"h #
>as born through my da>ning "ons"iousness
of the Something Within, its identity >ith
my +eal Self or "# !m #", and the realiBation
of the fundamental and essential nature of
this supreme fa"t of my individual being.
# shall not relate in detail my further "on<
versations >ith -olonel (orbes, for these
gradually e?tended to those features of the #n<
ner Tea"hing >hi"h are rather too te"hni"al
and too "ompli"ated for presentation in a re<
"ital of this =ind designed, as it is, for "all
=inds and "onditions of men", many of >hom
may not be familiar >ith the terms of philo<
sophi"al or metaphysi"al reasoning, and the
forms of su"h spe"ialiBed thought. # shall
from time to time ;uote an o""asional state<
ment made by the -olonel, and shall refer "on<
stantly to the general prin"iples of the instru"<
tion given me by him, but # shall let the story
tell itself from this point through the presenta<
tion of my o>n e?perien"e in the pra"ti"al
LL
TH* :!'#(*ST!T#)' L7
appli"ation of these prin"iples and of the basi"
truths >hi"h have already been set forth in
my re"ital of the first three intervie>s >ith
that remar=able man.
(rom the -olonel # learned that the initia<
tion into the ne> life of the "ons"ious per"ep<
tion of that Something Within "onsisted of
three distin"t stages or steps, namely C3D the
stage of +e"ognition, or the per"eption of
the "# !m #" as that Something Within$
C8D the stage of +ealiBation, or the per"ep<
tion of the tremendous fa"t that that Some<
thing Within, the +eal Self, or the "# !m #"
is the fo"al point or "entre of e?pression of
the #nfinite 2o>er from >hi"h all things
pro"eed$ and CKD the stage of :anifestation, or
the a"tual e?pression in a"tive everyday life
of the presen"e and po>er of that Something
Within, the +eal Self, the "# !m #".
Said the -olonel to me in a "onversation
held shortly after the remar=able e?perien"e
related in the pre"eding "hapter 5ou have
e?perien"ed the full +e"ognition, you have e?<
perien"ed a goodly degree of the +ealiBation $
no> it remains for you to e?perien"e the
:anifestation, and this you "an do only grad<
ually and progressively in a"tive everyday
life. The :anifestation is the demonstration
of the truth of that >hi"h you have previously
re"ogniBed and realiBed in a measure$ in that
7H TH* #''*+ S*-+*T
demonstration there >ill also "ome to you a
"onstantly in"reasing and progressively un<
folding degree of further +ealiBation."
The -olonel here ;uoted for my benefit an
an"ient esoteri" aphorism that parado? >hi"h
has perple?ed many >ho have read its >ords
>ithout having been given the =ey of its
understanding "5ou have no> reaped$
hen"eforth you must so>".
This, he e?plained to me, meant that # had
reaped the ri"h gain of the ne> "ons"iousness,
and # >as no> re;uired to so> its seeds that
they might manifest as >or= along the same
line $ that # >as no> to manifest in a"tual >or=
the prin"iples of Truth >hi"h # had gained.
!fter this so>ing >ould "ome another reap<
ing, and so on$ ea"h reaping being follo>ed
by a so>ing, and ea"h so>ing by a reaping.
Here, as every>here, 'ature pro"eeds in "y"les
and a""ording to rhythm.
!"ting under the -olonel9s instru"tion and
# advi"e, # began to build up my physi"al body,
and, indeed, this >as sadly needed, for my
physi"al instrument had been greatly run
do>n by reason of my general brea=do>n.
He had said "The physi"al body is the e?<
temal instrument of the 9# !m #9, and must
be made a fitting one in every respe"t. The
body is not a base thing to be reviled as a
hindran"e to the e?pression of the spirit, as
TH* :!'#(*ST!T#)' 73
the as"eti"s have mista=enly supposed. +ather
is it the instrument of the effe"tive e?pression
of the spirit, and it should be perfe"ted, devel<
oped, and maintained in health and vigor to
that end." #n this understanding and belief
# undertoo= the >or= of building up my phys<
i"al instrument of the e?pression of that
Something Within.
2ro"eeding upon the prin"iple outlined to
me by my tea"her, # set to >or= manifesting
the po>er of that Something Within upon the
"mind" >hi"h presides over the physi"al pro"<
esses, and >hi"h has its subordinate "entres in
every organ of the body yes, even in every
"ell of the body. #t >as a revelation to me
to be told that the vital and physi"al pro"esses
are essentially mental pro"esses, and not
merely "hemi"al or me"hani"al physiologi"al
a"tivities. # sa> at on"e that the se"ret of the
:ental -ure of /isease is not that of a mani<
festation of the po>er of "mind over matter,
but that of mind, or spirit, over the "mind"
subordinate to it. This prin"iple, on"e thor<
oughly grasped, produ"ed remar=able and
pra"ti"ally immediate results >hen s"ientifi<
"ally applied.
# found that by first fi?ing in my mind the
ideal "on"ept or mental image of the normal
fun"tioning of the organs of the body, and
then by forming a strong, definite mental pi"<
78 TH* #''*+ S*-+*T
tore of my organs fun"tioning in this >ay,
this being a""ompanied by a "onfident e?pe"<
tation of the materialiBation of my ideal pi"<
ture or "on"ept, the sub"ons"ious mental
fa"ulties presiding over the physi"al fun"tions
at on"e set to >or= reprodu"ing in a"tual
material and physi"al form those ideas and
pi"tures >hi"h e?isted in ideal form in my
mind. The ideal be"ame real the ideal pi"<
ture too= on ob@e"tive material reality.
:oreover, # found that ea"h and every organ
of the body has its o>n parti"ular "mind", or, if
you prefer, its o>n "entre of sub"ons"ious
mentality. # dis"overed that by dire"ting my atten<
tion to any organ of my body, # "ould, as it
>ere, attra"t or a>a=en its attention, and thus
pla"e it in a re"eptive mental attitude. # >ould
then pro"eed to "tal= to" that parti"ular
organ, @ust as # >ould to a "hild$ # >ould
e?plain to it the importan"e of its normal
fun"tioning, and >ould firmly but =indly de<
mand that it should pro"eed to a"t in that
manner. !ll this may sound rather silly, but
those >ho have "treated" themselves in this
>ay >ill =no> the truth of the underlying
prin"iple, and pra"ti"al value of the method
employed in applying it.
# avoided the error of denying the material
reality of my body, and of asserting that it
>as an illusion that falla"y of "ertain s"hools
TH* :!'#(*ST!T#)' 7K
of so<"alled metaphysi"s. )n the "ontrary,
# admitted the "omparative reality of the
physi"al body in all of its parts, but held that
it "ontained "mind in every part and in every
"ell, and that its fun"tions >ere under the
"ontrol of this "mind the latter, in turn,
being under the influen"e of the general "phys<
i"al<mind" of the body, >hi"h, in turn, >as
subordinate to the "# !m #." # also dis"overed
the part played by the "auto<suggestion" of
the "ons"ious mentality in the matter of in<
fluen"ing benefi"ially or adversely the general
"physi"al<mind" "ontrolling the physi"al fun"<
tions.
# >as helped in my self<healing >or= by
the study of "ertain simple >or=s upon physi<
ology, by means of >hi"h # as"ertained @ust
>hat >ere the normal pro"esses and fun"tions
of the various organs and parts of my body.
#n this >ay # >as enabled to form "learer,
stronger, and more effi"ient ideal pi"tures and
"on"epts >hi"h served as the "patterns" to
be reprodu"ed in the physi"al pro"esses them<
selves, as # have @ust stated. # dis"overed
@ust >hat "onstituted a normal, healthy, effi<
"ient human body, and # built up a strong,
positive, "lear, definite mental pi"ture of su"h
a body. Then # pro"eeded to ma=e my thought
ta=e form in a"tion, and to "ause my mental
states to reprodu"e themselves in physi"al
7A TH* #''*+ S*-+*T
form. # presented my mental pi"tures to the
general physi"al<mind" of the body, and also
to the several organs themselves. # have no>
given you the essential substan"e of my
method you may employ it as effe"tively as
did #, provided that you go about it earnestly
and faithfully.
# also dis"overed that # "ould effe"tively
employ physi"al e?er"ise in this >ay, the
added fa"tor of the mental or ideal pattern
greatly in"reasing the effe"t of the physi"al
motions. # perfe"ted a system of 2sy"ho<
2hysi"al *?er"ise >hi"h "made over" my phys<
i"al body in a "omparatively short time.
The results of these manifestations of the
Something Within in and upon my physi"al
body >ere remar=able. # began to improve
rapidly from the very start. #n a "ompara<
tively short time # had re"overed all of my
lost ground, and in a little longer time # >as
in far better health and physi"al "ondition
than # had ever been before. # had "reated
in my mind the ideal of a strong, healthy,
vigorous man, and my sub"ons"ious mentality
faithfully reprodu"ed this ideal in physi"al and
material form and a"tivity. :y business as<
so"iates remar=ed the >onderful "hange and
marvelled at it. They >ere agreed in the be<
lief that # had found some >onderful physi<
"ian and indeed # had.
TH* :!'#(*ST!T#)' 7%
# am no>, at the age of about seventy years,
in vigorous health and strength far better
than that of the average healthy man of forty<
five. # see no reason for doubting that this
>ill "ontinue to be the "ase, for # live a""ord<
ing to the prin"iples >hi"h brought rene>ed
health and vigor to me. # believe that these
prin"iples really "ompose the essen"e of all
forms of mental, spiritual, or metaphysi"al
"ures, although ea"h of their different s"hools
usually insist that to its o>n parti"ular dogmas
must be given the "redit though ea"h s"hool
ma=es about the same per"entage of "ures,
not>ithstanding that their dogmas often mu<
tually "ontradi"t ea"h other.
# =no> it to be a fa"t that the "# !m #"
"an "ontrol, dire"t, and "ommand any part or
fa"ulty of the mind belonging to it even that
part of its mind >hi"h presides over the phys<
i"al fun"tions. This latter a""omplished, the
physi"al effe"t follo>s as inevitably, invariably,
and infallibly as any other given effe"t follo>s
its logi"al "ause. #t is purely a matter of
"ause and effe"t. *very individual has the
po>er >ithin him or her to set these "auses
into operation.
While manifesting physi"al effi"ien"y, # did
not negle"t the >or= of building<up, develop<
ing, and unfolding :ental *ffi"ien"y. # re<
membered the old adage, "! sound mind in
74 TH* #''*+ S*-+*T
a sound body, and # determined to attain this.
Here, also, # supplied myself >ith a s"ien<
tifi"ally "orre"t ideal pattern, by means of
studying the simple, s"ientifi" prin"iples of
psy"hology and of logi". #n this >ay # learned
>hat the great minds of the ra"e have dis<
"overed to be the effe"tive prin"iple of the
operation of the mind, and of its effi"ient em<
ployment. Having supplied myself >ith this
pattern, # pro"eeded to re<edu"ate my mind
so that it might reprodu"e in itself the effi<
"ient a"tivities >hi"h >ere "learly indi"ated
and pi"tured on the ideal pattern.
# started >ith the "onvi"tion that the #n<
telle"t >as not my "# !m #", but merely a
part of the intri"ate ma"hinery at the disposal
of the latter. *;uipped >ith the map or pat<
tern a";uired by study, as aforesaid, # deter<
mined that my intelle"tual fa"ulties should a"<
tualiBe their pro"esses and a"tivities in a""ord<
a"i"e >ith that ideal. # pro"eeded along the same
general lines as those >hi"h # employed in re<
edu"ating the "physi"al<mind" "ontrolling my
physi"al pro"esses. 0oth of these great divisions
of the mind are but important instruments or
pie"es of mental ma"hinery, and both are sub<
ordinate to the dire"tion, "ontrol and mastery of
that Something Within, the +eal Self, the #
!m #. 0oth >ill respond to "ontrol and dire"<
TH* :!'#(*ST!T#)' 7.
tion properly applied )ne general prin"ipal
underlies the t>o "ases.
# do not >ish to "onvey the impression that
# supplanted the natural and regular pro"esses
of my intelle"tual fa"ilities >ith an artifi"ial sys<
tem of fun"tioning. )n the "ontrary, # "are<
fully avoided this, for # believed that su"h a
"ourse >ould result in ta=ing all of the natural
"life" out of my thin=ing. #nstead, # en"our<
aged the regular, natural pro"esses by means of
>hi"h the intelle"t manifests and e?presses itself
in thought, "ogitation, and reasoning. # devel<
oped its ability by s"ientifi" e?er"ises by means
of >hi"h every part of the thin=ing<mind >as
employed and given the strength >hi"h "omes
to both mind and body only >ith use and a"tivity
m proper amount. :ental fa"ulties are mu"h
li=e mus"les in this respe"t, and an understand<
ing of one brings an understanding of the other.
:y "hief >or=, ho>ever, >as in the dire"tion
of "re<edu"ating the intelle"tual fa"ulties. #
pro"eeded to this by first a";uiring a "lear, def<
inite idea and "on"ept of the a"tion and
pro"esses of the >ell<developed and >ell<trained
intelle"t. This gave me the right pattern, mold, or
map, >hi"h # then pro"eeded to reprodu"e by
a"tualiBation. This right pattern >as gradually im<
pressed upon the mind, and on"e there it began
to manifest its "reative po>er by re"onstru"t<
ing my mental ma"hinery so as to serve the pur<
3HH TH* #''*+ S*-+*T
memory are "hiefly performed along sub"on<
s"ious lines and that the snb"ons"ious meotality
is readily influen"ed and dire"ted by effi"ient sug<
gestions and instru"tion, # >as able to develop
a >onderfully effi"ient memory<ma"hine. This,
ho>ever, # employed only legitimately, and not
for "sho>ing off. # used it in my business of
lie, and not for spe"ta"ular performan"es. #
dis"overed that the memory never really loses
or forgets anything on"e pla"ed in it properly,
and that remembran"e and re"olle"tion depend
"hiefly upon proper methods of inde?ing and
"ross<inde?ing. 0ut # found that "hief of all
methods, and one essential to an effi"ient mem<
ory, is that of re<edu"ating the memory, and
of training it in the habit of performing its
>or= properly.
