Month: May 2021

But in what sense does this atomic form indicate the ultimate limit of divisibility in matter? Probably only by representing the limit of our ability to register phenomena of disintegration, and to subdivide material forms. The latest scientific investigations point to the conclusion that physical phenomena are due to various modes of a universal energy, and that matter itself, as an objective phenomenon, represents certain definite modes of ethereal activity. At first, matter and energy appear to be essentially different in nature and origin; but scientific experiments indicate that, after…

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The microscope reveals a world of life in every drop of water. Could we exchange our power of observation for that of the tiniest animalcule thus brought to our notice, the outer universe we now perceive, would totally disappear from view, and another, altogether beyond the scope of our imagination or powers of description at present, would open to view. We would find no trees, birds, rocks, mountains; that which now appears to us in the guise of such bodies, would be resolved into vast unexplored worlds of hitherto unperceived…

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“The atoms of matter appear to be manufactured articles, and therefore have a substratum; as they possess energy, energy must have been in existence prior to the existence of the first atom. And as the mechanical activities, such as physical science at present has to do with, show to us the utter impossibility of constructing a single one, it leaves us with the persuasion that the energy in existence before matter, was not of the mechanical kind. For that kind is what we have to deal with at present. Choice…

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Every normal human mind is capable of recognizing three dimensions of space; and it is by reason of this three-dimensional conception that one is able to perceive material substances, bodies. Scientific investigation reveals the fact that all material bodies are composed of inconceivably minute atoms or centers of force; that those atoms, even in the densest substances, such as flint or diamond, are not contiguous, but are so widely distributed that the intervening space exceeds by hundreds of times the space occupied by the atoms themselves; so that, were it…

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Throughout our search we have seen simply the outer aspect of something; and what is the something? No amount of analyzing brings us any nearer the reality. Definition fails to acquaint us with it. Is its essential nature, therefore, unknowable? We search in vain for life within the bud—in fact we are foiled in every attempt to find an absolute inside. Whenever we dissect any object in search of the inside we conceive it to possess, we discover nothing but other outsides. We recognize the outside of things by means…

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Whenever we attempt to define the term Self, or even to form an adequate intellectual conception of its meaning, we find it enshrouded in the deepest mystery. The reality for which it stands, evades the grasp of our understanding; the more diligently we search for it, the further we seem from finding it. It is impossible to apprehend its nature objectively; we know it solely through subjective self-contemplation. It vanishes whenever we try to locate it, and we are compelled to seek it elsewhere. We recognize its presence as we…

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4.THE OUTER WORLD. Ever since Kant revolutionized modern speculative philosophy by his “Critique of pure reason,” in which he shows that the physical senses can give us no absolutely correct information concerning the essential nature of things, but that the objective world we see, is obliged to conform in appearance to certain conditions of perception existing a priori in the mind, the chief concern of philosophy has centered around the problem of consciousness. Men are not satisfied merely to ascertain what appears to be; they want to know what is.…

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Gradually we grow to appreciate the fact that our life is a part of a whole, and that by ignoring wilful, selfish tendencies, we may experience a larger life of unlimited enjoyment and power. In losing our finite consciousness we discover the Infinite. In so far as we realize that a common life exists for all, we share the Infinite creative power and wisdom. As we come to obey the universal law habitually, and approach the center of Being, our dissipated energies concentrate. Increased intensiveness proportionately enlarges the scope of…

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Creation, which seems designed to achieve the grandest results, is yet, withal, so capricious and disorderly as continually to accomplish ruin and disaster. Beauty and sublimity seem to be everywhere at the mercy of the blighting, desolating effects of blind force or inadequacy. The arena of life is filled with contending victims, whose agonizing struggles are largely misdirected, and often destined to end in at least apparent defeat. The farther we pursue our investigation into externals, approaching all the while the outer shell of life, the more firmly convinced are…

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One of the most beautiful allegories in literature, illustrating the realization of ideals through right-thinking, is Hawthorne’s sketch, “The Great Stone Face.” That remarkable curiosity of nature became the ideal of the peasant boy, Ernest. Gradually the lineaments of his features assumed the aspect of his ideal, until one day the bystanders, to whom he was declaring its beauty, discovered in him its embodiment. As we gaze up into the heavens on a clear night, an atmosphere of serenity seems to pervade the entire creation. Worlds on worlds, infinite in…

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The higher consciousness is a never-failing source of expressive power. It is a reservoir from which one may perpetually draw fresh supplies of nervous energy and muscular strength. Spirit, unlike “will power,” is inexhaustible. When allowed free course, it permeates, energizes, and reinvigorates one’s whole system. It works like leaven through all the lower channels of expression. In its light one grows oblivious to difficulties. Power is due to poise. Doing is the result of being. Action depends on attitude. Energy proceeds from concentration, centering of attention. One cannot give…

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Effort of expression diminishes as one’s ideal becomes clearer in the light of the Absolute. The most eloquent orator is frequently unaware of the words he uses. The thought with which his mind is permeated, clothes itself spontaneously in appropriate forms of expression. Even the most ignorant person may be able, under the impulse of some mental stimulus, to express himself in language which under ordinary circumstances would be beyond his control. In all cases, forms of expression approach perfection to the degree that the mind is filled with the…

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