NEW THO UGHTITS LIGHTS A ND SHA DOWS

A N A PPR ECI A TI ON

A ND A CR I TI CI SM

BY

JOHN BENJA MIN ANDER SON

Professor in Colg ate IJniversity

B OSTON

SHER MA N, FR ENCH 6 ’ COMPA NY

1 91 1

PR EF A CE

Within recent years a new contin ent has arisento take its place, perhaps for a long time tocome, in the Wi de world of human thought andlife. The enthusiastic inhabitants of this cont inen t call it New Thought , and to them it istheir beloved F atherland .

It is no wonder that we are beg inning to hearon every hand the question ,

“What is NewThought But any intelligent answer to thequestion is seldom heard. I n fact, neither theChrist ian people nor their leaders realize themagnitude of the new movement , or the m o

m entum it has gained, or the inroads it wi llsurely make into the Christian Church .

Books a nd papers from the N ew Thought sideare b ecom ing very numerous . This book is anexplanation of New Thought by a Christian. Itis not for the professional philosopher bu t ratheran elem entary exposition for the people. Thisfact has partly determined the style, the avoidance of technical terms except when necessarilyquoted from New Thought , the a rrangement ofthe materials , and the intentional repetitions .This volume is not an attack upon New

Thought. In looking back over his work theauthor finds expressions that sound rather po

PR EF A CE

lem ical. A n d to those who are unacquaintedwith New Thought books the pictures drawn inthis volum e will seem to be cari catures because soincredible. The author protests , however , thathe has given a fair and faithful portrait of NewThought . The exposition is accompanied bysuch criticism of New Thought’s main ideas andmethods as seems likely to be most helpful to thereaders the author has in mind. A comparison isalso instituted between New Thought and Christian ity at those point s where it is especially desirable for the reader to be well-inform ed.

The book begins with the briefest historicalsketch

,followed by a presentation of the stu

pendou s claims of New Thought. Then , beforecoming to the exposition of its teachings , NewThought is looked at as a Whole from severaldiff erent points of vi ew. Then, beginning withChapter IV, its most important ideas are examined , and afterwards the practical applicationsof these ideas are considered.

The reader, to whom some topics will be ofespecial interest , wi ll fin d it not only desirablebut quite necessary to read the chapters in theorder in which they appear, since the later chap!

ters presuppose for their full u nderstanding akn owledge of the earlier expositions .

CH A PTER

I .

VIII .

CONTENTS

H ISTORY AND CLAIMS OF NEW

THOUGHT

GEN ER A L SURVEY

B E ING AND ITS EXPRESSION

SP IRIT AND MIND

TH E Two MINDS

R ELATION OF SPI R I T AND MI ND

MATTER

THE B ODY AS R ELATED To MI ND A ND

SPIRIT

TH E B ODY AS R ELATED To MI ND AND

SPIRIT (Continu ed !DISEASE

,ACCIDENT

,AND SURGERY

PRINC IPLES AND METHODS OF HEAL

PRINC IPLES AND METHODS OF HEAL

ING (Continued !DRUGS

,HYGIENE

,AND D IET

PRA CTICAL DEF ECTS NEW

THOUGHT THERAPEUTICS

PAGE

CONTENTS

CHAPTER

HAPPINESS

GOOD EVIL

THOUGHT ETH ICS

NEw THOUGHT AND R ELIGION

A PPEND IX

CHA PTER I

HI STOR Y AND CLA IMS OF NEWTHOUGHT

New Thought” i s a metaphysical and practical movement that has arisen and spread farand wide during the last twenty-five or thirtyyears . It looks to no one man as its orig inator .Like Melchizedek, it has no recorded father ormother , and it expects to have, like him , no

“endof life It sprang into being spontaneously indiff erent minds. It is a phase of the reactionthat has set in recently toward a spiritu a l inter

preta tion of life and toward a practical use Ofthe occult powers of the soul. This reaction ha smanifested itself conspicuously in ChristianScience and in N ew Thought and in the wi despread interest in psychical research .

New Thought , however, is not an isolatedphenomenon . All large movements are rootedin the past and New Thought is no exception .

It is a direct outgrowth from New Englandtranscendentalism . Emerson is sometimes called“the Master .” It also has been powerfully influ en ced by Hindu philosophy , especially by theYoga systems . New Thought received its first

g reat impetus from P . P . ! uimby Of Portland,Me . , and was later a dvanced by the practice of

2 NEW THOUGHT

mental healing by Julius A . Dresser of Bostonand by the writings of Dr . W. F . Evans .The adherents of the movement are said to be

numbered by the milli on, a nd are to be foundnot only in the United States but also in Canada,Eng land, F rance, Germany a n d Italy . Its “circles O f healing” exist in most of the cities andin every Sta te of the Union. N ew Thoughtliterature is extensive and rapidly increasing andappears in every imag inable form . Some disciples of New Thought are mem bers of the Christian Church while a multitude of Christians aremore or less influenced by it . Yet there isalmost universal ig norance among Christiansand Christian ministers as to just what NewThought cla ims to be and to do . It is hightime that the leaders O f the Christian peoplebestir themselves and give serious attention tothi s new cult that is attaining large dimensionsand proclaims itself to be the only true Christ ian ity.

As an introduction to the whole subj ect,it

may be well first of all to enumerate the ClaimsOf New Thought .New Thought claims to be a life, a philos

ophy, a system of healing, and the only powerable to reform mankind and perfect the racephysically , intellectually, and morally.

It professes to be the finest symptom , the bestexpression , and the peerless leader of the spiritual tendencies Of the twentieth century . It calls

HISTORY AND' CLAIMS 3

it self a great spiritual revival . It professes tobe the only real Christianity and to do whatChristiani ty was intended to do.In its Hall of F ame the name of Jesus has themost honored place. He is regarded as thewi sest teacher and the greatest idealist theworld has ever seen . Gautama Buddha, however ,and even Emerson are almost as highly esteemedas teachers of the true wi sdom and of the reallife.N ew Thought poses as the herald of a new

age, the final a nd golden age when ignorance,disease, sin , fear, suff ering, sorrow, and deathshall be no m ore and when kn owledge, health,goodness, peace , happiness , and abounding lifeshall be the lot of every human being.

“The

night is far spent , the day is at hand.

” True ,it m ay require centuries to reach the perfectstate for all, many of us may have to passthrough further incarnations , yet by the path of

New Thought (which path all will sooner orla ter take! the shining goal must and shall bereached in due season. Meanwhile the goldenage need not be deferred for a ny man , who canhave it within himself for the seeking and a o

ceptin g even now.

Those who are unacquainted with the NewThought literature little realize the Himalayanmagnitude of its pretensions . It ushers in thela st stage in the evolution of man . Up to thepresent most men have been cave dwellers . New

4 NEW THOUGHT

Thought Will bring them out into the clear lightof day and reveal reality to them and displayto their wondering

,eyes the great and glorious

world of “rea life with its far-reaching vistas ,its towering mountain peaks , its peaceful valleys , its broad sunlit plains , its maj estic rivers ,and the blue sky over-arching all .

N ew Thought shatters all illusions ; it deliversfrom all delusions . It is the light of the world ;as compared wi th all other lights it is the verysun itself. It is the voice of Truth sounding inthe unwilling ears of a crooked and perversegeneration

,an u nbelieving and fa ithles s era .

”

It is the true interpreter of the Bible, being themodern and occidental phras ing of the ancientand oriental Scriptures . It is the only truescience and puts to blush “the vu lgar herd ofmaterialistic scientists” whose materialism mad-ethe nineteenth century “the darkest age ofhuman history.

New Thought is the secret of power . It givesto each man the complete mastery . It placesa man’s destiny in his own keeping . It awakensself—confiden ce, infuses courage, inspires hope.I t opens body and mi nd to the inrushing tidesof abounding, almighty life. It is the Proclama!tion of Emancipation to every slave whetherof evil habit or of ignorance or of heredity orof envi ronm ent . It enables a man to qu afl

' theWine of life with gladness and even With gleefrom any and all of the goblets of circumstance.

HISTORY AND CLAIMS 5

It banishes poverty and m isery , shields fromevery harm or rather annihilates every harm,

sweetens li fe, harm onizes all the world’s dis

cords , g ives the vi ctory over trouble, disease ,pain and death . In this world of restlessness ,anxiety and trouble it is a paradise with hell allaround . As a builder of good character it knowsno equal. It crowns love king of the universeand is the champion of social servi ce. It livesthe only “real” life , a life simple, wholesome,large, symm etrical, independent, happy, satisfyin g .

In every respect New Thought claims to bethe shining leader of the human race and isprodigal o f promises of every imag inable good.

Truly “the fruit is good to look upon and desirable for food.

” Surely here is Pandora’s ownbox. Here is the saturnalia of faith and hope .Such a decoy is sure to lure. In view of such amenu it i s not surprising that great numberssit down to this sumptuous banquet which hasa fillip for the m ost j aded taste . A myriad ofdazzled human moths flutter about this arc lampand are singed or burned, some of them, indeed,being seriously inj ured.