(ollo>ing the same general rule, # greatly
developed my po>ers of per"eption and obser<
vation, and, as a "onse;uen"e, >as able to
observe and per"eive important things >hi"h
>ere overloo=ed by the average individual.
2er"eptions "onstitute the "ra> materials of
thought", and # managed to =eep my mind
>ell supplied >ith the best =ind of material
to be >or=ed over and made up into ideas,
"on"epts, and plans. :u"h of my subse;uent
su""ess >as due to this a";uired po>er.
!long almost pre"isely the same lines, #
trained my imagination to perform that >on<
TH* :!'#(*ST!T#)' 3H3
derful "reative >or= =no>n as -onstru"tive
#magination, instead of >asting its energies
upon day<dreams or fan"iful pi"turing. #n the
realm of the imagination is to be found the
mental ma"hinery of all "reative >or= along
mental lines. Here invention has its home
and >or=shop. The imagination properly
trained >ill readily and effi"iently plan, de<
sign, "onstru"t, build, improve, and generally
perform "reative >or= for anyone. :y sub<
se;uent su""ess in building and "arrying<out
the great underta=ings of my later life >as
due largely to the development of this part
of my mentality. # so trained my imaginative
fa"ulties that # "ould, figuratively, drop into
one end of my mental ma"hine the idea of
the need, ne"essity, or re;uirement, and in
time out of the other end >ould "ome the
general outlines of the plan, design, or under<
ta=ing. The details >ere after>ards added in
the same manner.
#n the same >ay, # obtained the mastery of
my emotional nature, >ith its feelings, emo<
tions, and desires. #nstead of being a slave
to this part of my nature, # made it my >ill<
ing and obedient slave. # harnessed /esire,
and set it to >or= for me $ and good >or= it
has done for me. #nsistent /esire is one of
the great elements of the effort to>ard !t<
tainment. #t supplies the flame and heat
3H8 TH* #''*+ S*-+*T
>hereby the Steam of Will is generated. !
< strong >ill is largely due to a strong desire.
/esire<2o>er is an important fa"tor in Su"<
"ess and 2ersonal 2o>er. /esires are not to
be =illed out, but rather to be transmitted
>hen ne"essary, and dire"ted into the proper
"hannels. !ll this # learned from the -olonel,
and after>ard demonstrated through a"tual e?<
perien"e.
(inally, in the same >ay, # learned the :as<
tery of Will. # learned ho> to "Will to Will
# entered into the inner "ons"iousness of Will
2o>er, and learned its innermost se"rets.
Then # employed the =no>ledge so gained
in the "arrying out of the plans evolved in
my -reative #magination, and after>ard
passed upon by my #ntelle"t. # >ould say
here that this element of 2ure Will is the
one nearest and "losest to the "# !m # so
"lose, indeed, that it is most diffi"ult to dif<
ferentiate bet>een them for a long time. 0ut
even the Will is subordinate to the "# !m #",
and may be mastered by it, and rendered a
most valuable and faithful helper.
!ll these important a"hievements resulted
from the manifestation of that Something
Within, follo>ing my re"ognition and realiBa<
tion of its presen"e and po>er. :y mastery
of "ir"umstan"es, of things, of men all this
has "ome to me largely through this develop<
TH* :!'#(*ST!T#)' 3HK
ment and po>er so obtained. 0ut this is but
the beginning$ that >hi"h follo>s is e;ually
important, and perhaps far more >onderful,
for it deals >ith for"es not so "ommonly re"<
ogniBed and realiBed as are the mental fa"ul<
ties and a"tivities >hi"h # have @ust "onsidered.
There are >onderful realms and planes of
mental po>er >ithin every individual, >hi"h
but fe> learn to e?plore and the po>ers of
>hi"h still fe>er learn to manifest. )f these
# shall no> pro"eed to tell you. #n the re"ital
you >ill realiBe more fully than ever that
"there are more things in heaven and earth
than are dreamt of in your philosophy". 5et
even the greatest of these po>ers are in the
realm of 'ature, and belong not to the super<
natural $ they may be a";uired by anyone >ho
>ill do as # have doneM
VI
THE SOMETHING WITHIN
The manifestation of that Something With<
in in the dire"tion of the development and
maintenan"e of physi"al effi"ien"y and mental
effi"ien"y, as related in the pre"eding "hapter
>as a""ompanied almost from the very begin<
ning >ith a mar=ed and stri=ing improve<
ment in my business affairs. # be"ame a>are
of the fa"t that the inner for"es >hi"h ma=e
for su""ess >ere at >or=, and that their effe"ts
and results >ere beginning to sho> themselves.
:oreover, # be"ame ;uite =eenly a>are that
beneath the surfa"e of the present a"tivities
there >ere developing "ertain tenden"ies >hi"h
in the due "ourse of time >ould manifest in
a"tual events >hi"h >ould be "ondu"ive to
my general su""ess and >ell<being.
:y in"reased effi"ien"y, sho>ing itself in
an improved grasp upon the general and spe<
"ial "onditions of the business in >hi"h # >as
employed, re"eived favorable attention from
those in positions of authority in the "on"ern$
as a result # >as promoted rapidly, indeed
so rapidly that the >or=ing<for"e of the "on<
"ern "on"eived the idea that # had se"ured
3HA
TH* S):*TH#'J W#TH#' 3H%
some sort of a pull >ith the management.
0ut in spite of the @ealousy al>ays aroused
in su"h "ases, there arose a gradual general
re"ognition of the. fa"t that # >as a good per<
son to "onsult >hen diffi"ulties arose in any
bran"h of the business$ the other employees
soon found it to their advantage to "onsult
me >hen their >or= got into a snarl or tangle.
# >as al>aKrs glad to render su"h assistan"e,
not only be"ause it >as good poli"y for me
to do so but also be"ause there >as a positive
pleasure in employing my mind, parti"ularly
my "reative imagination and fa"ulties of "on<
stru"tion, in this >ay.
# "on"eived an improved selling plan to be
employed in in"reasing the distribution of a
"ertain line of mer"handise manufa"tured by
the "on"ern. This line for some reasons had
dragged, and finally seemed to be destined
to be a failure, although the goods themselves
possessed positive merit. The sales<manager
>as glad to shift this ir=some responsibility
to the shoulders of another, and the manage<
ment felt that as all else had failed there >as
little to be lost in allo>ing me to try out my
plan. (rom the very start the sales of this
line of goods @umped in great leaps and
bounds, and as a "onse;uen"e # >as pla"ed
at the head of a spe"ial department in "ontrol
of the sale of these goods and some asso"iated
3H4 TH* #''*+ S*-+*T
lines. 0efore very long # had made my de<
partment the best paying bran"h of the busi<
ness, and # >as as=ed to assume a ne> posi<
tion as general adviser dire"tly under the
"ontrol of the "hief e?e"utive.
This >as but the beginning. Seeing ne>
opportunities for the sale of our produ"t, #
planned the enlargement of the plant and the
in"rease of the selling for"e $ this ne"essitated
an in"rease in the "apitaliBation of the busi<
ness. The dire"tors had "onfiden"e in me, by
reason of my past re"ord of su""essful a"hieve<
ment, and they finally agreed to all of my
plans. The enlarged business met >ith great
su""ess, and our "on"ern after>ard absorbed
several smaller plants in the same line. The
"orporation be"ame one of the largest in the
"ountry, and # >as pla"ed at the head of the
a"tive management of its e?tended affairs. #
be"ame a national figure in the >orld of that
parti"ular line of business, and began to at<
tra"t the attention of leading finan"ial po>ers
in the large "ities.
# >ill pause for a time in this re"ital of the
bare outline of my rapid rise to business su"<
"ess and finan"ial independen"e and po>er.
0efore pro"eeding further in that re"ital #
must "all your attention to a remar=able "on<
dition of affairs >hi"h, almost from the very
first, seemed to manifest itself. # find it dif<
TH* S):*TH#'J W#TH#' 3H.
fi"ult to ma=e an intelligent statement of this
thing, for it is of su"h a subtle and intangible
nature that ordinary terms are inade;uate to
e?press it properly. Ho>ever, # shall en<
deavor to e?plain to you "@ust ho> the thing
>or=ed" to present to you the effe"ts and
results of this hidden "ause or series of "auses
>hi"h operated in su"h a >onderful >ay in
my "areer.
2erhaps the first "on"eption of this strange
"ondition of affairs >hi"h "ame to my mind
>as that, in addition to my o>n "ons"ious
mental efforts and po>ers, there >as "some<
thing else at >or=" in my affairs something
belo> or above the surfa"e of things >hi"h
seemed to be >or=ing in my behalf and to
my interests. # remember distin"tly on"e say
ing to myself There seems to be a Some<
thing or Some>hat ta=ing a hand in this game,
and playing as an invisible partner, ba"=ing
1p my o>n play, furnishing advantageous
leads, and playing trumps in response to my
o>n leads". #t seemed that # had a s=illed
partner in the game, and # soon gre> to have
"onfiden"e in him, in his s=ill, and in his de<
sire to help me to >in.
There >as at first something almost un<
"anny about this "ondition of things. There
>as no mista=ing the presen"e and a"tivity
of this invisible helper but >ho or >hat >as
3HL TH* #''*+ S*-+*T
that SomethingO # almost be"ame "onvin"ed
that # >as for some reason the re"ipient of
some sort of supernatural assistan"e. # began
to see >hy the su""essful men >hom # had
formerly ;uestioned had gro>n to believe that
they >ere ba"=ed in this >ay. 0ut # remem<
bed >hat -olonel (orbes had told me "on<
"erning the strange and >ondrous po>ers of
that Something Within, and ho> remar=ably
effi"ient it >as in furthering the interests of
the individual after it had been properly a>a=<
ened. # determined to >rite the -olonel, >ho
had by that time returned to #ndia.
#n due "ourse "ame a short note from the
-olonel, saying, in substan"e "5our 9invis<
ible partner9 and 9unseen helper9 is none other
than that Something Within, manifesting its
po>er belo> the surfa"e of things. #t has
made your desires, its desires$ your aims, its
aims $ your general plans, its general plans. Trust
it impli"itly, and al>ays "ount on its aid. #t >ill
never fail you, even though at times it may seem
to have deserted you. 0ut you must al>ays play
your o>n hand to the best of your ability,
>hile depending upon this 9invisible partner9
for ba"=ing, support, and assistan"e. /o your
part properly, and it >ill do li=e>ise".
(rom the letters of the -olonel, and from
information gathered by me from other sour"es,
as >ell as from my o>n e?perien"e, # finally
TH* S):*TH#'J W#TH#' 3H7
figured out" this thing as follo>s That
Something Within seems to be desirous of
a"tion, manifestation, and e?pression of a"<
tualiBation, in short. To this end it "ooperates
>ith the ideas, desires, and plans of the rela<
tive aspe"t of the Self. #t ta=es over the ideas,
desires, and plans of the individual and then
pro"eeds to >or= steadily and persistently to<
>ard their a"tualiBation and materialiBation.
#t seems to be li=e a great Will a 2o>er >ith
the /esire to !"t, or a /esire >ith the 2o>er
to !"t. 0ut it evidently re;uires the material
or stuff of #deas fed to it, in order that it
may pro"eed to !"tualiBation. Therefore, be<
fore it >ill a"t for one, it must have the pat<
tern of idealiBation presented to it. #ts busi<
ness is that of ma=ing real one9s ideals of
a"tualiBing that >hi"h he has idealiBed. This
is the >ay # "figured it out, and, although
# no> smile at the naive, "rude form of my
e?pression of it, # still hold to the general
fundamental truth of that primitive "on"eption.
The strange thing about the operation of
this silent for"e >as that it >ould sometimes
bring about results entirely une?pe"ted by me,
and often apparently ;uite opposed to my de<
sires at that time$ but in the end, its >ay
>as per"eived by me to be far the best some<
times really the only right >ay. That Some<
thing Within sometimes seemed to =no>, far
33H TH* #''*+ S*-+*T
better than did #, @ust >hat >as best for the
development of the general plan or desire held
by me. #t >ould even seem to blo"= my game
at times, and to for"e me to ma=e a move
in an entirely different dire"tion from that
originally "ontemplated by me. #t >ould lead,
or for"e, me a>ay from the end # >as trying
to a"hieve, and all >ould seem to be lost. 0ut,
loF sooner or later it >ould lead me ba"= to
that thing, by means of a "ir"uitous route,
and su""ess >ould be mine. When these
things happened, sooner or later # >as for"ed
to admit that the >ay "hosen and follo>ed
by it >as really "the only >ay. That Some<
thing Within evidently had per"eived dangers
and obsta"les not apparent to me, and so led
me around them. #t pursued strange roads
and by<paths, but in the end "it got there".
Sometimes, >hen # be"ame too mu"h in<
flated >ith the sense of my o>n personal
po>ers of per"eption and @udgment, it >ould
literally pi"= me up by the ba"= of the ne"=,
and then after holding me for a time suspended
over the brin= of the pre"ipi"e of +uin, >ould
then gently deposit me in a good safe pla"e,
in a ne> environment in @ust the pla"e Cas
# after>ard sa>D in >hi"h my best interests
>ould be served, and my deepest hopes and
desires >ould be made possible pf realiBation.
:y road to su""ess >as at times ;uite a ro"=y
TH* S):*TH#'J W#TH#' 333
one one very hard to travel. !t times the
setba"=s seemed li=e failures but later on
>ere seen to be the best things that "ould
possibly have happened at the time.
# fre;uently slipped ba"= several feet, but
# had advan"ed many more feet previously,
and so >as really @ust that many feet ahead
subse;uent rapid advan"ement far more than
made up the temporary lost distan"e moreover.
!ll this re;uired (aith but # had this. #n
the "urrent phrase of the present time, it >as
a "ase of "#t is a great game, if you don9t
>ea=en"F # didn9t >ea=en for under all #
=ne> that "# !m #", and that that Something
Within >as there helping me to play the game,
and often playing the leading part in it. (aith
2o>er is an important fa"tor in 2ersonal
2o>er.
