Within You is the Power | Page 3

and separates
himself from his Spiritual Source. Thus, in a sense, man is what he thinks he is. If he
thinks he is separate from God and cut off from His Power, then it is as though this were
really the case, and he is just as impotent and miserable as though he actually existed
apart from God. On the other hand, if he thinks and believes that he is one with the
Infinite, he finds that it is gloriously true, and that he is really a son of God. If he believes
and thinks that he is a mere material being, then he lives the limited life of a material
being, and is never able to rise above it. But if, on the contrary, he thinks and believes
that he is a spiritual being, then he finds that he possesses all the powers of a spiritual
being.
Again, if he thinks that his work is difficult and that he is not equal to his tasks, he finds
that really his tasks are difficult and beyond his powers. Yet on the other hand, if he
believes his work is easy, or, at any rate, within his powers, he finds that such is the case,
and that he can do his work with ease.

The power within is infinite, for, by faith in it, man is directly "coupled up" with the
Spiritual Power of the Universe. The Divine Spark within him connects him to the Sacred
Flame, thus making him potentially a god in the making.
A change then, must take place within man before he can enter into his Divine
inheritance. He must learn to think after the Spirit, _i.e._, as a spiritual being, instead of
after the flesh, _i.e._, as a material creature. Like the prodigal son he must "come to
himself," and leave the husks and the swine in the far country, returning to his Father's
house, where there is bread (of life) enough and to spare.

CHAPTER II.
THE OVERCOMING OF LIFE'S DIFFICULTIES.
The true object of life is that man may attain wisdom through experience. This cannot be
accomplished by giving in to the difficulties of life, but only by overcoming them. The
promises of God are not made to those who fail in life's battle, but to those who overcome.
Neither are there any promises that man shall have an easy time and be happy ever
afterwards. Yet, it is after this that the majority of people are for ever seeking--an easy
life, a good time, freedom from suffering and care. But, in spite of all their seeking, they
can never find that which they desire. There is always a fly in the ointment of their
pleasure, something that robs them of true happiness; or, possibly, combinations of
circumstances conspire to upset all their plans.
Life is a paradox; the true object of life is not the attainment of happiness, yet if we attain
the true object of life we find happiness. Those who are ignorant of life's true purpose and
who seek happiness high and low, year after year, fail to find it. Like a will-o'-the-wisp, it
for ever eludes them. On the other hand, those who recognize the true object of life, and
follow it, attain happiness without seeking for it.
In times past, people have made God a convenience. They have thought they could drift
through life, learning none of its discipline and then, when in trouble, or things were not
to their liking, they could pray to God and have the unpleasant circumstances taken away.
The same idea is prevalent to-day. People have left the old orthodoxy and look to various
"cults" and "isms" to get them out of their difficulties. They do not believe now that they
can curry special favour with God by prayer, but they firmly believe that they can get
what they want from the Invisible by demanding it. They think that by this means they
can have their own way after all. By this they mean having a good time, with no
unpleasant experiences, trials, difficulties, adversities. They are, however, merely chasing
rainbows. The easy life they seek constantly eludes them, simply because there is no such
thing. The only life that is easy is the life of the strong soul who has overcome. His life is
not easy in reality, but appears relatively so because of his strength.
It is impossible to have an easy life, and, if it were possible, then life would be not worth
living, for the sole object of life is the building of character and the attainment of wisdom
through experience. Life to all of us must always be full of difficulty, and it is to help

those, who, hitherto, have found life rather too much for them that this book