What should be the Christian’s attitude toward these claims and those who make them !

Shall we treat N ew Thought as mere ballooningwith the latest newfangled gas—bag inflated withconceit and bomb-ast ! Shall we take the position of a fri end of the present writer who said,

6 NEW THOUGHT

It is curious how much ability has found itsway into New Thought writers . The only explanation is that they have been g iven over tobelieve a lie that they may be damned !

” Shallwe reg ard New Thoug ht as j ust one more tossing in humanity’s fitfu l fever ! The Christianand sensible att itude m ay be stated a s followsWhat ever perishable “wood, hay, and stubble

”

there may be in New Thought , it certainly contains “g old, silver , and precious stones .

” Whatever of t ruth and profit there may be in it, weshould be open—minded and earnest enough todis cern it and receive it , receive it for ourselvesindivi dually , and for our churches , and for thisweary

,sinning, suff ering world. We should re

member , too , that New Thought is the verybread of life to feed and water of life to refreshaccording to the vi ew and experience of a mult itu de of sincere and self—respecting, though insome measure deluded, men and women who areaspiring to a lif e of peace and love and servi ce .It would be easy enough to laugh at the crudi

ties , inconsisten cies , absurdities , and pomposities of New Thought or to direct the shafts ofsatire against the weak points in its armor Themore excellent way , however, is to seek to bejudicial in temper, kindly in spirit , recog nizingand welcoming all good ingredients while indicating and deprecating all elements of errorand harm . Even if in loyalty to truth and tohuma n welfare one must deal with the error with

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CHAPTER II

GENERAL SUR VEY

However experienced and ski lled a marinerone may be on the seven seas of philosophy, hewould find it difficult to steer a true course amongthe islands and rocks and shoals of the u n

charted waters of New Thought . It is difficultto un derstand exactly the New Thought teachings , to discern their mutual relations , and toestimate them at their true worth. In orderto help the reader to begin betimes to g et hisbearings , it may be well to call attention to certain broad, general features of the cult underrevi ew before we start on our voyage in waterssometimes sunlit , frequently enveloped in a luminous haze, and too often thick with fog.

In the first place, while the New Thoughtis a philosophy, it is also and chiefly a life .Its advocates lay great stress upon this fact.They call it “practical idealism ,

” with emphasisupon both words . They hold forth an ideal ofcharacter, of conduct, and of m ental and physical health , and hold it forth not only to be believed in and admired, but above all to be at

ta ined. What this ideal is we shall see later.Suffice it to say here that, however fantastical

8

GENERAL SURVEY 9

and speculative New Thought may be, it is intensely practical in its aim . Its head may rakethe clouds or even the stars, but its feet are onthe earth. It appeals to actual character, conduct, happiness , and health as convincing evidence of the truth of its ideas .

In the second place, if one would see NewThought in true perspective and right proportions , he must recogn ize that it is not primarilyor chiefly a system of bod ily healing. It is alife, a life covering the entire rang e of humanexperience. In fact, bodily healing is only in~

ciden tal ; hardly more than a by-product, though,of course, a by-product highly prized. The

healing comes in. the course of the living ; thedisease exists first in the mind and therefore isalways cured in the invisible realm of the innerlife before, som etimes long before, the bodilyrestoration appears.F urther, some New Thou g htists expressly sayand all of them at times imply that the healingof the body waits on the reform of the character,and is the bodily expression of moral goodness ,the physical efllorescence of a right inward life.Like the Holy Grail, health, on the whole andin the long run, is only for the pure in heart.New Thought is therefore far more than a

system of bodily healing. It is an ethic ; it i san attempted reformation and spiritualization ofhuman life in all phases of its being and of itsactivi ty. It sounds not one, nor two, nor sev

1 0 NEW. THOUGHT

eral notes , bu t strikes all the chords and sweepsthe whole gamut of hum an li fe.In the third place, New Thoug ht claims to

be a philosophy . Thoug h it is chiefly a life ,yet the life is supposed to be founded uponideas , or the ideas are the intellectual equivalentof the life. The votaries of the l cu lt plume themselves upon the “scientific” character of NewThought. Science” is one of their favoriteterms . B y

“science” they mean a body of ideasand facts viewed a s related to and unified underun iversal law. This is j ust what New Thoughtclaims to be , and to New Thought you must gofor the pure milk of science . Of this subj ectmore anon.

This philosophy or science i s esoteric. It i sunderstood only by the initiated . Spiritualthings are spiritually discerned

!

. Criticism byan outsider , if not an impertinence, is fatuousand futile, like a blind man matching colors , ora deaf man di scriminating tones , or a dead mandiscuss ing life. You must live New Thought inorder to understand it . Spiritual perceptionand feeling are the open sesame to that whichis forever barred to the intellect . Life has itsall—penetrating X-rays , while the clear, dry lightof mere intellect is arrested at the very surfaceand cannot shine into the heart of things . Thecritic dwells in the outer darkness .This philosophy, further, is un ique. It is

peerless and unapproachable. The light that

GENERAL SUR VEY 1 1

shines in New Thought is incomparably superiorin purity and brilliancy to that which shines inany Christian theology , or in Christian Science,or in Buddhism , while the light of so—callednatural science and much of the teaching ofpsychology is darkness compared wi th its splendid noonday.

Other philosophies have been wrought out!

laboriou sly by the intellectual moil and toil of menwho lived on a lower plane than New Thoug ht ,and therefore contain much error along withsome truth . E ach system of philosophy hassome truth or aspect of truth or valuable emphasis peculiar to it, but New Thought is parexcellen ce the true philosophy , and gathers intoitself all these scattered beams and from itsburning, glowing orb rays them forth upon mankind. I t i s the truth !as seen and tested by menwho are in tune with the Infinite it is a philosophy intuited rather than reasoned out , revealedby the universal Spirit in New Thought prophetsrather than reached by mental effort . NewThought is the sun-god Apollo in contrast withthe earthborn giant Enceladus ; it is the angelstanding in the sun in contrast with the evanescent , ever changing wraiths formed by thewreathing, curling mists arising from the soil oftheology and philosophy and from the damp ,chill lowlands of material science.New Thought belongs on the “subj ective

plane,” the ordinary man , scientist, philosopher,

1 2 NEW THOUGHT

and theologian,and of course the critic of New

Thought lives on the “obj ective plane.” Thesubj ective plane is the plane of reality. It isthe real world and the plane of real experience.

New Thought appeals to experience as the test ofits ideas j ust as the scientist does , but it is

occult experience.In the fourth place, the followers of New

Thought are largely unorganized. They neednot do homage for their intellectual estates toany lord of the doctrinal manor or other suzerain as Christian Scientists must to Mrs . Eddy.

They are instead bound together by the invisibleties of a common belief, sentiment , and practice.They think of themselves as leaven , salt , aroma,light ; not as a sect, a g roup separated fromtheir fellow men by organization and by a rigidcreed . The sectarian idea is repugnant to them ;it conflicts wi th their fundamental belief in theoneness of Being. Their principles , they feel,are like eagles of the upper air that are notto be cooped up in any denominational cage.The movement naturally has its leaders , the persons who can most eff ectively represent it byspeech and by the printed page and by the

practice of mental healing.

After this preliminary and general survey weare now ready to examine New Thought moreclosely. We shall begin with its fundamentalconceptions and afterwards deal with their principal applications .

GENERAL SUR VEY 1 3

Let not the hopeful reader, however, in hisinnocence think tha t he is about to traverse theking’s highway , broad, and level, and straight,and amply marked by g uideposts . For we areabout to enter a realm of such confusion thatthe benighted traveller sometim es gives himselfup for lost . For him who looks for clear thinking in N ew Thought , the critic is in honestycompelled to ins cribe over its portal ,

“All hopeabandon , ye who enter here This is not saidharshly a s if in revenge for the New Thoughtassertion that the critic , being uninitiated, doesnot kn ow what he is talking about. F or NewThought utterances are too often vague, oracular, one-sided , mutually contradictory, markedby unscientific looseness and couched in figurativelanguage that dazzles and stri king epigram thatdazes until the bewildered hearer or readerhardly knows his own identity . Pyrotechnics isone of the specialties of New Thought .Moreover, New Thought is not homogeneous .

If it were fashioned of a rib taken out of the sideof some one philosophy, it might hope to be aself-consistent, intelligible system of thought , butit is constru cted out o f an assortment of ribscollected from several and diff eri ng philosophies .In fact it claims sometimes that it is not a system . Life cannot be compressed into a system .