!s time progressed, # gradually made the
important dis"overy that ">ealth is largely
a matter of "ons"iousness. :any persons >ho
>ant money, and >ho are striving for money,
a"tually tend to>ard driving it a>ay from
them by reason of their tenseness of thought
and their failure to realiBe the "money "on<
s"iousness". #n order to handle millions, one
must learn to thin= in the terms and ideas of
millions. :y old friend Harriman on"e e?<
pressed this pregnant truth >hen he said
"#t is @ust as easy to thin= and to tal= in mil<
338 TH* #''*+ S*-+*T
lions as in single dollars. This >iBard of
finan"e, >hose feats >ere regarded by the
publi" as "losely approa"hing those of legerde<
main, made this adage one of his "ardinal
prin"iples of thought and a"tion. He "thought
and tal=ed in millions, and his thought too=
form in a"tion his mental states too= on ma<
terial form his ideals be"ame realities.
There are many men in this "ountry in
every "ity in this "ountry >ho have >ithin
them the germ<po>ers >hi"h, if allo>ed to
develop and gro>, >ould "ause these men
to be"ome se"ond Harrimans, or se"ond :or<
gans, or even se"ond +o"=efellers. 0ut pra"<
ti"ally none of these persons ever >ill really
develop into this stage $ in fa"t, the probability
is that they >ill evolve merely into su""ess<
ful small shop=eepers, small ne>s<stand =eep<
ers, or even small peanut<stand men su""ess<
ful, in ea"h "ase, but al>ays on a small s"ale.
They are "ontent to thin= in single dollars
even in dimes instead of thin=ing in millions.
They manifest realities in the dire"t ratio of
their ideals. Their thought ta=es form in a"<
tions of li=e "alibre. Their mental states are
reprodu"ed in material form, but they are the
same siBe in both sub@e"tive pattern and ob<
@e"tive form.
The small<bore man >ill thin= that # am
uttering nonsense >hen # say this$ but the
TH* S):*TH#'J W#TH#' 33K
big fello>" >ill =no> that # am right he
has proved it in his o>n "ase and realiBes
the truth of the prin"iple, though he may not
=no> @ust ho> or >hy it >or=s out in this
>ay. :any a man is manifesting the same
energy of thought, and business saga"ity in run<
ning a ne>s<stand or a peanut<stand, that
others are employing in "ondu"ting great en<
terprises. )ne thin=s in dimes, or in single
dollars the others thin= in thousands, hun<
dreds of thousands, millions. There is su"h
a thing as 99money "ons"iousness" $ # =no> it
to be a fa"t. Wealth must be "reated in
thought before it may be "reated in material
form. :oney must e?ist in the #deal, before
it appears in the +eal sometimes # even
thin= that the #deal is the true +eal, and
that the so<"alled "+eal" is but the refle"<
tion of the #deal<+ealF
!nother of the important things # learned
"on"erning the po>ers and a"tivities of that
Something Within >as that strange "ourse of
a"tion pro"eeding under >hat has been "alled
"The &a> of !ttra"tion". # soon learned that
there is a mental po>er of attra"tion "orre<
sponding to the physi"al la> of gravitation
This la> of mental attra"tion tends to "o<
ordinate and "orrelate the thoughts, ideas, and
desires of the individual >ith the e?ternal
things asso"iated >ith them. This la> oper<
33A TH* #''*+ S*-+*T
ates in all individuals to some e?tent, but
>hen one be"omes "ons"iously a>are of the
presen"e<po>er of that Something Within, and
his identity >ith it, then the la> a"ts >ith
greatly in"reased po>er.
The &a> of !ttra"tion tends to "dra> toP9
the individual the things, persons, or "ondi<
tions in harmonious relation to his strongest
thoughts, ideas and ideals. )r, ;uite often,
instead of this, it tends to "push" the indi<
vidual into the environment, "onditions, or the
presen"e of the persons or things >hi"h >ill
tend to>ard the a"tualiBation of his idealiBa<
tions. #t often brings the mountain to :o<
hammed, but at other times seems to find it
easier to push :ohammed to the mountains
the end attained is the same in either "ase,
you see. When that Something Within "gets
busy" in ">or=ing the &a>", then things,
persons, and "onditions begin to move rapidly.
#t often astonished me greatly Cthough #
>as no> be"oming familiar >ith remar=able
happeningsD to note ho> things and persons
>ould be dra>n into my field of attention in
response to my thoughts, ideas, and ideals
or ho> # >as dra>n into the field of atten<
tion of others in the same >ay. The persons
# needed >ere dra>n to my noti"e$ and #
>as dra>n to the noti"e of persons >ho needed
me. #f # needed additional information "on<
TH* S):*TH#'J W#TH#' 33%
"erning a "ertain sub@e"t, then the >hole >orld
seemed desirous of pouring su"h =no>ledge
into my mind. 0oo=s, magaBines, overheard
s"raps of "onversation, ne>spaper arti"les
all these gave me either the desired data or
fa"ts, or else furnished a hint as to >here
they "ould be found.
# have >al=ed into boo=stores, and, pi"=<
ing up a boo= at random, # >ould find in its
pages either that >hi"h # >anted to =no>,
or else a referen"e Cpossibly in a foot<noteD
to some other boo= or >or= "ontaining the
desired information. # have pi"=ed up a stray <
magaBine, or an old ne>spaper, and have re<
"eived @ust the parti"ular items of =no>ledge
needed, in the same >ay. The essential idea
of one of my most su""essful plans >as first
given to me in an item printed in a faded and
dirty s"rap of old ne>spaper >hi"h # pi"=ed
up on a seldom<used path through the forest
near by the pla"e >here # >as spending a
summer va"ation. !n old boo= pi"=ed up
"arelessly from the stall of a se"ond<hand boo=
shop, the pri"e of >hi"h >as fifteen "ents,
gave me the suggestion of a ne> and stri=ing
name for a manufa"tured arti"le >hi"h # >as
then pushing a name >hi"h on"e heard "ould
never be forgotten, and >hi"h stu"= in the
mind li=e the burr in the >ool of the sheep.
# have "bumped into" men in turning "or<
334 TH* #''*+ S*-+*T
ners men >hom # needed or >ho needed me.
#deas, names, plans, "on"epts, pla"es, individ<
uals all these # have dra>n to myself by
the &a> of !ttra"tion, or else # have been
dra>n to them. 0usiness asso"iates have
spo=en of my "lu"=", and of the important
part played by -han"e in my "areer. 0ut #
tell you, positively, there is no su"h thing as
-han"e, in the sense of an un"aused happen<
ing. -han"e is but the name applied to "un<
=no>n or unper"eived "auses. *verything
happens by reason of -ause$ and all -ause
operates under &a>. The &a> of !ttra"tion
is the great mother of -auses. "'othing ever
happens" >ithout -ause. !ll events pro"eed
a""ording to 'atural &a> and the &a> of
!ttra"tion is one of the greatest, though one
of the least understood, of all 'atural &a>s.
# have also dis"overed that this &a> of
!ttra"tion, operated by that Something With<
in, employs in its >or= the po>er of mental<
"urrents, thought<>aves, or mental vibrations
"all these >hat you >ill. These "urrents
or >aves or vibrations emanating from the
a"tive mind of the individual e?tend far be<
yond his immediate vi"inity. When employed
by the &a> of !ttra"tion they often assume
the form of giganti" >hirlpools, dra>ing to
the "entral fo"al point of that individual many
things >hi"h are "orrelated to his ideas or
TH* S):*TH#'J W#TH#' 33.
ideals. !gain, they often maintain a "s>irl"
motion an out>ard "ir"ular motion a>ay
from the "entre$ these "ir"ling >aves "arry
the ideas, or ideals, of the individual to great
distan"es, bringing them to the attention and
"ons"iousness Cor sub"ons"iousnessD of per<
sons far and near >ho are in more or less
harmonious "orrelation to them. These phe<
nomena, ho>ever, are ;uite as natural as are
those "on"erned >ith the la> of gravitation
they have naught to do >ith the supernatural.
While these subtle for"es of 'ature >ere
being employed by that Something Within in
my behalf, # >as at the same time hard at
>or=. # did not "fold my hands and "almly
>ait" for "mine o>n to "ome to me", as the
good poet suggests. # >or=ed hard and tried
to >ait as "almly as # "ould for the result
that # definitely purposed and persistently de<
termined should "ome to me. This ""almly
>ait" idea has been misunderstood by many.
0urroughs really meant that the mental at<
titude should be that of "alm, "onfident e?<
pe"tation, >hile at the same time both body
and mind >ere busily a"tive in >or=. -er<
tain earnest tea"hers of "'e> Thought" >ere
at one time noted for their insistent and per<
sistent advi"e to "hold the thought"$ but it
remained for another that strange genius,
*lbert Hubbard to e?press better the essen<
33L TH* #''*+ S*-+*T
tial idea in the aphorism, 99Hold the Thought
and Hustle"F
The operation of these finer for"es of 'a<
ture, of >hi"h # have spo=en, are far more
"ommon than is generally supposed$ though
their underlying prin"iples are seldom rightly
understood, and are fre;uently grossly mis<
interpreted. # am satisfied that very many
persons have in some degree e?perien"ed hap<
penings along the same lines as those >hi"h
# have @ust mentioned. -ertainly, pra"ti"ally
all su""essful men and >omen have at times
been "ons"ious of "the invisible partner", and
of the strange >or=ings of the &a> of !t<
tra"tion. #t is true that they usually attribute
these to other "auses, or else regard them as
"strange happenings" beyond all e?planation$
this is one reason >hy they seldom mention
them, even to their "losest friends or members
of their family. :any a man or >oman >ho
reads these lines >ill smile reminis"ently at
this point. They >ill =no> >hat # mean
@ust >hat # mean. They "have been there",
if # may be permitted to use this e?pressive
slang term in this "onne"tion.
The reason >hy more men and >omen have
not had greater manifestations of this great
natural po>er, and >hy those >ho have had
flashes" and o""asional instan"es of it have
not been able to redu"e the operation to a
TH* S):*TH#'J W#TH#' 337
s"ien"e, is this They have not as yet re"og<
niBed and realiBed that Something Within
and this full re"ognition and realiBation is
ne"essary for the full manifestation of this
po>er. Some of the po>er "lea=s through",
or "brea=s through" li=e the s"attering rays
of the sun obs"ured by heavy "louds. 0ut
only >hen the "louds pass a>ay are the rays
of the sun re"eived in full po>er and ;uantity.
The "louds are those of #gnoran"e they must
be brushed a>ay from the fa"e of the Sun
of your being, the "# !m #", the +eal Self,
that Something Within.
:any strong individuals have attained a
partial realiBation of the "# !m #", but still
fall short of the "omplete e?perien"e. They
"believe in themselves", have self<relian"e, self<
"onfiden"e, and =no> the Self to be a sour"e
of 2ersonal 2o>er $ but their Self is entangled
in the >eb of personality, and is hampered
thereby. 2ersonality is a valuable asset and
instrument but, before it may be employed
>ith the greatest effi"ien"y, the #ndividual
must disentangle himself from it then, free,
he may return to it and employ it as his in<
strument of e?pression. The average man of
self<relian"e is more or less entangled in and
"aught up by his o>n mental ma"hinery, and
to that e?tent is a prisoner, hampered in his
free a"tion. When he tears himself free from
38H TH* #''*+ S*-+*T
his ma"hinery, then, and then only is he able
to operate that ma"hinery as a true :aster.
The individual must fully and "ompletely,
"ertainly and positively, re"ogniBe and realiBe
that his "# !m #" is not a "omposite of his
thoughts, feelings, and a"tions but that it
is that Something Within >hi"h has, >ith
infinite pains, through the long ages, built
up by the pro"ess of evolution that >onderful
and intri"ate physi"al and mental ma"hinery
>hi"h is no> at its disposal. He must realiBe
that @ust as the "ons"iousness of the plant is
higher than that of the mineral $ that @ust as
the "ons"iousness of the animal is higher than
that of the plant$ that @ust as the "ons"ious
ness of the average human being is higher
than that of the animal$ so is there da>ning
upon "ertain of the human ra"e a still higher
"ons"iousness than the ordinary self<"ons"ious<
ness of the average human being. This ne>
"ons"iousness of the reality of the presen"e
and po>er of the 9# !m #99 is the "ons"ious<
ness of true and full Selfhood a "ons"ious<
ness as mu"h higher than that of ordinary
self<"ons"iousness as the latter is higher than
that of the animal, or as that of the animal
is higher than that of the plant, or as that
of the plant is higher than that of the mineral.
:an9s fundamental "ons"iousness of himself
may be said to "onsist of three different stages,
viB., C3D The "ons"iousness of "#", as distin"t
TH* S):*TH#'J W#TH#' 383
from other things$ C8D the "ons"iousness of
"# !m", >hi"h brings >ith it an in"reased
a>areness of real e?isten"e $ CKD the "ons"ious<
ness of "# !m #", or the "ertainty of one9s
true and real e?isten"e as a true and real
*ntity, apart from its in"idental ma"hinery
of personality. Then there is another stage
the stage of full realiBation of the #d<*ntity
of that *ntity >ith the #nfinite 2o>er from
>hi"h all things pro"eed >here the "# !m #"
intuitively re"ogniBes itself as being a fo"al
point and "entre of e?pression of that #nfinite
+eality this "ons"iousness is e?pressed only
in that tremendous and a>ful Statement of
0eing, "l !m TH!T # !m"F
To this last and highest stage of "ons"ious<
ness and realiBation your 99#" is pro"eeding. #t
is li=e the gradual a>a=ening to >a=ing "on<
s"iousness of the person >ho has been asleep,
or per"han"e dreaming strange dreams. &ittle
by little "omes the a>a=ening. (irst, "omes
the "ons"iousness of "#" $ then that of "# !m99 $
then the "# !m #"$ and, finally, >ide a>a=e,
and >ith flashing eyes, the Self e?"laims in
triumphant tones, "# !m TH!T # !m"F #t
has a>a=ened fully to its essential identity
>ith "TH!T" the #nfinite +eality, the 1ni<
versal 2)W*+, from >hi"h all things pro<
"eed, and in >hi"h all things live, and move
and have their being. This is the Soul9s
!>a=ening the Self "oming into its o>nF
VII
THE SECRET OF "LUCK
(rom my o>n e?perien"e, as >ell as that
of others >hom # have observed, and in vie>
of the operation of the e?pressive po>ers of
that Something Within in the light of the
additional =no>ledge "on"erning it >hi"h has
"ome to me through the tea"hing of -olonel
(orbes and from my o>n studies "on"erning
this sub@e"t, # am firmly "onvin"ed that the
remar=able "lu"=" >hi"h is per"eived to at<
tend the "areers of most of the really su"<
"essful men and >omen of all times is in
reality not mere "lu"=" at all, but is rather
the operation of natural la>s set into opera<
tion by means of a "ons"ious or un"ons"ious
dra>ing upon the resour"es of the #nfinite
2o>er from >hi"h all things pro"eed, through
the "hannel of that Something Within.