To system atize is to limit. New Thought i llumines , not limits the vision of truth . There istruth in this impeachment of system, but after

1 4 NEW THOUGHT

all it'

is a dang erous attitude for seekers aftertruth to take.Again

,there is no authoritative spokesman or

standard, and there are many minor and someimportant diff erences of vi ew among the NewThought expositors .U nder these circumstances it is difficult to doj ustice to the advocates of New Thought . Intrying for the sake of clearness to define exactlythat which is vagu e one may easily attribute tothem that which they would instantly disclaim,

and in showing the presuppositions and implications and log ical consequences of their statements , one seems to charge them with holdingposit ions they never purposed holding, simplybecause they never perceived the logic of theirpositions .B y all this it is not meant that the New

Thought exponents do not make plain , u nvar

n ished statements in terms quite precise and u mmistakable ; for there are plenty of exact propositions . The trouble is that in the next chapteror even in the next sentence one finds anotherstatement j ust as exact which it puzzles a logicalmind to mate with the preceding statement .New Thought is the Proteus among the philosophies , with the exception that , unl ike “the oldman of the sea ,

” it does not always end by tellingthe truth .

With this warning of the fog bell let us cautiou sly proceed and try to

'

keep off the rocks .

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1 6 NEW THOUGHT

Whole , the Spirit , the Infinite , the Infini te Spirit ,the Eternal, the Infin ite Life, the UniversalSpirit, the Universal Life, the Universal Power,the Universal Intelligence, the Universal Wisdom, the One Intelligence, the Om nipotent Spirit,the Omnipresent Spirit, the Omni scient Spirit,the Oversoul

,the All-Good, the Supreme Love,

the Divinity, God, the Christ , the F ather, theHeavenly F ather , the real man , the subj ectiveman, the eternal man , the universal man , theHigher Self.Now this is nothing but pantheism . It does

not come within the scope of this book to discusspantheism, and all that can be said here, therefore , is that all the philosophical, ethi cal, and religious objections to pantheism make frontagainst the above teaching of New Thought .Some of these obj ections will be brought out inciden ta lly in the course of later discussions .It is now to be especially observed tha t New

Thought does not hold consistently to its pantheism . However gallant it m ay profess to bein its devotion to the monism that declares thatAll is One and One is A l l, it repeatedly surrenders its sword to the pluralism that declares thatthe All is not one but more than one. NewThought sits comfortably on its All—is—One dogma and trots along easily and blithely until itcomes to a g ap too wide for the leap , when withperfect nonchalance it slides out of the pantheistic saddle, walks across a pluralistic foot

BEING AND ITS EXPRESSION 1 7

bridge, vaults up on a pantheistic relay on theother side of the chasm, and then continues itspleasant canter along the beautiful EternalWholeness highway .

New Thought, like its ally , Christian Science,is a vain endeavor to us e two diff erent philosophies between which there can be no more concordthan between Christ and Belial . This is like attempting the impossible feat of living at theNorth and South Poles at one and the sametime. To see this clearly at the very beginning wi ll aid the reader greatly in threadinghis way through the mazes of N ew Thought .If there is any clue to the labyrinth , this is it.New Thought declares that there is only onebeing or thing in existence— this is monism ; NewThought, when nodding, declares or implies thatthere is more than one being or thing in exi stence— t his is pluralism . These two con tradic

tory ideas are patched together in the crazyquilt of New Thought. So far as my observation extends , it would be possible to take anyN ew Thought book, sort its statements into twogroups , and make of them two irreconcilablebooks

,one moni stic and the other pluralistic .

New Thought’s unfaithfulness to pantheismappears the instant it proceeds beyond the bareaffirmation of Being and its nature. Necessarilythe next step in the exposition is the expressionof the Al l-On e and the relation of the All-Oneto its expression . This is the crucial point ,

1 8 NEW THOUGHT

and just here New Thought is hopelessly en

tangled in the toils of inconsistency.

Considering now the expression of the A ll-Onewe learn that Universal Life i s lived on three“planes

,

” the spiritua l, the mental, and thephysical . The spiritual plane is the “realhome” of universal spirit. On that plane itlives an infinitely intelligent, powerful, lovinglife. F or reasons unknown this infin ite mode ofexistence does not suffice infinite spirit. It seeksa career on another and a limited plane andtherefore exist s as minds . But even this is notenough. It lives on a still lower plane, existinga s matter. One and the s ame being, the universal, only existent being, exists as spirit , a s mind,as matter . Its exi stence in the material andmental modes is finite ; its existence in thespirit mode is infin ite.

1

Universal spirit is one and indivisible ; mindsare many, and matter is divis ible. Nothing exists except spirit, yet m inds are not parts ofit , neither is matter . A mind is an “express ion”

of spirit, so also is ma tter. Mind and matterare sometimes spoken of, not as the expressionof spirit, but rather a s the means of the expression of spirit.

1 Spirit seem s bu t seldom to be thou g ht of as a modeof existence; yet “

plane”is frequ ently u sed in connec

tion with spirit and Spiritual .“Mi nd” is sometimes a synonym for universal spirit.

This meaning of m ind is not in view in the discu ssionsof mi nd in thi s book.

BEING A ND ITS EXPRESSION 1 9

Now when m ind and matter are thought of asthe means of expression , they are almost u nconsciou sly thought of and spoken of as real thingsin themselves , other than spiri t , subordinate (atleast ideally ! to spirit , created by spirit , andused by spirit, though so far as the mind is concerned, it is often a rebellious and unprofitableservant . N ew Thought literature is saturatedwi th this dualistic view of spiri t and mind , andof spirit and matter.When mind and matter, on the other hand, arethought of, not as the means of Spirit

’s expression , but as the expression itself , the conceptionseems closer to monism , although it is probablyjust as truly pluralism , only subtler or vaguer .This conception is that mind and matter are themanifestation of spirit , its appearance as mental and physical states and actions . M ind andmatter are entities no more than light or heator odor.As to matter , we may regard it as spirit it

self materially manifested, or the material m anifesta tion of spirit, or the means of the materialmanifestation o f spirit . This has merit as alively acrobatic performance but makes the beholder dizzy.

The relation of mind to spirit is analogouswith the relation of matter to spirit . Be it observed just here that the view that the mentalpowers in exercise are nothing more nor less thaninfinite and perfect spirit in action on the so

20 NEW THOUGHT

called mental plane raises the problem of moralevil to its highest pitch and leaves it unsolved oreven unmitigated. While the view that the mindis the means by which infini te and perfect spiritexpresses itself raises , not only the question asto how this instrum ent can exist i f spirit is “theA ll ,

” but also how mind can be so perverse andcontrary in cha racter to spirit when spirit is theAll and the All is absolutely good .

We have now reviewed in general the relationof mind and matter to spirit, and have notedthat New Thought dallies wi th three discordantconceptions of this relation , namely, that mindand matter are spirit itself expressing itself

,

that they a re the express ion of spirit, and thatthey are the means of the expression of spirit.This modern Atalanta charmed by these threegolden apples has lost the race and has beencompelled into wedlock with Error . We shallnow proceed in the next chapter to examine moreminutely the relation of spirit to mind

,and in

a subsequent chapter the relation of spirit tomatter.

CHAPTER IV

SPIR IT AND MIND

Notwithstanding some confusion in the use ofthe terms spirit , soul, and mind by New Thoughtwriters , it is fairly sure that in their view theimmaterial man as di stinguished from his bodyconsists not of three elements or as pects but oftwo , namely, spirit and mind.

“Soul” is sometimes used for spirit and sometimes for mind .

What then are spirit and mind and what aretheir relations to each other !In the first place , consider the New Thought

ideas concerning spirit.At the beg inning of the preceding chapter

the New Thought teaching respecting the natureof spirit was set forth and need not be repeated.

There is only one spirit existent. This spiritis God, if one pleases to use that name.This spirit is also man . But it is not what inour common speech is meant by a man , anindividual man. It is incorrect to speak ofhuman spirits , or to diff erentiate your spiritfrom my spirit. The one and only spiritis common to us all. The “real” man is universal spirit . There is only one “real” man . Thereal man “in” you is identical with the real manin me. Notice that the teaching is not that the

21

22 NEW THOUGHT

real man in you is akin to , or similar to, or ofthe sam e nature as , the real man in me, but thereal man in you is abs olutely identical with thereal man in me. You and I and all of us are ,on the spiritual plane, literally and without anyqualification whatever one and the same being.

This being is man , the real man , the etern alman . A nd just this is what is meant by thehuman spirit . This is also the divine spirit .The human spirit and the divine , spirit a re nottwo spirits but one

,one spirit with these two

names . There is only one spirit, a nd that spiritis universal and infini te and perfect .The human spirit , the one and only human

spirit, is the Universal Spirit . B u t can any saneperson h ave the hardihood to

’

affirm that thehuman spirit is self—existent, unconditioned, om

n iscien t , omnipresent, omn ipotent, infinite, perfect in love, unblemished in goodness, and hasbeen all this from all eternity ! Yes . The NewThou g htist will look you straight in the eye andtalk to you about your infin itude of knowledgeand power and perfection with the most unblushing assurance. You may flinch , but he never !The human spirit is God. We shall see laterwhat are the consequences for religi on , ethics ,and therapeutics of this position.

And now what is the “mind” and what is itsrelation to spirit ! One needs patience to followthrough all the s inuosities of New Thoughtin this regard. The needle of the New

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M NEW THOUGHT

is the Slough of Despond out of which by somemiracle or other the fainting pilgrim must bepulled (provi ding, of course , that he is logical!if he i s ever to enter through the wi cket gate totread the path that leads to New Thought’sCelestial City .

Let us examine more narrowly the knottyproblem as to what is the New Thought vi ewconcerning the relation of spirit to mind. Whenthese som ewhat haphazard writers and speakershappen to be thinking of their fundamental conception of spirit as

“the All,” they speak of

mind a s an indi viduation or mode of spirit , asthe mental plane on which spirit works , as spirititself expressing itself . Spirit alone is . Spiritis the universal man , impersonal man . Universal, impersonal man , which is the only man , hasmyriad minds . These minds are not entities ,things , beings , they are sets of faculties orpowers . Each mind is a group of the powersof thinking, feeling, and wi lling. The one andonly being, therefore , has innumerable intellects ; that is , it is thinking weakly and powerfully , poorly and well, correctly and incorrectlyat one and the same time. It alone was thethinker in Plato , and A ristotle, and Paul, and! ant ; it alone ha s been the thinker in all thestupidest blockheads that ever lived. It alone isthe thinker in all grades of mental activity nowin process in this world. The universal spiritalone does the thinking of the critic of New

SPIRIT AND MIND 25

Thought ! Let us be thankful for this crumbof com fort .Minds are what may be described as the uni

versal spirit’s organs of individuality . NewThought ha s not a little to say about individuality . Indivi duality is one mode in which theuniversal li fe exists and acts . It is not thehighest mod e, and it is often implied and sometimes declared that the individual mode of existence wi ll not last forever . By the law of evolution all that is lower must some day be transcended and mus t cease. Indivi duality apper

tains only to the mental plane. We may speakof indivi duals only because we may speak ofminds .Since minds are not beings , but only modes of

being, individuals or persons are not beings , butonly modes of the one being, the universal manor God. Consequently we may not speak of aman

,or this man , or each man . There is only

one man who lives and acts in countless individual modes . We may not even say a manis a spirit and has a mind. The strictly correct formula is , Man is spirit and has minds .

(It is alm ost superfluous to say that no adher

ence to strict formulas is to be found in NewThought authors . ! Consistently with the aboveit is taught that universal spirit is alone the realman ; for its particular indivi duation in any

given mind is not a being, but only a mode ofbeing.

26 NEW THOUGHT

The term “self” which stands for individualityis indeed appli ed to the “A ll-One” but usuallywith some qualifying word. The universal spiritis said to be the real

,or inner, or innermost , or

impersonal,or higher self. The individual mind

by way of contrast i s called the outer, or personal

,or lower self . The wi ll of spirit is “im

personal will,” while the will of the mind is the“personal will .” This contrast between thehigher

,impersonal

,universal self and the lower,

personal, individual self i s prominent and important in New Thought ethics and therapeuticsand off ers opportunity for limitless confusion .

Continuing our study of the relation of spiritto mind, we have seen that spirit is the universal,infin ite , and solita ry being, and that it is abso

lu tely perfect in knowledge, power, ubiquity,and goodness . Whence, then , came all the limita tions , ignorance, weakness , vice, malignity, andthe whole hellish brood of loathsome, hideous ,lamentable imperfections in human life ! Theyall have their source solely in “minds .”

Is it any wonder that a man , holding suchvi ews a s to the nature of spirit on the one handand of the mind on the other, can hardly wr itea page without giving the impression that themind is a genuine being distinct from spirit andin fact contrary to spirit ! This impression isinevi table for the careful thinker despite all pantheisti-c assertions that minds are naught in themselves but only the exerci sing of its powers by

SPIRIT AND MIND 27

the one and only being, the All, the EternalWholeness

,the Universal Life . New Thought

really makes man an amalgam of the infinite andthe finite.Minds are endowed with the power of “open

ing” themselves to the spirit and of closing themselves against the spirit . Their proper attitudeis the receptive one. They should always be“negative” to the spirit , never

“positive ,” that

is,always open to receive the influence of the

spirit , never positive in asserting themselvesagainst it . The spirit is always impinging likean atmosphere or like the sunlight upon themind

,and is lovingly, patiently , wisely, and in

strict accordance with law seeking continuallyto influence the mind. It never obtrudes orforces itself upon the mind. It woos the mind.

The mind has a will of its own and responds ornot , as it pleases . In proportion as the mindresponds , it receives the inflowin g of power,peace, j oy, wisdom, goodness , and life from theinfinite fullness of the “All—Good.

”

This description shows that in the immaterialman are two distinct sets of powers , the powersof the spirit (which is

“man a nd the powersof the mind ; and that these powers are o ften andto some extent always arrayed on opposite sides .It is evident also that the powers of the spiritare what may properly be call ed intellect, feeling, and wi ll . Now these are also manifestlythe powers which the mind is represented as pos

28 NEW THOUGHT

sessing and as exercising in harmony wi th or inopposition to the spirit.To be consistent

,therefore , we ought to say

that a psychological analysis of any g iven manreveals two intellects

,two emotional natures , and

two wi lls . The intellect , feeling, and will of theone set are infinite , universal, impersonal, andperfect

,while those o f the other set are fin ite ,

indivi dual, personal and exceedingly imperf ect .This is carrying dualism into psycholog y wi th avengeance ; yet New Thought to be consistentwith its fundamental tenet should be monistic.This dualism is its attempted solution of the

problem of reconciling human imperfection withits monistic doctrine that all being is u nqu ali

fiedly perfect. Duality is its a nswer to the questions raised by its own doctrine of unity ; hetero

g eneity is its proff ered solution of the problemraised by its own dogma of homogeneity . NewThought is the attempted but impossible marr ia g e of monism wi th pluralism . Monism cannot cleave to plurali sm so that the twain wi llbecome “one flesh .

”

In o ther words , the problem involved in thedogma that All is One and One is All is virtually ignored, and the New Thought devotee triesto live in two diff erent intellectual worlds at oneand the same time. This is the case wi th itsmetaphysics and its psychology ; we shall seelater that it is also the fatal flaw in its thera

peu t ics and its ethics . New Thought’s per

SPIRIT AND MIND 29

petu al oscillation between two radically diff erentexplanations of the universe, and without beingaware of the os cillation , turns it into a fiasco.We could easily wink at many minor inconsistencies but not such as this which wrecks thewhole system .

CHAPTER V

THE TWO MINDS

When,in addition to the confusion already de

scribed as characterizing the New Thought viewof the relation of spirit to mind, we further notethat “mind” means two minds , our obfuscationis almost complete. These two minds are the“cons cious” an d the “subconscious .” NewThought here , as elsewhere, lays hold offam iliar conceptions and grafts them into itsown stem— if it has any stem of its own . Itis t-o be expected that the independent oracles ofthe cult would diff er from one another somewhatin their utterances respecting such a shadowyphenomenon as the subliminal self . Nor is

’

it amarvel that any one of them should fail sometimes to ag ree wi th himself in dealing with sucha cryptic subj ect . The followi ng is at leastan honest endeavor to do justi ce to New Thoughton the whole.The subconscious or unconscious or subj ective

mind is a personal and individual aff air like theconscious mind and not u niversal and impersonal as is spirit . It is the sum total of all pastexperiences of conscious thinking, feeling, and

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32 NEW THOUGHT

The influence of the two minds upon each otheris a ll under exact

,invariable law.

Leaving out of account the activi ties of ourreal self

,that is , of universal spirit , we see that

we are living a double mental life . Individualityis constituted not of one mind but of two. Ea chof thes e minds has its own distinctive work andmethod of work. They vi rtually are two persons

,independent of each other in some respects ,

though int im ately relate-d . The two minds arein certain ways pronouncedly diff erent in character .The lower or subconscious mind has its own

leading tendencies of thought, dominant emot ion a l characteristics , and its own volitions . Itis much slower to change its ways than is theupper , nimbler m ind. It is a rank conservative ,and one would suppose that it would often despise its own father (the conscious mind! whenit sees him so quick to accept novelt i es and mustin secret call him weather-cock, turncoat , changeling, traitor, and other pretty names .The conscious mind , on the other hand, often

feels that the subconscious mind is too slow, adrag on the chariot-wheels of progress , a deadweight, a hug e, massive, slow-moving leviathandown there in the deeps of the

“lower selfhood.

Consequently these two minds , creators of eachother though they are, do not always get alongwell together . They are inseparably j oined to

THE TWO MINDS 33

each other by the laws of the universe , but it i slike yoking together the swift zebra and the

slow-paced ox .

Now the existence of this lower, lagging, oc

cult subconscious mind figures largely in NewThought and the conception powerfully influen ces it as a system of ethics and of mental healing. It is held that it is most important tha tthe two minds should harmonize with each other ,but that , as a matter of fact , they are always insome deg ree d iscordant . F or example, the conscious mind, being more active and intelligent ,may accept the therapeutical principles of NewThought . Now since the body is the expressionof the mind, why not by the power of consciousthought enter the promised land at once and beinstantaneously and completely healed ! Simplybecause the body is the expression of the subconscious mind as well as of the conscious . Thesubconscious Jordan rolls between the suff ererand Canaan , and not even the priests of NewThought can divide its waters and pass overdry—shod.