:oreover, # am ;uite as firmly "onvin"ed
that the "upsets" and "do>nfalls", or the
""hanges in lu"=" of individuals >ho have
been remar=ably su""essful up to a "ertain
point, is due to the fa"t that these individuals,
into?i"ated by the su""ess that has "ome to
388
TH* S*-+*T )( "&1-699 38K
them, have "eased to depend upon and to
dra> upon this sour"e of !ll<2o>er. :any
individuals of this =ind seem to lose their
sense or intuition >hi"h "aused them to
dra> upon this 1niversal (ount for their in<
spiration, guidan"e and po>er, and a""ord<
ingly they be"ome entangled in their o>n
mental ma"hinery and lose their original grasp
of the +eality >hi"h has "arried them up>ard
and on>ard to their high position.
#nstead of depending upon their intuition
of that Something Within, that "hannel of
the #nfinite 2o>er, they be"ome obsessed by
the sense of their o>n personal importan"e
and po>ers, unduly atta"hed to their o>n
"reations, and unduly impressed by the "on<
vi"tion that their su""ess has been due to the
spe"ial merits of "the Gohn Smith part of them<
selves, rather than to the po>er inherent in
their "# !m #" by reason of its being the
fo"al point or "entre of e?pression of the #n<
finite 2o>er. #n short, instead of being *go<
isti", they be"ome "egotisti"al". They mista=e
the "omparatively insignifi"ant ":e" for the
all po>erful "# !m #". )r, stating it other<
>ise, they be"ome so mu"h impressed by their
little "i" that they "ease to pla"e their de<
penden"e upon their great "#".
These individuals be"ome so "arried a>ay
by the in"idents of the part >hi"h their "#"
38A TH* #''*+ S*-+*T
is playing that they lose then "ons"iousness
of the +eality itself the +eal Self >hi"h is
the a"tor >earing the mas= and the garments
of personality. They atta"h so mu"h reality
to the things >ith >hi"h they are surrounded,
or to their possessions and a"hievements, that
they lose sight of the importan"e of the only
+eality involved in the play the +eal Self,
or that Something Within. They ta=e far too
seriously the petty things of the manifesta<
tion $ they undervalue Cor even entirely ignoreD
the real things of TH!T >hi"h is the "ause
of the manifestation. We say that these men
"lose their grip", and so they do, but in a
>ay different from >hat the >orld means
>hen it employs this term. They "lose their
grip" on +eality that is >hat happens to
themF
-arried a>ay by Su""ess, many persons lose
that intuitive faith in that "Something" >hi"h
inspired them in the beginning. They begin
to smile at their old ideas and notions "on<
"erning this matter, and they say to them<
selves, "What a >onderful person # am"F #t
is true that they are often "arried along the
road of Su""ess after this o""urs for a time,
at least $ the momentum a";uired in the past,
the imparted motion >hi"h has been given
them by their original influ? of po>er, "auses
them to run along for a time then "omes
the smash<up.
TH* S*-+*T )( "&1-6" 38%
#t is as if the trolley<"ar >ere to >ithdra>
its trolley<pole from the overhead "able or
the ele"tri" rail>ay "ar to brea= its "onta"t
>ith "the third rail" under the belief that
its >heels >ere the true sour"e of its motive
po>er, instead of being merely the me"hanism
by means of >hi"h the "ar has run over the
rails through the ele"tri" po>er imparted to
it from the "entral po>er station. The "Gohn
Smith" is the trolley<"ar, its >heels are part
of the me"hanism furnished it$ the #nfinite
2o>er is the "entral po>er house $ the trolley<
pole is the instrument of "onta"t >ith that
#nfinite 2o>er. The Self of the "ar =no>s
itself as "# !m #", or possibly even possesses
the deeper =no>ledge of "# !m TH!T # !m"
>hi"h is the inner "ons"iousness of the po>er
>hi"h ma=es it "alive". Woe unto him >ho
depends only upon the various parts of his
personal mental ma"hinery, or upon his body
and its furnishings, and >ho loses his per"ep<
tion of the spiritual trolley<pole and the po>er
"able above it, and, >orst of all, of the 2o>er
flo>ing through that "able F
The truly >ise man es"apes this "ommon
mista=e. 'ever for a moment does he forget
that in 2)W*+ the !ll<2o>er is to be
found the sour"e and fount of all his dynami"
2ersonal 2o>er. He manifests a true "humil<
ity" not the negative, "ounterfeit humility
384 TH* #''*+ S*-+*T
>hi"h generally is given that title, but the
true humility of the (inite fa"ing the #nfinite,
of the :i"ro"osm "ontemplating the :a"ro<
"osm. He feels that humility >hi"h prompts
him to give grateful than=s to "the po>ers
that be" for ma=ing possible his su""ess. #
am not ashamed to "onfess that in some of
the moments of my greatest triumphs # have
paused to meditate upon the sour"e and fount
of my po>ers, and to murmur a heartfelt
Than= 5ou$ than= 5ouF !n old friend
of mine, a vi"torious general in a great >ar,
on"e told me that >hen the ne>s of his great
su""esses "ame to him he al>ays >ithdre>
into a ;uiet pla"e, there silently to give a
formal military salute to the Jreat -ommander.

So far as is "on"erned the operation of
"lu"=" by means of the appli"ation of the
po>er of that Something Within, # >ould here
say #t is my firm belief and "onvi"tion that
the individual may have any thing he >ants,
provided al>ays C3D that he =no>s e?a"tly
>hat he >ants$ C8D that he >ants it hard
enough$ CKD that he "onfidently e?pe"ts to ob<
tain it$ CAD that he persistently determines to
obtain it $ and C%D that he is >illing to pay the
pri"e of its attainment. # believe that # have
here given you the Se"ret of &u"= it is for
you to apply it in pra"ti"e.
TH* S*-+*T )( "&1-6" 38.
Some persons have very haBy and indefinite
ideas "on"erning @ust >hat they >ant. Their
>ants are too indefinite, general, and haBy to
"reate that strong, positive idealiBation >hi"h
is the first re;uisite. #f you as= them @ust
>hat they >ant most in the >orld, you >ill
find that they do not =no>, or at least "annot
tell you >ith "ertainty. )ne moment they
thin= that they >ant this thing, and the ne?t
moment another thing. *ven >hen they thin=
that they have arrived at a final de"ision, they
usually >ill have but the most general ideas
"on"erning it. 5ou "annot get them pinned
do>n to a "lear<"ut, definite, "ertain idea.
5ou "annot "get them do>n to brass<ta"=s,
as the "urrent slang phrase e?presses it.
They are li=e the t>o fol=s in the old fairy<
story >ho >ere given three >ishes by the
good fairy. 5ou >ill remember that one of
those fol=s first >ished some foolish thing$
then, in anger, the other person >ished an<
other foolish thing in "onne"tion >ith the
first "hoi"e$ and then both persons had to
employ the third >ish in order to get rid of
the results of the first t>o silly ones. Nery
fe> persons =no> either that >hi"h represents
the "summum bonum", or greatest good, of
their desires, nor @ust >hat "onstitutes the
e?a"t nature and "hara"ter of the things that
they believe that they >ant most. The first
38L TH* #''*+ S*-+*T
step is to =no> positively, "learly, definitely
and "ertainly @ust >hat you do >ant most.
The ne?t step is "to >ant it hard enough".
Here, also, most persons "fall do>n". They
do not =no> >hat it is to >ant anything "hard
enough". They are feeble ">anters", >hen
the matter is investigated. They are "pin=<
tea" >ishers, instead of red<blooded, virile,
"demanders". They >ould "li=e" this or that
they haven9t the faintest "on"eption of the
"#9ve @ust got to have it" degree of desire
>hi"h animates the real individual >ho goes
after the thing he >ants. 1nless the (lame
of /esire is aroused and be =ept fier"ely burn<
ing, there >ill be no 2o>er set into operation
by that Something Within. The (lame of
/esire supplies the heat for the Steam of Will,
and for mu"h beside.
!gain, very fe> persons begin to appre"iate
or to realiBe the effi"a"y of (aith 2o>er. (aith
is one of the great mental for"es. This is
taught in all religions and in many pra"ti"al
philosophies but fe> understand it, fe> =no>
@ust >hat it means, fe> ta=e it in earnest.
(aith is not blind belief or a""eptan"e of the
dogmas of assumed authority, as most persons
believe $ rather it is the earnest "onvi"tion and
belief that "omes from intuition. #t is pos<
sessed by all persons >ho a""omplish any<
thing, and has been one of the prin"ipal fa"<
TH* S*-+*T )( "&1-6" 387
tors in their attainment. (aith in that Some<
thing Within, >hen on"e you have re"ogniBed
its presen"e and realiBed its nature, >ill set
into operation its for"es >ith great effe"t$
la"= of (aith >ill inhibit its operations.
:any persons la"=ing (aith in the su""ess<
ful out"ome of their /esires and #deals really
are manifesting (aith in the opposite out<
"ome$ and by so doing they set the for"es
into operation in the >rong dire"tion. The
man >ho believes in his la"= of po>er, and
>ho "onfidently e?pe"ts the failure of his ef<
forts, really is e?er"ising (aith in the dire"<
tion of failure instead of that of su""ess. :any
persons, by reason of this unfortunate and
erroneous mental attitude are really a"tively
employing (aith 2o>er against their o>n in<
terests.
The (aith in failure, inspired by (ear, is
e;ual in for"e and po>er, in result and effe"t,
to that (aith in su""ess >hi"h is inspired by
Hope, and "onfident e?pe"tation of the a"tual<
iBation of that >hi"h has been idealiBed. The
idealiBation a""ompanying (ear is as effe"tive
as is the idealiBation arising from Hope, pro<
vided that the degree of (aith or "onfident $
e?pe"tation be the same in ea"h "ase. Nerily,
many a man "ould truthfully say, >ith Gob,
that "the thing # feared hath "ome upon me",
3KH TH* #''*+ S*-+*T
#t is as true as that, 99!s a man thin=eth in
his heart, so is he".
&i=e>ise, fe> persons =no> >hat it is to
pursue an idea or ideal >ith persistent deter<
mination. They have not learned ho> to
"Will<to<Will". The tremendous for"es of the
Will are not "alled into effi"ient a"tivity by
them. "They >ill but feebly", as it has been
said. They do not =no> >hat it is to have
a purpose firmly fi?ed in mind, insistently de<
sired, "onfidently e?pe"ted, and then persist<
ently follo>ed >ith indomitable determination
and resolution to the end. Well did the an"ient
o""ultists say that "#n #magination and Will
is to be found the Se"ret of !ttainment".
The #magination to form and to hold the
#mage, and the Will to a"tualiBe it into ma<
terial ob@e"tive form and reality there is a
great truth in these >ords, if one has suffi<
"ient insight to per"eive it.
Will 2o>er, that indefinable but po>erful
>eapon of the Self, is the s>ord firmly grasped
in the right<hand of the "# !m #" >hi"h has
a>a=ened to a "ons"iousness of its real essen<
tial nature and its innate po>ers. The Will
lies "loser to the "# !m" than any of the
other mental instruments or tools. #t oper<
ates along the lines of sub"ons"iousness as
>ell as of those of "ons"iousness$ it >or=s
>hile you sleep, as >ell as in your >a=ing
TH* S*-+*T )( "&1-6" 3K3
moments, on"e you have set it into operation.
#ts influen"e e?tends far beyond the petty
limits of your physi"al presen"e, and it pro<
du"es results at a distan"e >hen properly ap<
plied. )nly those in >hom the "ons"iousness
of that Something Within, the "# !m #", has
been a>a=ened, "an begin to understand >hat
is meant by the old esoteri" aphorism "&et
the Will >ill itself into >illing."
(inally, very fe> persons are "ontent to
"pay the pri"e" of attaining that >hi"h they
thin= they >ant. #f they ">ant it hard
enough" they are >illing to pay the full pri"e
other>ise they >ill "fall do>n" on this
point. To "pay the pri"e" of the attainment
of that >hi"h you >ant, you must not only
be >illing to e?er"ise your full mental and
physi"al po>ers to>ard a""omplishing the
tas=s and >or= lying along the path of attain<
ment you must do far more than this. 5ou
must pay the pri"e of relin;uishing the minor
>ants, >ishes, and desires you must sa"rifi"e
these on the altar of the Jreat /esireF 5ou
"annot spend your penny, and still =eep it$
you "annot have both the pie and the dime.
5ou must be >illing to pay, and to pay in
full, for >hat you get. The &a> of -ompen<
sation is in full for"e in 'ature.
!s the an"ient saying informs us "Said
the gods to man, 9What >ill you haveO Ta=e
3K8 TH* #''*+ S*-+*T
it, and pay for it9 F 'ature and the &a> of
Things<as<they<!re do not demand sa"rifi"es
as gifts they are ;uite >illing to repay, and to
repay generously. *;ually insistent, ho>ever,
are they that you, too, shall pay and pay in
full. 5ou are re;uired to sa"rifi"e the minor
and subordinate things for the ma@or and es<
sential ones. (e> are >illing to do this. They
protest >hen they are told that they must
thro> aside their rag<dolls and tin<s>ords and
fa"e the realities of life. They hug their "hild<
ish playthings to their breasts, and "ry aloud
>hen as=ed to surrender them for things far
more valuable to real individuals. They are
>edded to their idols and as a "onse;uen"e
they never attain the realities of life.