It does not fall to the lot of this book to discuss the existence and nature of the suppositit iou s “subconscious” “subj ective” mind .

But it is pertinent to point out certain things .F irst, it was stated in the last chapter that, ifNew Thought were true, correct psychologicalanalysis of a human being would reveal in himat least two complete sets of mental faculties ,

84 NEW THOUGHT

two intellects , and so forth . Abundant NewThought language concerning the subconsciousmind, we may now state, involves the positionthat in each human being there are at least threecomplete sets of mental faculties , each set at oddswith the o ther two ; and the problem of happiness , success , peace, j oy, power, goodness isreally to make these three potentates , spirit, conscious mind , and subconscious mind into a harm on iou s triumvirate, acting in sweet and lovingconcord and cooperation .

Secondly , in proport ion as the teaching ap

proxim a tes the idea that the subconscious is thesole source of the conscious it is inconsistent tosay that the latter diff ers in character from theformer .Thirdly, in proportion as the conscious mind

is the source or creator of the subconscious mindthe latter cannot be the source of the consciousmind. And in proportion as the subconsciousmind is the source of the conscious mind the latter cannot be the source of the subconsciousmind. New Thought declares more or les s ab

solu tely that the conscious mind creates the subconscious and just as positively declares thatthe subconscious is the creator of the conscious .The reader has an uncomfortable feeling thatthe philosophy is squinting at him and he doesnot know which eye is looking at him . He feels

,

as so often in reading New Thought,that it is

difficult here to divide the light from the dark

THE TWO MINDS 35

ness and that he is much nearer to chaos thanto cosmos .Fourthly , New Thought professes to be thesupreme optimism . To it evolution is only progress and evolution wi ll work until perfection forall is attained. But it gives a highly importantplace to the subconscious mind. Its idea of thesubconscious mind is that it is the sum of allpast mental experiences , the evil as well as ofthe good. The evil, then, must last as long asthe subconscious mind lasts . There is no roomhere for attaining perfection . All the cons ciousmind can hope to do is to change the balance ofgood and evil elements so that the good will increasin g ly preponderate . New Thou g htists evi

dently have never thought this matter through .

Later on it will be shown how the New Thoughtadoption and use of the idea of the subconsciousmind lands New Thought into inextricable difficu lties in ethics and therapeutics .F inally, i f the subconscious or unconscious or

subj ective mind is a reality, it is at present onlyon the borderland of scientific knowledge, it isat the furthermost bound of human thought .It is a very dim region whose light is too dim tobe called even twilight . New Thought speaksof the subconscious s elf and its nature, act ivi

ties , relation to conscious life and to the body,in the most confident fashion conceivable andmakes these “truths” play an important role inits practical ethics and therapeutics . Anyone

36 NEW T HOUGHT

who has any respect at all for modern s cience isrepelled by the positive assertions of NewThought in this little kn own realm and cannotbow submissively to a dogmatism that is dogmatic to the last deg ree.

CHAPTER VI

RELATION OF SPIRIT AND MIND TOMATTER

We have seen that the New Thought con cep

tion of the relation of spirit to mind is badlyblurred. Does it have any self- consistent vi ewas to the relation of spirit to matter !If there is only one being and it is spirit , then

what is matter ! Can we say at all that matter is ! Easily enough

,if we identify it with

spirit . And this is one representation of the case .“Everything in the universe is God” i s flatlyaffirmed, and God is the universal spirit . TheSpiritual and the material are identical, the samething under two names , viewed in two aspects ,existing on two diff erent planes . This positionis of course consistent with the central idea o fNew Thought that the universal spirit is “theAll .”

New Thought, however, does not stop here .It holds that matter is an expression of spirit ,or of being. But matter cannot be at once theexpression of spirit and spirit itself.Turning the kaleidos cope again we get an

other combination . Matter this time is not being, or the expression of being, but the means

37

38 NEW THOUGHT

of the expression of being. Closely allied to thisthird vi ew of matter is the conception that matter is the tool or instrument or even abode ofspirit . In countless sentences matter is spokenof as if it were a real thi ng in and of itself,a thing having its own distinctive essence andproperties and functions , a thing diff erent fromspirit

,created and fashioned and controlled and

used by spirit . Such language shows that forthe time being the writer or speaker has taken aflying leap out of monism and landed squarelyin pluralism . The truth is that New Thoughtis a double—barrelled philosophy that goes off nowthrough one barrel and now through the otherand again throug h both together . A doublebarrelled philosophy, however, i s hopelessly discredited as a philosophy .

The relation of our bodily matter to spiritand mind will be expounded in a later chapter .We shall consider here the relation only o f matter in general to spirit . Matter i s related tospirit directly and indirectly .

In the first place, matter is related directlyto spirit, universal spirit . It is the creation andmanifestation and instrument of spirit . Spirit ,remember, i s one, and is human . No distinction ,indeed, should be made between human and divine,for man is God ; man and God are merely twonames for one thing, two names for the universalspirit . This neck—or-nothing philosophy does nothesitate to declare that your real self is the

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40 NEW THOUGHT

admits of no retrograde movement whatsoever .Nothing appears unless required for progress .There is no atavism

,no backward swirl of the

current. Anything that seems to be degeneration is only a hidden preparation for onwardmovement ; it is itself vi rtually onward movem ent.In the second place, spirit is not only in direct

relation to matter, controlling and mastering itby immediate touch , it deals with it also indirectly through minds . In the case of Jesus thisindirect mastery through a mind was perhapscomplete. All his miracles are accepted as historica l and are cited as evidence of the truth ofNew Thought. He, however , possessed no powerthat is not latent in us all . The real man inhim is identical with the real man in u s . Thatreal man is the omnipotent spirit , the creatorand perfect master of matter. We too couldwalk on the water or multiply loaves and fishesor raise the dead , if we, as minds , were as opento the universal spirit as he was .By the method of New Thought this power

over matter can be cultivated. The omnipotentspirit can gain increasingly powerful controlover matter indirectly through our minds— thatis , if our mi nds will let it . And our minds willlet the omnipotent spirit have its way sooner orlater . Even the intractable mind is under thelaw of evolution . Like a stream

/

in a canyonwhich fumes and frets and foams but is forced

SPIRI T, MIND AND MATTER 4 1

onward by the pressure from behind and by theunyielding side-walls of rock, so the mind is moving onward toward its destined goal of perfectharmony with spirit notwithstanding all its seeming irreg ularities and wilful tossings and wild re

bellions against universal law. (Nevertheless therebellion is regarded as a present fact and thisfact shows that the mind is not under the law ofevolution as New Thought conceives of evolu

tion . !The destiny of each man wi thout exception is

complete mastery over matter . Ultimately weall shall be able to summon the invi s ible materialatoms to take shape in such forms as we desireto appear. B y the sheer power of thought orwill we sha ll be able thus to create materialforms and also to dissolve them into their component particles . Most of us , doubtless , will nothave reached this degree of mastery over matteruntil we have passed through m any more inca rnations . We must climb the ladder rung byrung, and every rung is a life lived in a body .

When at last this power is attained, dea th itselfwill be mastered, for a man will be able to dissolve and recombine his body at will . Of course,it should be remembered that the omnipotentspirit gains this complete power over matter indirectly through minds only in conformi ty touniversal law, and the power once gained will notbe exercised capriciously but in accordance withthe law of the universe. All New Thought

442 NEW THOUGHT

writers are not sponsors for this stupendous conelusion . It is a conclusion, however, which is

not incongruous wi th the premi ses they a ll alikeadvocate.Closely connected with the circle of ideas j ust

described is the “law of attraction .

” Thehomely old proverb is ,

“Birds of a feather flocktogether.” New Thought makes a “scientificapplication of this maxim . By the power ofthought we create our environment . This proposit ion is repeatedly stated without any qu alification . Our material envi ronment is expresslysaid to be our own creation . The modu s oper

an di is as follows : Each thought is a force.This t hought—force emanates from your mind intothe atmosphere, and lives and works incessantly.

It draws to itself or to its thinker ( some confusion here! that which is like unto itself. Itcannot help doing so , for both this thoughtforce and its affinities are under the invariableand ines capable law of attraction . Thoughts ,then , are magnets , and the things you desire arethe steel fil ings drawn to the magn et . Thoughtsare often spoken of in a grossly materiali sticfashion , just as i f they were things , and floatedoff from the mind into the circumambient airand went sailing and searching through the worldto find their affinities and draw them to thethinker.In harmony with thi s conception , think opu

lence and you wi ll become opulent. If ou t of

SPIR I T, MIND AND MATTER 43

employment , think you are getting a positionand the thought will get you the position .

Think thoughts of business success and successis sure .Other and saner New Thought writers dilute

this invariable and un erring law of a ttractionso that it means : If you wish succes s in anyenterprise , center your thought upon the enterprise. I f you do this , you will be more alert toobserve and seize any opportunity or any meanstending toward the desired end. Concentrationof thought, desire, will, plan , effort brings success . A man who is bent on accomplishing something will get in touch wi th persons , things ,sources of inform ation , openings , and so forth ,which the man would not get in touch with if hewere indiff erent , careless , inattentive, and neitherthought or wished anything steadi ly and intensely. To this common sense position anyonewould subscribe with the qualification , however,that many men who do their best neverthelessfail in business . Even this contingency is oc

casion ally recognized as possible by some NewThought teachers , who proceed to make whatpla ce they can for it in their m oralizin g s .

The New Thought method of gaining materialthings is explained by its advocates from anotherstandpoint , altogether distinct from that of thelaw of attraction . It is an absolutely exact andinvariable law that the inner expresses itself bythe outer . A thought or a wi sh or a volition

44 NEW THOUGHT

is invisible. It is bound to become visible. Itcannot help having concrete expression.

Thoughts of poverty necessarily become externalized in actual poverty . Im ag inings ofwealth must result in the possession of wealth .

Castles in the air of necessity become castles onthe ground . We are all creators , and we createthe conditions under which we live. We are um

qu a lifiedly the architects of our own fortunes .It is not surprising that New Thought insists

emphatically on“faith” as essential to success .

A man needs to have egreg i ous confidence andcredulity also thus to fly in the face of experi

ence. It i s no wonder too that New Thoughthas its full share of backsliders , when such mastery over gold and silver and material conditionsis proclaim ed as scientific , infallible, and therefore realizable.I t is strange that the New Thou g htist does

n ot perceive that the law of correspondence between inner and outer is a two—edged sword thatcuts both ways . M ine are not the only thoughtsand desires in this human world. The desires oftwo men may clash . In that case whose “ inner”

wi ll find expression in the “outer .” What is toprevent my business rival from ruining me simply by thinking my ruin ! It is evident that I amnot the only one to determine what my bankaccount shall be or what shall be the m a terial

conditions of my life. “Too many cooks spoilthe broth” i s an old adage and a true one. The

SPIRI T , MIND AND MATTER 45

difficulty is there are too many creators working on the same j ob and too great a chance oftheir coming to blows .Notwithstanding this j ust criticism , the incu l

cation of thes e ideas about attraction and expression has been of untold value to many followersof New Thought. This emphasis upon the innerlife is wholesome, and there is a solid core oftruth in the so-called law of attraction . The reception of these ideas tends to the developmentof the power of concentration and of application ; belief in them leads a man to g ird up theloin s of his mind and run an unfaltering raceand focus his powers steadily upon the aecom

plishment of his purposes. So far forth NewThought, even by a whimsical insistence uponthese notions , may do a man a royal servi ce.But , as in other respects , so in this case NewThought is top-heavy with its taperi ng mastsand enormous bellied sails counterbalanced bylittle ballast within its hull or by li ttle metal onits keel.

CHAPTER VII

THE BODY AS R ELATED TO MINDAND SPIRIT

New Thought teaches that the human body isdirectly related to universal spirit, to consciousmind, and to the subconscious mind. How NewThought coordinates these three relations is abaffling riddle. And when the “forces of Nature” and “invariable law” and “evolution” andsundry other ingredients are all thrown into thiswitches ’ caldron we have a wondrous mixture.Spirit lives on several “planes ,

” one of whichis the physical plane. Physical life is a modeof the universal li fe. The physical powers arethe forces of nature. By “forces of nature” isprobably meant forces of spirit that create andanimate nature. (If

“spirit” is “the A ll,

what is The forces of spirit , whenunobstructed, maintain perfect bodily health .

When they are obstructed and therefore unaable to preserve health , they nevertheles s are

able to rush in as recuperative powers , andby the laws of the universe always dothi s . They are unceasingly at work seekingto streng then and invigorate and perfectthe body. This is necessarily the case, forspirit is good and seeks to impart only that

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48 NEW THOUGHT

Does the reader understand how the consciousmind can have any influence over the body ifthe subconsciousness is thus related to the body !

I t is conceivable that the conscious mind mightinfluence the body indirectly by modifying thesubconscious mind as explained in an earlierchapter. But while New Thought teaches this ,it goes beyond this and affirms a direct power ofconsciousness over bodily life. At this pointin our j ourney night overtakes us again .

Happy the New Thou g htist upon whom the sunlight of knowledge and understanding alwaysshines .

Let us probe a little deeper into this conception of the relation of the body to the two m inds .The body, we are told, is an exact copy of themind. This statement seems innocent but mischief lurks in it. F or there are two widely differen t minds , the con scious and the subconscious .Of whi ch mind is the body a copy, an exact copy !It cannot possibly, at least to the u nenlig ht

ened, be an exact copy of two diverse things atone and the same time.Here is the rub . The conscious mind does not

set the pace for its subconscious mate. Thelatter is the receptacle for all the past experi

emees of the conscious mind,many of which the

latter would gladly forget or repudiate. Thesubconscious m ind, on the oth er hand, unblushin g ly includes as livi ng active forces wi thin itself all the lies , impurities , meannesses , and all

BODY, MIND AND SPIR IT 49

things bad of which the conscious mind has everbeen guilty and of which now it may be heartilyashamed. There is nowhere in the universe sucha foul nest of vile, loathsome, horrid things aslive forever in the subconsciousness of many men ,men whose conscious minds may now be penitentand pure and loving. The subconscious mind isan old r-eprobate whose main tendencies and ideasand emotions and purposes are changed by theconscious mind wi th exceeding slowness . Incountless instances the conscious . mind is likePlato’s white hors e strivi ng upward, while thesubconscious mind is the dark horse draggingthe chariot downward.

Now, of which mind is the body a copy ! New

Thought clearly gives the palm , in this connection , to the subconscious m ind ; for every mentalmovement that takes place in it is imm ediatelyand exactly reg i ster ed in the bodily organism .

Some go so far as to say that each atom of thebody (what is a bodi ly

“atom ” is or containsan indivi dual intelligence and that the subcon

scious mind includes all these in telli g en cies andthat therefore it may truly be described as inwoven in all our physical tissues and materials .And yet the conscious mind, a ccording to NewThought , exerts a mighty influence over thebody . But does it wi eld this power directlyupon the body or indirectly through the agencyof the subconscious self ! Some statements pointone way and other statements the other way.

50 NEW THOUGHT

Thi s matter i s shrouded in obscuri ty by the hazethat envelops New Thought, and no decisive an

swer is to be expected.

Again, i f the body is thus without qu alification or exception under the complete dominionof the mind, and if the mind is often an tag on is

tic to spirit hilt to hilt, how can spirit sustainany relation to body at all ! and how can it influ ence the body so powerfully ! and still more,how can the body be the manifestation and modeo f spirit , yea, spirit itself expressing itself onthe physical plane ! Did the patient reader eversail into a thicker fog bank than this !The light of the su n bein g shut out , does not

New Thought supply us wi th chart and compas s ! Let u s look. Diff erent explanations areoff ered as to the relation of spirit to mind withinthe sphere of bodi ly life. The mind is only theinstrum ent of spirit by which spirit acts on body.

If thi s is true, then body is only in a secondarysense and indirectly an expression or mode ofspirit . Moreover, upon this hypothesi s , the influ ence of mind upon body is really the influenceof spirit upon body. How, then , can the spiritand its forces be arrayed against the mind andits mischievous doings ! F or if mind is mereinstrument , then spirit is the only actor.Again , a second view is that mind opens theportals of the bodily organism to the mightyspirit or shuts the door in its face. Mind is thelockkeeper that opens and closes and adjusts at

BODY, MIND AND SPIRIT 51

will the sluice gates of the physi cal life to admitor to exclude the inrushing tide of recuperativeinfluence from the ocean of spirit. The energyall belongs to spirit , but it is the regal prerogative of the mind to direct that energy and touse it or misuse it .If the mind can do all this , it is no mere in

strument of spirit. Again , if the mind does thisparticular thing, then it is not the real creatorand fashioner of the body. It is a real actor butit acts only as a middleman or agent

,and an

agent whose will is quite di stinct from that ofits employer ; yet an agent , not an instrument .F rom this second vi ew we pass to a third.