The >oman >ho >ishes to get rid of her
surplus "fat" >ho desires to es"ape being "a
mountain of tallo>, a tub of lard" must
">ant to hard enough" to "pay the pri"e"
of giving up the tempting (ren"h fried pota<
toes, the fla=y and deli"ious "ream pies, the
appealing (ren"h pastry, the delightful bon<
bons, the "risp Nienna rolls, and the rest of
the obesity<produ"ing family of foods. She
must give up in order to get. The man >ho
desires to attain business su""ess must ">ant
to hard enough" to "pay the pri"e" of diligent
appli"ation and faithful >or=$ of the sa"rifi"e
of many pleasures >hi"h >ould interfere >ith
TH* S*-+*T )( &1-6" 3KK
his main ob@e"t and end$ of foregoing many
indulgen"es >hi"h >ould tend to "sidetra"="
him $ of rendering servi"e and "value re"eived"
for >hat he gets. #n one >ay or another
often in many >ays the pri"e must be paid,
the balan"e maintained, the &a> of -ompen<
sation observed. *ven >hen one endeavors
to es"ape the >or=ings of this &a>, never<
theless he "pays the pri"e" the pri"e of
failure.
The individual >ho "=no>s @ust >hat he
>ants"$ >ho ">ants it hard enough"$ >ho
"onfidently e?pe"ts it$ and >ho insistently
and persistently determines and demands to
have it$ su"h a one is ;uite >illing to "pay
the pri"e". He is not deluded by the "ounter<
feits of life, the pin"hbe"= imitations, the
paste<diamonds, >hi"h are offered him as sub<
stitutes for the real things. He =no>s the
value of that >hi"h he >ants, and >hi"h he
is determined to get$ and he is ;uite >illing
to pay the full pri"e demanded for it by the
&a> of -ompensation. He demands to be
given "his money9s >orth", ho>ever he is
not a spendthrift or >aster. He ma=es a
bargain >ith /estiny, and he demands that
it be lived up to by both sides. )nly the
best is good enough for him he refuses to
a""ept less from &ife he =no>s that he is
paying, and must pay for this, and he is ;uite
3KA TH* #''*+ S*-+*T
"ontent. This is the differen"e bet>een the
Superman and the ordinary run of men.

#t has often o""urred to me that the e?plana<
tion of these things >hi"h # am relating to
you is to be found in some fundamental fa"t
>hi"h may be stated some>hat as follo>s
The #nfinite 2resen"e<2o>er from >hi"h all
things pro"eed, and of >hi"h that Something
Within is a fo"al point or "entre of e?pres<
sion, has as one of its essential and funda<
mental attributes that >hi"h has been de<
s"ribed as "! 2o>er >ith the /esire to !"t$
or a /esire >ith the 2o>er to !"t". #n short,
that it is a Spiritual 2o>er, >hi"h, by the
la>s of its o>n free and un"onditioned nature,
tends to>ard out>ard e?pression and mani<
festation in a"tion. #t seems to find "ontent
and satisfa"tion in "reative a"tivity its inner
nature seems to >ant to e?press itself in "rea<
tive a"tivity. #t must ">ant to" e?press it<
self in a"tion, else it >ould not do so, for >e
"annot imagine it to be "ompelled to do so
by any other po>er for there is no po>er
higher than itself, and it must be "on"eived
as being absolutely free, independent, and un<
"onditioned.
&oo=ing ba"= over the history of -reation,
as su"h is revealed to us in the re"ords of
the earth, >e see that this -reative 2o>er
TH* S*-+*T )( "&1-6" 3K%
is seemingly evolving ideas, forms, and ideals,,
>hi"h it then see=s to a"tualiBe in material
and ob@e"tive form mounting from lo>er to
higher in the "ourse of evolution. &oo=ing
at the pro"esses manifested in the >orlds and
solar systems around us, as revealed by astron<
omy, it >ould seem that the same la> governs
the "reation and evolution of the >orlds.
*very>here this -reative *volution is seen
to be under>ay. :oreover, advan"ed S"ien"e
informs us that there is &ife, -ons"iousness,
and Will in everything in the atoms and
minerals, as >ell as in the plants, animals,
and human "reatures. This &ife, -ons"ious<
ness, and Will of this Spiritual 2o>er seems
to be ever pressing for>ard into e?pression
and manifestation evidently inspired by the
-reative 1rge in and ba"= of all things.
#t >ould seem that in :an this -reative
*volution, or -reative 2ro"ess, has rea"hed
a ne> stage. Here, alone in the >orld of
living things as =no>n to us, is found a
"reature >hi"h is able to e?er"ise -reative
2o>er on its o>n a""ount to reprodu"e, as
a mi"ro"osm, the "reative >or= of the Whole
>hi"h is the ma"ro"osm. :an, it >ould seem
has been "reating his environment, to at least
some e?tent, prin"ipally, along un"ons"ious or
sub"ons"ious lines. He has met >ith some
3K4 TH* #''*+ S*-+*T
degree of su""ess, and >ith a large share of
failures.
'o>, it seems, :an is in the stage of evolu<
tion into the "ondition or plane of the Super<
man. He is beginning to re"ogniBe the real
nature of his "# !m #" that Something With<
in$ and also to realiBe its essential identity
>ith the #nfinite 2o>er from >hi"h it has
pro"eeded, and of >hi"h it is the fo"al point
or "entre of e?pression along at least "ertain
lines of a"tivity to realiBe the "ons"iousness
of "# !m TH!T # !m With the da>n of
this ne> "ons"iousness "omes the =no>ledge
of the innate and inherent po>er of "ons"ious
"reation of environment and "onditions on the
part of the a>a=ened individuality. The per<
sonal ":e" being superimposed by the in<
dividual "#" that "Something Within" the
individual begins to play an a"tive part in
the general pro"ess of -reative *volution.
:an9s part in the "reative >or= seems to be
"hiefly C3D the furnishing of the ideals or men<
tal pi"tures of that >hi"h he desires to be"ome
a"tualiBed in material ob@e"tive form$ C8D to
fo"us the other po>ers of his mental being,
i. e., his /esire, his (aith, his Will, to>ard the
>or= of a"tualiBation, so that his >hole being
be"omes, as it >ere, "rystalliBed in the form
of the #deal to be realiBed in a"tualiBation $ and
CKD to open the entire "hannels of his individ<
TH* S*-+*T )( &1-6" 3K.
ual being to the inflo> of the -reative (or"es
of the #nfinite 2o>er, >hi"h >ill pour through
him >ith the end of a"tualiBing themselves in
ob@e"tive, material form,
# do not offer the above as the ultimate "on<
"eption or final hypothesis of my philosophy.
!ll that # "laim for it is that it furnishes at
least an understandable statement of "the >ay
the thing >or=s. #t may be at least tenta<
tively adopted as a ">or=ing hypothesis" to
serve the purposes of "onvenien"e in thought
and appli"ation, until a more "omplete, "learer,
and more ade;uate one is presented. :ore<
over, # did not invent this hypothesis, nor did
# reason it out originally for myself. While #
long felt that it furnished a reasonable >or=<
ing hypothesis for the observed fa"ts, # after<
>ard dis"overed that the same idea had been
thought and taught by many an"ient philoso<
phers and sages, of many lands and ra"es.
#f this idea seems to "onfli"t >ith your faith
and belief in your favored religion though,
rightly understood, it need not be essentially
antagonisti" to them you may by a simple
"hange in terms manage to retain the spirit
of this idea and at the same time to adhere
to the forms of your religious faith. 5ou may
do this by lifting the >hole matter out of the
theologi"al realm, and gently depositing it in
that of s"ien"e and philosophy. 5ou have but
3KL TH* #''*+ S*-+*T
to substitute the term "'ature for that of
"the #nfinite 2o>er", and "on"eive 'ature as
being the manifestation of the Supernatural
#nfinite 2o>er being "reated by the latter
"ertain la>s or ">ays of >or=ing being im<
posed upon it, and then being left to run
a""ording to su"h la>s >ithout supernatural
interferen"e or assistan"e, or >ith only an
o""asional interposition of su"h supernatural
po>er.
:any thoroughly orthodo? theologians are
;uite "ontent >ith su"h an ad@ustment of this
hypothesis, and the employment of su"h terms.
The e?isten"e and ultimate po>er of the /eity
on"e admitted, they are "ontent to have the
rest e?plained in terms of s"ientifi" thought
"on"erning 'ature. Thus, my hypothesis
should be a""eptable to all su"h persons, if in<
terpreted in this >ay in a""ordan"e >ith their
religious beliefs and theologi"al do"trines.
The employment of the term "'ature" obvi<
ates many obsta"les to thought along these
lines. !s my old friend, Gohn 0urroughs,
on"e said "To say that man is as good as Jod
>ould to most persons seem li=e blasphemy$
but to say that man is as good as 'ature >ould
disturb no one."
0ut, first and last, # am engaged here in no
theologi"al dis"ussion or dogmati" assertion.
# am merely stating that, to me. 'ature seems
TH* S*-+*T )( "&1-6" 3K7
to ">or= in this >ay". #f 'ature is but the
manifestation of a Super<'atural 2o>er, then
that 2o>er must have established these >ays
of 'ature9s >or=ings, and must be responsible
for them. :ore than this, this 2o>er must be
immanent in all 'ature, and involved in her
>or=ings other>ise she "ould not and >ould
not >or= at all. # am dealing only >ith the
s"ientifi", not the theologi"al e?planation of
things $ and, at the last, there is probably but
a differen"e of terms, and not of essential
meaning, bet>een my ideas and thought and
that of the theologians >ho have attained the
modern broader vie> of the 'e> Theology.
The s"ientifi" vie> of the #mmanent #nfinite
and *ternal 2rin"iple of 0eing, and the ad<
van"ed theologi"al vie> of the #nfinite and
*ternal #mmanent -reative 0eing is very
slight the re"on"iliation of their terms >ould
probably mean a re"on"iliation of the remain<
ing differen"es bet>een them.
)n"e admitted that there is an #nfinite and
*ternal 2o>er from >hi"h all things pro"eed,
and in >hi"h all things live and move and have
their being that !ll is in the !&&, and the
!&& in !ll then the rest is merely a matter
of "hoi"e of terms and the non<essential differ<
en"es of interpretation of the )ne +eality and
its -reative :anifestation. !s the an"ients
>ere >ont to say "The T+1TH is one,
3AH TH* #''*+ S*-+*T
though men "all it by many names"$ and
!&& roads lead to the )ne". The (aith of
the advan"ed s"ientist >ho sees &ife, and
:ind, and Will in all things all a manifesta<
tion and e?pression of the )ne &ife, )ne
:ind, )ne Will is as earnest and as firm,
as devout and as truly religious, as that of
the most orthodo? theologian of any of the
many differing s"hools of religious thought
Jod is in 'ature, @ust as truly as 'ature is
in, of, and from Jod. "Some of us "all it
'ature$ others "all it Jod." 1se your o>n
terms in your o>n >ay, @ust so you adhere to
the essential 9>or=ing prin"iple.
VIII
THE INNER SECRET
The #nner Se"ret >hi"h # sought for sH
many years, and >hi"h >as finally revealed
to me in my re"ognition, realiBation and mani<
festation of that Something Within, # no> find
diffi"ult to e?press in ordinary terms, although
my understanding of it has gro>n, in"reased
and developed "ontinuously from the moment
of my first e?perien"e of its presen"e and
po>er. The diffi"ulty probably arises by rea<
son of the fa"t that this =no>ledge is essen<
tially an inner e?perien"e, >hereas our "om<
mon terms are adapted merely to the relation
of e?perien"es arising from our "onta"t >ith
the outside >orld of things.
!s near as # "an e?press it in understand<
able >ords, the #nner Se"ret may be said to
"onsist of the "ons"iousness that the "# !m #"
< that Something Within is a fo"al point or
"entre of presen"e, "ons"iousness, and po>er,
in and of the #nfinite and *ternal -reative
2resen"e<2o>er from >hi"h all things pro<
"eed, and in >hi"h all things live, and move,
and have their being. This "ons"iousness,
ho>ever, is more than the mere intelle"tual
3A3
3A8 TH* #''*+ S*-+*T
assent to the proposition again, it is more
than the mere "feeling" that the premise is a
true and valid one. #t is, rather, a deep<seated
realiBation that this is the very truth truth
no more to be doubted than the truth that one9s
self is in e?isten"e. #n fa"t, it is an evolution
of that elemental "onvi"tion first "omes the
"onvi"tion that "# !m", then that "# !m #",
and then that "# !m TH!T # !m". !nd the
last stage is as "ertain in its "onvi"tion as
is the first one.
This "onvi"tion that "# !m TH!T # !m"
is really a "ons"ious "ertainty that the "#",
being the fo"al point or "entre of e?pression
of the 1ltimate 2resen"e<2o>er, is essentially
and a"tually identi"al in substan"e and essen"e
>ith that 1ltimate 2resen"e<2o>er. )ne in
this "ons"iousness feels no doubt >hatever of
the truth of this tremendous "onvi"tion. He
"=no>s" it @ust as he =no>s that he "is" that
he is in e?isten"e as a living being at that
moment. He not only e?perien"es this funda<
mental "ons"iousness of identity, but his in<
telle"t agrees that there is nothing else for his
"#" to be, and nothing else to be his "#", e?<
"ept this fo"al point or "entre of e?pression of
the 1ltimate 2resen"e<2o>er. His #ntelle"t
and his #ntuition are in full agreement upon
this point.
#t >ill be seen by any "areful thin=er that
TH* #''*+ S*-+*T 3AK
su"h a fundamental report of "ons"iousness
must e?ert a tremendous vitaliBing, animating,
and inspiring effe"t upon the individual. #t
brings >ith it a sense of eternal e?isten"e, of
invin"ibility, of "ertainty, of se"urity, before
>hi"h all fears, doubts, and distrust fall ba"=
in defeat. The old fears and doubts no> seem
to be but the fantasti" imaginings of an un<
pleasant dream $ the soul seems to have a>a=<
ened from a troubled sleep in >hi"h every<
thing >as distorted and unreal. #f you "an
imagine a 'apoleon, a 2lato, an *dison, a
/ar>in, a 'e>ton, a Sha=espeare, a>a=ening
from a dream in >hi"h he had imagined him<
self to be an ignorant, stupid s>ineherd, then
perhaps you may get a faint idea of the "on<
s"iousness of the individual >ho has found the
#nner Se"ret.