Spirit and mind positively contend wi th eachother in the arena of the bodily life. The i gmorant or the perverted and wilful mind inj uresthe body, and the spirit, being beneficen t , rushesin with the forces of nature to repair the damageand oppose further injurious action on the partof the mind. Spirit does this of its own initiative because of its own perfect nature which impels it to promote perfection everywhere . Spiritloves the mind, too , though the latter is stupidand bad. B y the same painful operation thatheals the body spirit chastises and disciplinesthe mind and seeks to mend its manners and itsdisposition. How does this agree wi th either theinstrument theory or the lockkeeper theory ofthe relation of spirit to mind !It is beyond question that New Thought of

52 NEW THOUGHT

ten represents a positive opposition betweenspirit and mind in the sphere of the bodily life ;and on the part of the mind this opposit

i

on oftenamounts to malign hostility to spirit. Yet m indis but an expression or mode of spirit or it isspirit itself mani festing itself on the mentalplane ! It is patent that New Thought escapeshere from the attraction of its monistic lodestone. Such plu ralism is at sword’s point withthe fundam ental notions that All is One and thatspirit is the A ll.To the outsider this looks like civil war ; the

insurrection of the mind against monism , thecrown ed king of New Thought, i s the greatRebellion . It seems to the uninitiated like acounsel of desperation or a forlorn hope when ,in order to escape from the dilemma

,the New

Thou g htist begins to throw dust in your eyesby discoursing upon the mind as only the “partial” expression of the perfect spirit .Another import ant question needs considera

tion . If the body is the physical expression of“the mind,

” how can the body in turn influencethe mind ! If the body is the creation of themind, and the result of a continuous process ofcreation ; if it is only the externalization of themind, created, so to speak, in its image andafter its likeness ; if it exactly tallies with themind, corresponding to it in the minutest details ; i f the body is the same thing on “thephysical plane” that the mind is on

“the mental

BODY, MIND A ND' SPIRIT 53

plane”; if it automatically registers every m o

tion and state of the mind, then how canit be true that the body influences the mind atall !But does New Thought affirm that the body in

flu ences the mind ! Assuredly. True, it is declared that the body is always and completelypassive ; that it is as

“clay in the hands of thepotter” ; that it

“never acts but is always actedupon .

” And this is j ust what the New Thoughtist ought to say if he would be self-consistent .But consistency is not New Thought’s j ewel .In its realm Jove does not merely nod ; he issound asleep most of the time. The body issaid to “tyrannize” over the mind. It canalmost enslave” the mind. It off ers re

sistance to the mind. This res istance wi ll someday, though perhaps not until some distantperiod in some future incarnation , be fullyovercome and mi nd will be completely theactual master ; bu t not yet , not now. Buthow can the body resist the m ind in the slightestmeasure or in any way influence the mind forgood or ill i f the regulative New Thought ideasare true ! The mystery here is forty fathomsdeep.

It should be evident that in the sphere of therelation of body to mind and spirit NewThought has lost its way altogether . No polestar is dis coverable. On this subj ect NewThought’s beautiful poetic prose proves to be

54 NEW THOUGHT

a pretty j argon, a“darkening of counsel by

words without knowledge.”

Evi dently a man should not read New Thoughtbooks unless he is uncomm only hospitable toideas , so much so that he can entertain at oneand the same time and wi thout embarrassmentguests that are irreconcilable to one another.New Thought’s mental healing is professedly

based on ideas revi ewed in this chapter. Surelyone needs to be a born adventurer to burn hisbridges behind him and cross the Rubicon thatdivides New Thought from common sens e, espec ially if the health and life of those dearest tohim is staked on the issue.

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56 NEW THOUGHT

bodily disorder . There is and can be no bodilydisorder or disease unless there i s first mentallack of conformity to law . The external is onlythe expression of the internal . Externalizationis possible only when there is something internalto be externalized . Therefore, no mental disorder

, no physical disorder. The physical,moreover

,matches the mental with scientific pre

ci s ion . In fact , the body is so related to themind that the latter’s disorder is externalized inthe body inevitably , precisely , automati cally .

Disease is Nemesis and always demands the exactpound of flesh , no less , no more.Ag ain , d iseas e is o ften regarded in New

Thought, not as disorder , but rather as the symptom of disorder . This is a radically diff erentview. In the former view that disease is thebodily expression or externalization of mentaldisorder , disease emanates from the mind. It isonly a physi cal duplicate of a mental state. Itis the visible

,automatic registering by means of

flesh and blood of the events taking place in themind . But this second view is very diff erent .As a symptom of physical disorder, diseasecomes not from the mind but from the universal spirit . Typhoid fever, for instance,i s produced by spirit . (New Thought laug hs“germs ,

” “microbes ,“bacteria” out of

court . ! It is the effort of the universal , loving spirit to bless the body . Mind has produced disorder in the body. Spirit now comes

BODY, MINI ! ! AND SPIRIT 57

to restore order and repair the damage . Thefever is the result of the inrush of the spirit

’srecuperative power ; it is the energizing of thebeneficen t forces of nature. Consequently fever,pain , sleeplessness and so forth are to be welcom ed ; they are to be “loved” ; they are to be“harmonized with” or “vibrated with .

” In vibra tin g with delirium tremens you are vibratingth good spirit. Only the unenlightened wouldthink so evilly of delirium tremens as to call it“the horrors . True, it seems to be an enemy,but it is really a friend, and if you do not resistit or start back in aff right from it , it will provea friend indeed.

These two views of disease are not compoundedof the same clay. It is hardly necessary topoint out the obvious fact that if all bodily condit ion s are the exact express ion of the mind, theycannot be the result of the spirit’s working uponthe body and in so doing acting against mind ;acting to recover the body from injuries inflicted upon it by the mind . In the one case, disease is disorder, in the other cas e it is the resultof the spirit’s endeavor to banish disorder. Inthe one case it is not to be welcomed ; in the othercase it is to be welcomed, loved,

“vibrated with .

”

The waning light grows dimmer still when weare informed that disease never comes unless themind “invites” it. This invitation m ay be extended by the conscious mind or by the subconscious mind. I t may be a recent invitation

58 NEW THOUGHT

or one g iven a quarter of a century ago or one

g iven during a preceding incarnation a thousand years ago . A n invi tation once given cannever be withdrawn and must be accepted. Thisis law and it is law which cannot be broken , noteven by that expert criminal called the mind.

All di sease is invited. It all has a mentalorig in . The body cannot initiate a disease.The body is but clay, passive clay, in the handsof the potter-mind . It never acts , but is alwaysacted upon . The disease always exists first inthe mind and only afterwards in the body.

This view of disease is quite congruous withthe first vi ew presented above, to Wi t , bodily disease is the bodily expression or externalizationof mental disorder . Indeed , this

“invitation”

idea which seems to be a third view of diseaseis really only another way of describing the firstview . Invite” is only a figure of speech .

A little reflection will show that this “invitation” language does not keep step at all wi th thelanguage that describes diseas e as symptomatic ofbodily disorder. F ever, pain , sleeplessness andso forth , whether themselves diseases or sym ptomsof disease , are said to be results of the workingof curative forces . Then it is curative forces ,the lawbreaking mind has “invi ted,

” not physical injury and di sorder ! When , however, theNew Thou g ht ist is not thinking about physicalills as something to be vibrated with and lovedbecause they are the eff ects of the inworking of

BODY, MIND AND SPIRIT 59

the helping, healing spirit, but instead is thinking of physical ills as having been invi ted bythe mind and as bound to come because they havebeen thus invited, he is thinki ng of physical illsas genuin ely ills , evils , coming as an inescapableresult upon the wrongdoer. These two viewsof disease are utterly contrary in the absoluteform in which New Thought propounds them .

One may well be chary of entrusting the issuesof life and death to people who are thus en

tangled in their ideas about disease, and arenot even aware of the tangle .And yet we cordi ally acknowledge that some

of the New Thought pronouncem ents concerningdisease contain valuable truth to which the wiseman will give good heed. The mind does tosome extent express itself in one’s physical condition . It is important to realize this and toact accordingly. New Thought is doing goodservice by its insistence upon this fact . It would ,however, do far better servi ce if it did not soexaggerate and distort the fact that to acceptits presentation of the fact in toto we must surrender common sense and violate logical consistency .

Then , aga in , it is quit-e true that , whateverdistinction between disease and symptoms of disease the medical authorities might consider valid,many of the disagreeable and painful a ccompan iments of illness are connected with the processwhich we ordinary people describe as “Nature’s

60 NEW THOUGHT

eff ort to throw off the disease.” A clear perception of this fact will help any reasonable man tobe patient and even to congratulate himself uponthe presence of this unpleasant evi dence that lifeis making a winning fight in the contest with disinteg ration and death . A realization of thiswill be conducive to peace and rest and hopeand cheerfulness and j oy, and these mental condition s wi ll in turn accelerate the healing process .New Thought tries to set forth these indubitablefacts by its high-flown talk about vibration andabout loving your enemies and thereby chang ingthem into friends , and about the universal spirit,the “

A ll—Good,” working under invariable

,

lawfor your recuperation, and so forth . And NewThought has been a blessing to many people whoperhaps would never have com-e to realize thesethings if presented to them soberly as a simplecup of cold water but who become intoxicatedwith these truths when off ered to them in theguise of eff ervescent champagne .Again , the retributive nature of a good deal

of physical disorder and the fact of personalresponsibility for many of our pains and achesand ills and the important idea that physical condit ion s are not the result of caprice or arbitrariness but of the working of a strict principle ofcausation— these great and important conceptions constitute the invaluable kernel of truth inthat bizarre notion of “inviting” diseases . Som epeople perhaps can learn these ideas best when

BODY, MIND AND SPIRIT 61

they are conveyed in the New Thought fashion.