!s the ne> "ons"iousness asserts itself more
and more and this it does >hen the individual
is prepared for the e?perien"e then the indi<
vidual gradually lives more and more in the
sense of this identity >ith his Sour"e and his
0ase of 0eing. )r, to put it other>ise, he
lives less and less in his ":e" "ons"iousness,
and more and more in his "#" "ons"iousness
less and less in his 2ersonal Self, and more
and more in his +eal Self. )r, stating it in
still other terms, it is as if the individual "on<
tinues to lose more and more of the imaginings
3AA TH* #''*+ S*-+*T
of his late dream, and to gain more and more
of his "ons"iousness of his real identity and
"hara"ter. !ll these illustrations, ho>ever,
are far too feeble symbols of this >onderful
"ons"iousness of identity >ith +eality >hi"h
"omes to those >ho have entered into the re"<
ognition, realiBation, and manifestation of that
Something Within.

#n the foregoing pages, # have "alled your
attention to the effe"t of this ne> birth of "on<
s"iousness upon the physi"al and mental in<
struments of the "# !m #" of its >onderful
";ui"=ening" po>er upon their a"tivities. 0ut
there are other strange "hanges >hi"h "ame
to me, and >hi"h "ome to all >ho enter into
this ne> life of the soul those >ho are "born
again".
!mong these other "hanges, one of the most
stri=ing is that >hi"h may be "alled the "posi<
tivation of the individual. This term is a
"lumsy one, but # =no> of none other to use
in its pla"e. 0y "positivation", # mean "being
made positive". The individual thus "made
positive" be"omes all that the term "positive"
means in ordinary thought and spee"h. His
"negative" ;ualities and "hara"teristi"s grad<
ually disappear, and are repla"ed by their posi<
tive opposites. #f you >ill thin= of the term
"positive" as meaning "that >hi"h ma=es the
TH* #''*+ S*-+*T 3A%
individual stronger, better, and more effi"ient"
and of the term "negative" as the e?a"t oppo<
site of this "on"eption you >ill grasp my
thought.
# soon be"ame a>are of this pro"ess of
"positivation >hi"h >as under >ay in me.
Without any effort on my part to impress my
personality or individuality upon others, #
found that there >as no> "a something about
me" >hi"h made other persons respe"t me,
defer to me, give me their interested attention,
and to fall in >ith my ideas and suggestions.
# >as far from being domineering, yet # domi<
nated those >ith >hom # "ame in "onta"t. #
>as not egotisti"al, yet # >as given that re<
spe"t and interested attention >hi"h is as food
and drin= to the egotist. # >as not "bossy",
yet my right to authority >as granted readily.
#n short, >ithout any striving to be "positive",
# >as a""orded all that >hi"h "omes to the
truly "positive" "hara"ter in all >al=s of life.
# have sometimes thought that perhaps this
"positivation" arose from the sub"ons"ious
per"eption on the part of the other persons
that # >as in "onta"t >ith the Sour"e of !ll<
2o>er that # >as, indeed, a fo"al point or
"entre of e?pression of that 2)W*+. )r, to
state it other>ise, it has seemed to me that the
slumbering and dreaming Something Within
the +eal Self of others, in some sub"on<
3A4 TH* #''*+ S*-+*T
s"ious >ay at least dimly sensed that that
Something Within myself had a>a=ened into
"ons"iousness and po>er. #t >as as if the
"slumbering god" in the others had sensed the
presen"e of the "a>a=ened god" in myself, and
>as endeavoring to "ome in "onta"t >ith it
perhaps it is a=in to the dim per"eption of
the voi"e of an a>a=ened friend on the part
of one >ho is dreaming. !t any rate, this is
the >ay that "the thing seemed to >or=".
!s # developed in the ne> life and ne> "on<
s"iousness, # be"ame a>are that everything
savoring of bluster, brag, boasting and desire
to impress other persons, >as rapidly leaving
me. # be"ame a>are that, in pla"e of these
there >as "oming to me a subtle but po>erful
atmosphere of "spiritual "lass". 0y "spiritual
"lass", # mean that indefinable something
>hi"h sets in a "lass by themselves "ertain
men and >omen yes, even "ertain animals
as higher in the s"ale of individual "hara"ter
than are their asso"iates. ! man, or an ani<
mal, of this =ind is instin"tively re"ogniBed as
a leader by his or its asso"iates, even by
strangers, and is given his or its "lass >ithout
any visible effort. #f you >ill remember >hat
# have said about the personal atmosphere of
-olonel (orbes, you >ill see more plainly @ust
>hat # mean by "spiritual "lass".
While # >as fully "ogniBant of this ne>
TH* #''*+ S*-+*T 3A.
""lass" >hi"h had "ome to me of the ne>
personal atmosphere >hi"h surrounded me
and >hile # fully appre"iated the value of the
same in my dealings >ith other men, yet, #
assure you, # never e?erted even the least "on<
s"ious effort to "reate or maintain this im<
pression upon the minds or feelings of others.
#nstead, # =ne> >ith "ertainty that it e?isted,
and that it >ould be felt @ust as a strong and
po>erful animal =no>s @ust >hat it is and
ho> others >ill regard it and # devoted
my attention entirely to the main ob@e"ts of
my plans and purposes. Gust as # =ne> that
the "ro>d of more negative persons >ould
sense my real "hara"ter and po>ers, so # =ne>
that the positive individuals >ith >hom #
"ame in "onta"t >ould re"ogniBe me as one
of their o>n =ind and they did so.

# progressed rapidly, rising from high pla"es
to those still higher. # be"ame =no>n nation<
ally then internationally as a "geat "aptain
of industry", and as one >ho had "arrived"
and had "done things". # be"ame one of those
>ho "ombined and "on"entrated separate in<
dustries into >hat >ere "alled "trusts". # be<
"ame a great organiBer a builder of industries
a, "reator of organiBations. # have been
lauded as a >orld benefa"tor, and # have been
abused as an enemy of the ra"e all depending
3AL TH* #''*+ S*-+*T
upon the point of vie> of those ma=ing the
"riti"ism. 2ersonally, # do not regard either
of these des"riptions as "orre"t $ # thin= rather
that # >as an impersonal dynami" for"e build<
ing and "reating things and "onditions >hi"h,
>hile serving a useful purpose and servi"e in
the evolution of things, >ill eventually be torn
do>n and their foundations employed as the
base of far better things and "onditions.
# neither see= "redit, nor do # fear adverse
"riti"ism, for >hat # have done. #n truth, #
sought neither to advan"e the freedom of man<
=ind nor to bind it in "hains. # thought but
little about su"h things, in fa"t. # have tried
to "ause as little distress as possible$ # have
endeavored to help individual men, and the
ra"e in general, as mu"h as # "ould this
simply be"ause # "felt that >ay", and not from
a sense that su"h >as my mission.
:y "mission" has al>ays seemed to me to
be that of manifesting the -reative *nergy of
>hi"h # am a fo"al point or "entre of e?pres<
sion. # built, # "reated, # put<together some<
times # >as "ompelled to tear do>n in order
to build better things on the old foundations.
:en have sometimes "alled me ruthless #
may have been so, but, if so, only be"ause the
-reative *nergy of that Something Within
insisted that its >or= >as to be done, no mat<
ter >hat stood in its >ay. :ost positively, #
TH* #''*+ S*-+*T 3A7
have never mali"iously or revengefully >or=ed
harm to any one. # have been as impersonal
and as elemental as a natural for"e, both in my
"onstru"tive and my destru"tive a"tivities.
0ut, >hile # mastered # also served. The
&a> of 0alan"ed -ompensation de"rees that
"The :aster must render Servi"e." Servi"e
is the "other side" of the shield of :astery.
:en have a""used me of being avari"ious,
greedy, mer"enary a selfish, a rapa"ious
money<grabber and, indeed, # do not doubt
but that # appeared as su"h to them, for they
"ould see only the outside of things and not
the inner motives. #n truth, # have met but
fe> men to >hom money as money, or posses<
sions as possessions, >ere of as little "onse<
;uen"e as to myself. 0eyond the "ompara<
tively small amount of money re;uired to
=eep me in "omfort to furnish me >ith rea<
sonable ne"essities >ith a moderate admi?ture
of lu?uries money and possessions have
meant nothing to me. :oney # have regarded
as but the "ounters of the great game >hi"h
# have played so su""essfully the game itself
>as the real thing to me. # >as li=e the boy
>ho earnestly plays the game for the sa=e of
the game not for the "heap marbles >hi"h
are the apparent ob@e"ts for >hi"h he plays.
5ou doubt this. Well, thin= a moment and
you >ill understand it better. )n all sides
3%H TH* #''*+ S*-+*T
you >ill see men e?erting their energies, men<
tal and physi"al, in playing games. Jolf, ten<
nis, baseball, "ri"=et, polo, and the rest all
these furnish e?amples and illustrations of the
prin"iple. The Best of the playing is the "hief
re>ard for the >or= the other re>ards are
merely symboli". There is but one =eener @oy
than the @oy of 2laying the Jame and that
is the @oy of Winning the JameF # played
the Jreat Jame, and have e?perien"ed the
=een Best of the play $ # have been vi"torious
in the Jreat Jame, and # have en@oyed the
vi"tory.:y @oy, ho>ever, "ame from the in<
ner "ons"iousness of po>er and effi"ien"y not
from the applause of the "ro>d. He >ho de<
pends upon the applause of the "ro>ds for his
pleasure and satisfa"tion is a slave # am a
master, for # e?pe"t applause from none but
myself$ my =eenest @oy "omes from the ap<
proval of the Something Within.

Strange as it may seem, # have verified the
an"ient esoteri" do"trine of 'on<!tta"hment.
# am not "atta"hed" to things or "onditions
# am not bound by them. They are but "oun<
ters in my game in"idents of my play. # am
"atta"hed" only to that Something Within,
and to TH!T of >hi"h it is the fo"al point
or "entre of e?pression. # ma=e things and
"ir"umstan"es # play >ith things and "ir"um<
TH* #''*+ S*-+*T 3%3
stan"es but # am tied by neither things nor
"ir"umstan"es # am (ree, for # !m TH!T #
!m F # am not deluded by my "reations # do
not let them o>n me, "ontrol me, or master
me. !ll things are good for me to use$ but
nothing is good enough to use me. #f any<
thing, or even all, that # have >on and no>
possess, began to master and dominate me,
# >ould hasten to part >ith that thing or
things, even though # >ere utterly impover<
ished by doing so, and # >ould "onsider the
pri"e >ell paid for my freedom. Thus do #
regard money, things, and possessions
merely things needed to 2lay the Jame, but
never to be mista=en for the Jame itself, and,
still less, for the :eaning of the Jame F

# have retired no> from a"tive business
life, though # retain a "ontrol of the great
enterprises in >hi"h my >ealth is invested. #
>at"h things "arefully, and # dire"t >hen
dire"tion is ne"essary. # have many men
good men >or=ing for me no>$ but my
spirit pervades their >or= and is immanent in
their a"tivities on my behalf. # ta=e re"rea<
tion in other "reative >or= "reative >or= to
>hi"h # devote large sums of money ea"h
year. :any are the s"hools, "olleges and
libraries >hi"h have been assisted finan"ially
by me. :any are the ""harities" largely sup<
3%8 TH* #''*+ S*-+*T
ported by me but in >hi"h my name is not
=no>n there is great sport in the "!nonym<
mous" game of giving, # have found. # do not
give from a sense of duty, or of "harity, but
be"ause # "feel li=e it" be"ause it gives me
pleasure and affords an outlet for my -reative
*nergy.
# devote mu"h time to study prin"ipally
along the lines of S"ien"e. # ta=e a lively in<
terest in 2hilosophy, also that is to say
2ra"ti"al 2hilosophy. !bstra"t :etaphysi"s
has but little interest for me >hy should itO
# have seen the "ourse of 2hilosophy turned in
my dire"tion, during the past thirty years.
0ergson9s "-reative *volution" is in pra"ti"al
a""ord >ith some of my fundamental ideas$
the ne> do"trine of "2ragmatism" >ith its
emphasis upon !"tion, and its test ;uestion
"Will it >or=O" is a=in to my thought. :ore<
over, all philosophi"al and religious thought
seems to be moving to>ard my basi" postulate
that "There is an 1ltimate 2)W*+, from
>hi"h all things dire"tly or indire"tly pro"eed,
and of >hi"h all things are forms and phases
of manifestation and e?pression."
&i=e>ise, # devote reasonable time and at<
tention to the a"tivities of 2lay. # have
learned the truth of the old adage "on"erning
the fate of Ga"= >ho had "all >or= and no
play"$ and long sin"e # determined to es"ape
TH* #''*+ S*-+*T 3%K
a li=e ending. # believe that a busy man, par<
ti"ularly a middle<aged business man, should
have "ertain times in >hi"h he is able and
>illing to thro> aside all "ares and all prob<
lems, and to be"ome on"e more a boy in heart
and in a"tion. *very man is really a boy at
heart, and he should give that boy an oppor<
tunity to e?press himself on"e in a >hile the
man >ill be all the better for giving the boy
a "han"e. # play golf, ta=e long >al=s in the
"ountry, go to "sho>s9$ # ta=e va"ations
>henever possible, and # ma=e a pra"ti"e of
going to (lorida or to -alifornia every Win<
ter. :oreover, # travel >idely and ta=e an
interest in >hat # see and hear during my
@ourneys. Thus, # =eep young in body, in
mind, and, above all, in spirit.

"!re you happyO" # fan"y # "an hear you
as=. 5es, # am as happy as any human be<
ing has ever been and yet remained a human
being. # believe that there are higher stages
of happiness than that of the human being,
and it may be that some>here, some>hen, #
shall e?perien"e su"h. 0ut, # believe that the
saying of the dying philosopher ")ne >orld F
at a time, brother is a sane aphorism. !nd
>hile # am here # am e?tra"ting the full meed
of happiness from the desirable things of this
3%A TH* #''*+ S*-+*T
>orld. "(rom all of life9s grapes # press s>eet
>ine". # find that this is best a""omplished
by observing the rule of the Jolden :ean,
viB., "'othing too mu"h". 0alan"e, 2oise,
and :oderation that is the safe rule. # have
also dis"overed that ma=ing others happy is
one of the greatest sour"es of my o>n happi<
ness.
Happiness, ho>ever, # have found, "omes
largely through effe"tive e?pression of all that
is in oneself. :anifestation and *?pression of
the -reative 2o>er "onstitutes one of the high<
est forms of happiness. #t is not the mere
"getting of things that furnishes happiness
it is rather the "doing" of things. #t is true
that the "getting" follo>s the "doing", pro<
vided the latter be properly performed$ but
the real Best is in the doing, the getting being
but the a";uirement of the symbols of the deed.
# believe that the -reative 1rge in 'ature
or in Jod, if you li=e better that term is a
sour"e of great happiness and "ontent to the
1ltimate 2resen"e<2o>er =no>n to us by
either Cor bothD of these names. :oreover, as
# have said, # believe it to be the "hief sour"e
of man9s possible happiness.
# feel =eenly the spirit of 6ipling in his in<
spiring >ords "on"erning that Heaven in
>hi"h
TH* #''*+ S*-+*T 3%%
"!nd only the :aster shall praise us, and only
the :aster shall blame$
!nd no one shall >or= for money, and no one
shall >or= for fame.
0ut ea"h for the @oy of the >or=ing, and ea"h,
in his separate star,
Shall dra> the Thing as he sees #t for the Jod
of Things as They are F

"0ut, have you no +eligion $ does +eligion
play no part in your lifeO" # also hear you
as=.
# >ill say that +eligion plays a very im< ,
portant part in my life but Theology plays
pra"ti"ally no part therein. To me, +eligion
means a firm belief in a Supreme 2resen"e<
2o>er$ a faith in the benefi"en"e of that
Supreme 2resen"e<2o>er $ a dependen"e upon
that Supreme 2resen"e<2o>er $ and a desire to
manifest and e?press the a"tivities of that
Supreme 2resen"e<2o>er through the "hannel
of my individuality. #f su"h be +eligion, then
# am filled >ith it to overflo>ing # am fairly
drun= >ith its spirit. #f, ho>ever, as some
>ould have us believe, +eligion has (ear as
one of its essential elements, then # am la"=<
ing in that essential element, for (ear has no
pla"e in my spiritual ma=e<up. # fear neither
man nor Jod # fear not men, be"ause # am
a :aster among men $ # fear not Jod, be"ause
3%4 TH* #''*+ S*-+*T
to me Jod is not an ob@e"t of (ear, but one
of &ove, (aith, Trust, -onfiden"e. :y Jod
is not a "ruel, tyranni"al slavedriver my Jod
is my best friend.
# believe in the Supreme 2rin"iple of 0eing
the #nfinite, *ternal 2resen"e<2o>er, from
>hi"h all things pro"eed, and in >hi"h all
things live and move and have their being.
# believe in that #nfinite 2resen"e<2o>er even
as # believe in my o>n e?isten"e$ for # be<
lieve that my o>n e?isten"e is based and
grounded in that Supreme *?isten"e. *very
report of my reason, and every report of my
intuition, is to the effe"t that su"h Supreme
2resen"e<2o>er e?ists, has al>ays e?isted,
and >ill al>ays e?ist in infinite presen"e,
po>er, and identity )ne un"hangeable, in<
divisible +eality. # do not base my belief
upon dogmas nor upon the "laimed authority
of boo=s or persons # base it upon the inevi<
table, invariable, and infallible report of my
o>n reason and intuition, from >hi"h all real
belief must pro"eed. +eason is no foe to my
(aith it is rather one of its staun"hest
friends and allies.
:y (aith is not merely a faith and belief in
the e?isten"e of the Supreme 2resen"e<2o>er,
ho>ever, but is also a firm faith and inner
assuran"e of the benefi"en"e of that #nfinite
+eality. # not only rest thereupon my hope
TH* #''*+ S*-+*T 3%.
of future >elfare in other realms of being, but
also my hope of present >elfare in this >orld
of being. :y faith is a living faith, dealing
>ith the Here and 'o>, as >ell as the Then
and There. # hold that if +eligion has any
pra"ti"al, pragmati" value, it must be "apable
of being employed in the present life, as >ell
as in the future one$ of being used in the
business of everyday life, as >ell as in the
enterprises of the life beyond. # believe that
+eligion may be used effe"tively in even the
smallest affairs of life, as >ell as in the great
ones. # have demonstrated in my o>n life the
truth of this "onvi"tion.
:y +eligion is a sour"e of the greatest @oy
to me, moreover. When # indulge Cas # fre<
;uently doD in thought "on"erning the infinite
manifestation of the Supreme 2o>er its e?<
pression in the infinitely great and the in<
finitesimally small its e?pression in the
infinitude of infinitudes of >orlds and planes
of e?isten"e then # am filled >ith a deep @oy
arising from a "ons"ious "ertainty that # am
in"luded in the "ontent of that #nfinite 2res<
en"e and a parta=er of its #nfinite 2o>er that
in it # live and move and have my being, and
that it is immanent and abiding >ithin myself.
# =no> of no greater @oy than that of a "on<
s"iousness of being "#n Tune >ith the #nfi<
nite", and that >hi"h "omes from "The 2ra"<
3%L TH* #''*+ S*-+*T
ti"e of the 2resen"e of Jod", as an old >riter
on"e "alled it.
:y +eligion brings to me a sense of !bso<
lute Se"urity. # feel that # am safe and se"ure
on the bosom of the #nfinite )"ean of 2res<
en"e<2o>er, rising and falling >ith its >aves,
and never in danger of being destroyed or
harmed. #n the >ords of the old song, "Then,
"alm and pea"eful do # sleep, ro"=ed in the
-radle of the /eep. The "onvi"tion of se"u<
rity >hi"h "ame to me as a symbol in my early
dream Cas # have related to youD has no>
be"ome a fi?ed, "onstant, and inalienable fa"t
of my mental and spiritual being. (ear has
departed from me (aith has made me >hole.
!s to the future life, or lives, >hi"h # feel
to be before me, li=e>ise # e?perien"e no fear.
# am "onvin"ed that the 2o>er >hi"h has me
in "harge Here and 'o>, >ill have me in
"harge Then and There. !s for the survival
of my personal self, # feel that though the
in"idental and temporal aspe"ts of 2ersonality
may be, and probably >ill be, eventually
>ashed a>ay by the tides of Time and -hange,
yet my #ndividuality, my "# !m #", >ill per<
sist and >ill ta=e on a still higher sense of
identity >ith its #nfinite Sour"e. # "an "on<
"eive of the limitations of its apparent sep<
arateness being bro=en do>n, so that it may
e?pand in its "ons"iousness of identity >ith
TH* #''*+ S*-+*T 3%7
the !&&. # "an "on"eive of it, li=e Holmes9
"-hambered 'autilus," building "more stately
mansions," from time to time. The idea of
*ternal 2rogress is attra"tive to me but even
this # am "ontent to leave "in the laps of the
gods" to the >ill of the #nfinite # "heerfully
a""ept the de"ision, >hatever it may be. &i=e
:argaret (uller, li=e Goln 0urroughs, "#
a""ept the 1niverse."
!s to my "salvation," # have no doubt. #
=no> that all that is real about me all that
is >orth "saving" >ill be "saved." The rest,
# am >illing to part >ith. The +eal in me
the +eal Self being of the very essen"e
and substan"e of the #nfinite 2resen"e<2o>er
"annot be destroyed, "annot be "lost." 0y
its very nature, the +eal Self must be eternal
and immortal, beyond fear of hurt or destru"<
tion. The #nfinite is indivisible, and "annot
part >ith portions of its o>n essen"e and sub<
stan"e it is eternal and indestru"tible in all
of its parts. Therefore, if my "# !m #" is a
part of the #nfinite 2resen"e<2o>er, it "annot
be destroyed or "lost." # feel the essential
truth of the intuition of the unedu"ated man
>ho on"e e?perien"ed this "onvi"tion of
Truth, and >ho attempted to e?press it in the
follo>ing remar=able utteran"e ") &ord$
you "annot lose meF"
!s for formal "reeds and religious organiBa<
34H TH* #''*+ S*-+*T
tibns, # may say that # have found no need for
them, although # re"ogniBe their servi"e to
those >ho have not as yet outgro>n them. #
have studied all religions $ and # believe some
of all of them, but all of none of them. # see
in ea"h and all of them the attempts of man
to dis"over the #nner Se"ret$ ea"h useful in
its time and pla"e, but none final, ultimate, or
absolute in its interpretation of the Truth
>hi"h intuition reports to be underlying them.
To me, "all roads lead to the mountain<top
and "the Truth is )ne, though men "all it
by many names." # feel at home in every
temple, and before every shrine$ but # s>ear
allegian"e to none of them. # am in"lusive,
not e?"lusive, in my +eligion.
# am in full spiritual sympathy >ith these
very true >ords of *merson
"# laugh at the lore and the pride of man.
!t the sophist s"hools and the learned "lan.
(or >hat are they all, in their high "on"eit.
When man in the bush >ith Jod may meetO
To those >ho may ob@e"t that this mention
of my +eligion has no pla"e in a >or= of this
=ind, the sub@e"t of >hi"h is the revelation
of the #nner Se"ret of Su""ess and 2ersonal
2o>er, # >ould say that # am utterly unable
to divor"e my +eligion from my S"ien"e, my
TH* #''*+ S*-+*T 343
2hilosophy, my 2rin"iples of *veryday &ife,
my +ules of Su""ess, my formula of 2ersonal
2o>er. !ll these are so intermingled and
intert>ined that # "annot separate them. !ll
of these things seem to me to be but varied
aspe"ts of the Truth of that Something With<
in, of that essential Truth >hi"h "onstitutes
the #nner Se"ret of Su""ess and 2ersonal
2o>er, and of mu"h else besides.
# do not insist, ho>ever, upon your a""ept<
ing my parti"ular interpretation of +eligion.
#f you desire to do so, you may ta=e my basi"
prin"iples and blend and harmoniBe them >ith
your o>n parti"ular religious "on"eptions
they often blend and harmoniBe very >ell in
su"h "ases. There is one point >hi"h you
must not eliminate, ho>ever, the point >hi"h
may be e?pressed as the #mmanen"e of the #n<
finite 2o>er the 2resen"e and 2o>er of the
Something Within >hi"h is the fo"al point
and "entre of e?pression of that Something
WithoutF The #nd>elling Spirit is the very
essen"e of the #nner Se"ret.
IX
THE AFTER-WORD
#n the foregoing pages of this narrative #
have endeavored to bring out the essential
features of the #nner Se"ret of Su""ess and
2ersonal 2o>er >hi"h have been revealed to
me as Truth, and >hi"h # have first re"ogniBed,
then realiBed, and then manifested in my o>n
life >or=. # have mentioned "ertain general
features of my o>n manifestation of this >on<
derful prin"iple in order to illustrate its >or=<
ings, but # have thought it better to d>ell
prin"ipally upon the essential features of the
prin"iple itself rather than upon the details of
my o>n manifestation.
!t the last, as you must admit, the im<
portant thing to =no> is that there e?ists a
prin"iple >hi"h may be applied by anyone and
everyone in a"tual life e?perien"e. :y o>n
e?perien"e is merely illustrative of the pra"<
ti"al appli"ation of that prin"iple. This e?<
perien"e may be dupli"ated, or even surpassed
by anyone >ho >ill re"ogniBe, realiBe, and
manifest the 2resen"e<2o>er of that Some<
thing Within, >hi"h latter is the fo"al point
and "entre of e?pression of that #nfinite 2res<
348
TH* !(T*+<W)+/ 34K
en"e<2o>er from >hi"h all things pro"eed,
and in >hi"h all things live and move and
have their being.
# >ish to emphasiBe espe"ially this fa"t, viB.,
that anyone >ho =no>s >hat # =no> may do
>hat # have done. :y effort has been to
a>a=en in you that "=no>ing", so that you
may a"hieve the "doing. The steps follo> in
logi"al order, as follo>s C3D the +e"ognition $
C8D the +ealiBation$ and CKD the :anifesta<
tion.
# have demonstrated the universality of the
prin"iple of the #nner Se"ret, and of its su"<
"essful appli"ation, by "areful e?periments
upon "ertain of those >hom # have gathered
around me as asso"iates in my business enter<
prises. #n fa"t, my great and general su""ess
has been greatly augmented by the fa"t that
# have been able to arouse the Something
Within in many of my leading asso"iates and
employees. :y enterprises have been veri<
table in"ubators of "men >ho "an do things".
:any of these men are still asso"iated >ith
the enterprises founded by me, and many
others of them have forged ahead for them<
selves and have made names for themselves
in the business >orld, and have attained
>ealth and position, in their o>n enterprises
and those of others >ith >hi"h they have asso<
"iated themselves.
34A TH* #''*+ S*-+*T
# >ish to say here, ho>ever, that # have
found a great differen"e in the various indi<
viduals to >hom # have sought to impart this
#nner Se"ret. Some of them, many of them
in fa"t, have seemed unable to grasp even
the faintest idea of >hat # am tal=ing about.
They have listened respe"tfully, but # have
been able to see at on"e that no re"ognition
has been a>a=ened in them $ they have after<
>ards tal=ed among themselves of the ";ueer
notions the old man has in his brain" the
seed has failed to ta=e lodgment in their
minds.
)thers have "aught a faint glimpse of re"og<
nition, and have been benefited thereby, but
they have failed to pro"eed to the stage of
realiBation. )f these, ho>ever, # still have
hopes the seed >ill begin to send forth roots
and sprouts in due time. )thers have had a
fair amount of re"ognition, and even a faint
degree of realiBation, but though they have
been rendered more effi"ient thereby, they
have not as yet been able to pro"eed to mani<
festation. )thers, again, have developed as
does a seed and plant in ri"h soil, >ith a =indly
sun, and >ith >arm rains. Some of these #
feel >ill eventually surpass even my o>n de<
gree of manifestation, for they have grasped
all that # =no> of this great sub@e"t and, in
TH* !(T*+<W)+/ 34%
addition, are no> building ne> stru"tures
upon that foundation.
# feel, on the >hole, that the general s"at<
tering of this seed of =no>ledge >ill be help<
ful to all upon >hose mental soil the seed may
fall even though that soil be not as yet ready
to re"eive and nourish it. # feel that # >ill
have "started something in every mind into
>hi"h this seed falls. 'o one "an have this
Truth presented to him, and after>ard be the
same as before the presentation. *ven though
the Truth be re@e"ted, the memory of it >ill
remain to haunt the "ons"iousness, until,
finally, the matter >ill be again "onsidered
and the sub@e"t further investigated. # feel
that, as *merson said, ":y >ords >ill it"h in
your ears until you re"eive them. )n"e pre<
sented to you, you >ill never be able to get
rid of this Truth you ""annot es"ape your
o>n good".

# firmly believe that the human ra"e is enter<
ing into a ne> and advan"ed stage of the evo<
lution of "ons"iousness. While many of the
ra"e have but the most elementary "#" "on<
s"iousness, and still fe>er the full "# !m #"
"ons"iousness, there are many >ho are no>
beginning to enter into the "# !m TH!T #
!m" stage of "ons"iousness of >hi"h # have
spo=en in this boo=. These advan"ed individ<
344 TH* #''*+ S*-+*T
<uals are the leaven >hi"h # believe >ill raise
the mass of the ra"e by their influen"e and
suggestive thought thought is "ontagious,
you =no>. #n time, the ne> "ons"iousness
>ill be"ome the "ommon and ordinary one of
the ra"e. #n the meantime, the individuals
>ho have it are li=e the pioneers in a ne>
"ountry, brea=ing ground, blaBing trails, and
preparing the path over >hi"h their su""essors
>ill travel in the future.
# believe that this is the se"ret of that in<
tuition had by many great minds "on"erning
the -oming of the Superman. # believe that
the Superman >ill be the man of this ne> "on<
s"iousness the man >ho re"ogniBes, realiBes,
and manifests the Something Within the man
>ho has dis"overed the #nner Se"ret. The sun
of the Superman is rising in time it >ill be
:id</ay, and High<'oon, for him. The
Superman >ill be the #nheritor of the *arth.
#t has been said that "The mee= shall in<
herit the earth", but this "mee=ness" has been
mista=enly supposed to be submissiveness,
negativity, and spiritlessness. True mee=ness
is not this it is rather the a>areness that the
egotisti"al, vain<"on"eit of 2ersonality is ab<
surd, but that the true pride and "spiritedness"
of #ndividuality alone is proper and >ar<
ranted $ and that true :astery "arries >ith it
the obligation of Servi"e. There is a >orld of
TH* !(T*+<W)+/ 34.
differen"e bet>een the negative, mee= ":e
and the positive, poised, restrained, >ell<bal<
an"ed "mee=ness of the "#". The truly mee=
individual may say "my i is as naught, but
my # is glorious, for 9# !m TH!T # !m #9 99
# believe that the great men of history, pres<
ent as >ell as past, have had at least a glimpse
or a flash of this #nner Se"ret, and that their
su""ess has been due to it. # thin= that this
may be proved by a "areful study of the lives
of su"h men and >omen. #n all of su"h in<
dividuals there >ill be found to have been
present a strange, indefinable, sense and a>are<
ness of a "Something", and a relian"e there<
upon. Sometimes this "onvi"tion seems to
have been in the individual from the time of
his birth, though unfolding itself gradually as
the years passed. #n other "ases the Truth
seems to have "ome in a flash of #llumination,
leaving the individual almost daBed by the
dis"overy. +eading the lives of the great men
and >omen of history, one often may a"tually
dis"over the e?a"t period >hen this #llumina<
tion >as e?perien"ed, and >hen the "ne> life"
>as begun$ the moment of "the ne> birth"
may be re"ogniBed in the history of the "ase.
!ll this, >hile interesting and instru"tive,
must be subordinated to the ;uestion in your
mind, "Ho> does all this affe"t meO What
34L TH* #''*+ S*-+*T
use "an # ma=e of this Truth, if su"h it beO
To this ;uestion # ans>er "This affe"ts you
in that degree in >hi"h you open your mind
and. soul to the influ? of the &ight >hi"h is
no> beating upon you. &et it enter, and flo>
through the "hannels of your being $ then the
dar= pla"es of your soul >ill be illumined by
the &ight, and that Something Within >ill
a>a=en from its slumbers and its dreams of
the night. )n"e a>a=ened into self<re"ogni<
tion and self<realiBation, it >ill pass gradually,
though rapidly into the stage of self<manifes<
tation. Then you >ill need only to see the
9one step at a time9, >hi"h the 6indly &ight
>ill reveal to you$ as for the rest, you may
"almly and serenely say 9&ead thou me on9.
*a"h step ta=en, the ne?t >ill be revealed to
you. Step out boldly, "onfidently, and >ith a
sense of infinite se"urity. The 6indly &ight
is the &ight Within the &ight of the Spirit,
>hi"h is also the &ight of the World. Have
(aithF &et your slogan be 9# -an, # Will$
# /are, # /o F9.
To those >ho may feel themselves hampered
in this per"eption by the terms and forms of
thought of orthodo? theology, # >ould say
Turn over the pages of the S"riptures, and you
>ill find therein the statement that Jod
"reated man in His o>n image. 5ou need not
be told that this "o>n image" is not that of
TH* !(T*+<W)+/ 347
the physi"al body su"h an idea is grossly
anthropomorphi", and is >orthy only of sav<
ages. !gain, a little thought >ill reveal to
you that this "o>n image" "annot be that of
the finite, imperfe"t, petty personal ":e" or
"i" not the "Gohn Smith" personal aspe"t of
your Self$ that, indeed, >ould be a thought
degrading the "hara"ter of the #nfinite )ne.
Then >hat is left to be this "o>n image"O
'aught but the +eal Self, that Something
Within the "# !m TH!T # !m". There is
nothing else in you to be this "o>n image",
and nothing else in you for this "o>n image"
to be. 5our S"riptures, Cand all other S"rip<
tures, as >ellD are filled >ith veiled and
guarded referen"es to the #nner Se"ret read
them ane> in this ne> light, and you >ill find
therein "the Truth >hi"h shall set you free".
#f, on the other hand, you are one of those 9
>ho have ""ut loose from" all revealed re<
ligion, and >ho in"line to the s"ientifi" aspe"t
of 2hilosophy, # bid you to remember that the
final di"tum of su"h 2hilosophy is that
"+eality is 2o>er$ a thing is +eal in the de<
gree in >hi"h it has 2o>er". !gain, remem<
ber that su"h 2hilosophy is best e?pressed in
Herbert Spen"er9s "elebrated statement that
"We are ever in the 2resen"e of an #nfinite
and *ternal *nergy, from >hi"h all things
pro"eed". ! little further thought >ill ma=e
3.H TH* #''*+ S*-+*T
it "lear to you that there is nothing else for
your "# !m #to be other than an e?pression
of this #nfinite 2o>er this #nfinite and *ter<
nal *nergy$ and that @ust as in it you must
live and move and have your being, so must
it ever be present and a"tive >ithin yourself
immanent >ithin your individual being. #n
other >ords, that you are the :i"ro"osm of
that 2o>er or *nergy, the #nfinite 2o>er of
*nergy being the :a"ro"osm. 5ou are, and
must be, a fo"al point or "entre of its e?pres<
sion in manifestation.
So, you see, >hether >e "all that #nfinite
2resen"e<2o>er by the name of Jod, or Su<
preme 0eing, or by that of #nfinite 2o>er, or
#nfinite and *ternal *nergy, it must be "on<
"eived of as TH!T from >hi"h all things pro<
"eed, and in >hi"h all things live and move
and have their being, and >hi"h must be
immanent and abiding >ithin all of its e?<
pressions and manifestations. So that, at the
last, 5)1 must be TH!T in your essential
being and nature, and TH!T must be in that
>hi"h you "all 5)1+S*&(. Therefore, you
are "ompelled to state that "# !m TH!T #
!m". There is nothing else but TH!T to be
your +eal Self $ and nothing else for your +eal
Self to be e?"ept TH!T. 5our intuition tells
you that "# !m #, and your intelle"t C>hen
e?tended to its final reportD tells you that
TH* !(T*+<W)+/ 3.3
"TH!T is the !&&". When your #ntuition
and your #ntelle"t "ombine their reports, and
"ome in "onta"t >ith ea"h other in a "ommon
report, then in a flash of illumination the magi"
"ir"le of thought is "ompleted, and the !>a=<
ened Soul "ries out @oyfully "# !m TH!T
# !mF

This, then, is the #nner Se"ret, i. e., the dis<
"overy that "# !m TH!T # !m". This is the
re"ognition and the realiBation, upon the heels
of >hi"h the manifestation of Su""ess and 2er<
sonal 2o>er follo>s. This is the :agi" 6ey,
the :agi" Wand, the :agi" Tou"hstone, the
2hilosophers9 Stone, >hi"h men have sought
for in the past ages. This is the 1niversal
Solvent, the !l=ahest, of the an"ient al"hem<
ists. This is the 1ltimate Truth, ">hi"h >hen
=no>n all be"omes =no>n". This is "That
Something", my brothers and sisters, for
>hi"h you have been see=ing in the past. This
is that, ye see=ers, to the possessor of >hi"h
"all things shall be added".

Ta=e this little seed of Truth >hi"h has
herein been presented to you. !fford it hos<
pitable lodgment in your mind and soul. &et
the sun of your intuition shed its =indly rays
upon it. Water it >ith the >arm rains of your
interested thought and attention. Jive its
roots room in >hi"h to spread and to plunge
3.8 TH* #''*+ S*-+*T
still deeper into the soil of your mentality.
-onfidently e?pe"t the appearan"e of its shoots
above the surfa"e $ these to be follo>ed by its
leaves, its blossoms, its fruit.
Here is the prophe"y "#n the degree that
you re"ogniBe the Truth in thought$ in the
degree that you realiBe the Truth in feeling$
in that "ombined degree >ill you be able to
manifest the Truth in. >ill<a"tion.
The individual >ho enters into the re"og<
nition, realiBation, and manifestation of the
Something Within passes from the 2lane of
*ffe"ts to the 2lane of -auses $ he is no longer
a mere -reature, but be"omes an a"tual
# -reator. He moves from the negative pole of
-ausation to its positive pole. He "eases to
be a Slave of -ir"umstan"es and *nviron<
ment $ he be"omes a :aster of -ir"umstan"es
and *nvironment. The (iner (or"es of 'a<
ture are sub"ons"iously and super"ons"iously
set to >or= in his behalf. He e?presses all
that is >ithin himself, and he attra"ts to him<
self that outside of himself >hi"h tends to>ard
his su""essful e?pression of that Something
Within. Things and "onditions assume a ne>
polariBation to>ard him they be"ome the
negatives to his positive polarity.

5)1, the individual >ho are no> reading
these lines, >hat are you going to do about
this #nner Se"ret. 5ou have heard the ""all
TH* !(T*+<W)+/ 3.K
of the >ild" the roar of the old lion on the
hill >hi"h a>a=ens the leonine nature in the
lion<"ub >hi"h had been reared among the
sheep the "all of the >ild du"= >hi"h bids
the domesti"ated >ild<bird to use its >ings
and forsa=e its barnyard environment. 5ou
have heard "the deep "alling unto the deep"
in your soul. 5ou feel >ithin you the stir<
rings of that a>a=ening Something Within,
>hi"h has been aroused from its dream<state.
What are you going to do about itO
!re you merely going to stret"h your limbs
a little, give a fe> ya>ns, smile fatuously, and
then settle yourself for another spiritual nap,
"ontent to d>ell in the land of dreams of nega<
tivity and >ea=ness, of illusion, of distorted
images, of fantasti" imaginingsO )r are you
going to open >ide your eyes, to breathe in
the invigorating air of the 'e> /ay, to bathe
in the sunlight of the 'e> World >hi"h has
been opened to your vision$ "asting behind
you forever the grotes;ue imaginings of the
dream of negativity and >ea=ness, of slavery
and bondage, of fearthought and dread, and
stepping for>ard in the glorious spirit of posi<
tive e?isten"e, fa"ing the >orld as a :asterO
The de"ision must be made$ and it must be
made by yourself, and not by others. 5ou
must >or= out your o>n salvation. "5ou are
bound by yourself, naught else "ompels".
(reedom "omes only from >ithin, and by
3.A TH* #''*+ S*-+*T
means of the e?pression of that Something
Within.
5ou have before you no> this "hoi"e to
remain d>elling on the negative pole of your
personality, or to move over to the positive
pole of your individuality. #n that one >ord,
"2olarity", rightly understood, there is a >hole
volume of >isdom. 5ou have t>o poles of
being, one negative, the other positive$ you
may abide upon either many shift from one
to the other, at times, >ithout =no>ing @ust
>hat it means. The negative pole is that of
the ":e", or the little "i"$ the positive pole
is that of the great "#", or the "# !m #".
When the "#" =no>s positively that "# !m
TH!T # !m", it ta=es its position perma<
nently upon the positive pole of its being, and
is never thereafter dislodged from it. (rom
>hi"h position do you e?pe"t to manifest and
e?press the rest of your life on the positive
pole or on the negativeO Will you be a -rea<
ture, or a -reator$ an *ffe"t or a -ause$ a
Slave or a :asterO Whi"h shall it beO
"&ord of a thousand >orlds, # !:$
#9ve reigned sin"e Time began $
!nd night and day, in "y"li" s>ay,
2ass by >hile their deeds # s"an.
5ea, Time shall "ease ere # find release,
(or # !: the Soul of :anF"
(#'#S