To this extent the cult does good and we areglad for the servi ce thus rendered.

We now come to the subj ect of accidents . Ifbodily conditions are without exception only the

expression of preceding mental conditions ; ifevery state of physical disorder ha s been “in

vited” and invited by the suff erer himself, how isan accident possible ! New Thought is consistent sometimes and is a s thorough-g oing in itsoccasional consistency as it ever is in its in consistency. And New Thought replies to the abovequestion by averring boldly : There are no accidents . Accidents are impossible. If you slipon the ice in the dark going down hill and break

your leg, it is not an accident . This is not aj oke

,gentle reader, any more than the injury is .

There are no j okes in New Thought ; it is destitute of humor, that is , so far as the New Thoughtist ’s own perception goes . No , it is not an accident . Law is universal and this has occurredunder law. Very good. You cannot escapefrom that net , can you !But ( and this is what takes the wind out of

your sails and brings you down on your beamends ! you invited this occurrence and it wouldnot have taken place if you had not invited it .But when did you invi te this fracture of your leg !Of course you did not do so consciously ; at leastnot during your present incarnation . Yourpresent conscious mind is fully acquitted of play

62 NEW THOUGHT

ing you such a mean trick Then it must be thatlow fellow

,the subconscious mind, that invi ted

your down fall. But don’t be too hard on yoursubconscious self. F or it i s only a compositeof what was once conscious experience. Indeed !

Then sometime or other I must have consciouslyinvited this fracture. But I know I n ever didsuch an incredibly foolish thing. Well, we maysafely admit that in your present incarnationyou are much too intelligent to be gu ilty of suchfolly . But how do you know bu t

'

that in somepreceding incarnat ion you were big enough foolconsciously to invi te yourself to break your ownleg ! Humiliating as it is , that was the casebeyond all question. Proof ! Proof abundant,at least to the enlightened. Your leg is broken .

A broken leg is a physical condi tion . Physicalcondit ions arise only as a result of being invitedby the mi nd. All subconsciousness was onceconscious . Ergo, you consciously invited yourself to break your leg. And if you did not extend the kind invi tation in this life, then youmust have done so in a preceding life, and theinvitation was transmitted secretly in the sphereof the subconscious . Could mathematics do better in the way of linked logic long drawn out !Is it not plain that accidents are impossible !We see now another wonderful truth that u p tothis point has modestly kept itself hidden . Thesubconscious mind is the sum total of all the pastconscious experiences not only of this li fe

,but of

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64 NEW THOUGHT

asserted that there is nothing in New Thoughtout of harmony with surgery properly practiced .

In the first place , it is true that no one wouldexpect a surgeon to mend a broken bone apartfrom the use of material means . F or the surgeon professes to use his

“

hands as well as hismind . All his beliefs , moreover, accord with thismethod.

In the second place, is it true that NewThought principles are in harmony with surgery ! N ew Thought asserts that a g i ven physical condition is only the externalization of the pat ien t ’s mind . This is expressly said to be trueof the fra cture itself. Why then is it not trueof the coming together a nd the uniting of thetwo broken ends of the bone ! Indeed, i f any

physical condition is only the automatic, inevitable expression of mental states , what possible room is there for the mechanical manipulation of the bone, and that by the hands of another

person ! The fundamental trouble is not physical a t all ; it is mental . Before there could be aphysical fracture, there had to be a mental one.The only way to reduce the physical fracture isfirst to reduce the mental one. That once done,surgery would be quite superfluous , because therestored mental order must externalize itself inrestored physical order. The truth is that theNew Thought doctrine of “expression” and “in

vitat ion” log i cally not only makes the surgeon’s

work unnecessary but even impossible . F or the

BODY, MIND AND SPIRIT 65

surgeon knows nothing about a broken leg as amental state, and consequently he does not ad

dress him self to the mind. He deals with abone or at least thinks he does . But his laboris all in vain . He suff ers under a singular delu sion . The bone simply cannot be mended untilthe mind is first mended. A nd, poor ignoramus ,he knows nothing about mending minds ; howthen can he mend a broken bone ! But surgeonsdo mend broken bones ; and the N ew Thou g ht ist

should examine again his fundamental principlesto s ee where the error is .Although New Thought affirms that cleanand proper surgery is in harmony with its principles , yet it does not regard surgery as theideal method. It is necessary at present onlybecause of the hardness of our hearts , even ofNew Thought hearts . The pres-ent need of surgery is due to the fact that, unlike that

“su

preme idealist,” Jesus , the present New Thought

ists , teachers and disciples alike , have not ap

proached the ideal closely enough to be able touse the requisite deg ree of the power of the“real man” within . Progress in the acquisitionof this power is gradual . We are powerfullya ff ected by the materialisti c thoug ht so rifeto—day . The subconscious minds of NewThou g ht ists themselves are slow to accept NewThought in all its length and breadth.

But the world is movi ng on . All men areprogr essing under the inescapable law of evolu

66 NEW THOUGHT

tion . The momentum is increas ing and is resistless . Consequently if you should break your legseveral aeons hence after you have passedthrough a dozen or s core more of incarnationsand all the time should move forward steadilyalong the path of New Thought, it is to be hopedthat then you would be able to dispense with allmechanical and material surgery. Indeed, surgery will necessarily be obsolete in a time whenyou will be able to dissolve and re—create yourentire body or any part of it by the sheer powerof thought. Such a power would certainly putthe surgeon out of busines s .

CHAPTER IX

PRINCIPLES AND METHOD S OF

N ew Thought practices two main methods ofhealing. They may be called the health-affirm a

tion method and the harmony-with-diseasemethod. These two methods of healing are quiteincompatible with each other. They cannot beunit-ed. They can, of course, be practiced al

ternately and the patient can thereby receivewhatever benefit each method may be able to impart .Let us first examine the health-affirm at ion

method of healing. The New Thought believer,i f sick, gives himself some such mental

“treatment” as follows . Or, a N ew Thought healerwill give it in substance to him . The phrasingcan be varied ad infin i tum so long as the substan tia l contents remain the same.I am well. The tides of life, healthful life ,

perfect life are coursing through me, strengthening, invigorating, uplifting me . The reality inme is spirit, infinite spirit, perfect spirit . Thespirit of wholeness , the spirit that is full ofhealth , infinite in vigor and power is in m e,

dominates me, controls me. Life , only life,67

68 NEW THOUGHT

abundant life,alm ighty divi ne life, fills me ; it

fills me to overflowing. Life pulsates in my arteries ; it feeds and tones up my nerves ; it re

pairs the tissues . Life , perfect life thrills everycell ; it tingles in every a tom . I feel the thrilland ting le of life in every particle of my body .

I am well ; I am healthy ; I am strong. I am fullof vitality. Lif e is at the flood . Life in me isalways at the flood. And so forth .

Many a man has found this to be an efficacioustreatment .” It is necessary to repeat thetreatm ent frequently . One should repeat it frequently enough to create an atmosphere of thatkind for the mind. These ideas should be heldoften enough and intensely enough to becomethe dominant note in the man’s life. Indeed,the treatment must be continued for weeks ,months , and in some cases years before healthwill be completely restored.

This method is based on the idea that the outerand visible is only the symbol of the inner andinvisible The universal law is that the innershall find expression . F ill your mind with anythoughts , true or false, good or bad, and thosethoughts will become externalized ; they cannot escape concrete em bodiment . Consequentlythoughts of health, im aginings of health, desiresfor health, and the will to be well, cannot helpresulting in actual health . Particularly thepositive affirmation that I am well must find expression sooner or later in bodily perfection .

PRINCIPLES OF HEALING 69

But i f I am not well ; i f actual ill health andthe purpose to become well is the very reasonwhy I keep saying “I am well” ; i f the fact thatI look forward to the bodily expression of thethought “I am well” as a future experience showsthat I admi t bodily ill health to be my present

state, then am I not a liar when I say“I am

well” ! New Thought answers , No . Thism ethod of healing is j ustified by the followingtruths : Universal spirit is perfect in every re

spect . That which is perfect is not diseased ;there is no disorder in its life. Pain , being either

physical or men tal, cannot be felt by spirit .Now the “real man in you is universal spirit .Therefore you do not suff er pain . You are notdiseased . You cannot be ill . You are perfectlywell, and have the right to say so. You arem erely reminding yourself and impressing uponyour consciousness as vividly as possible the central truth about yourself, namely, that the realman in you is God, the omnipotent and perfectspirit , the only being in existence. You are nottelling a lie to yourself , you are not acting thehypocrite. You are telling yourself the truth ,the truth the unenlightened do not know, thetruth which is the glory of the New Thoughtphilosophy .

The chief secret of health , then , is this so

called “consciousness of God,” this living the

real” life.But surely New Thoug ht jug gles with words .

70 NEW THOUGHT

The infin itely perfect spirit is the “real” man“in” you ; therefore, the claim is , whatever is

true of the real man is true of you . The realman is well ; therefore, you are well . Now thisis a tremendous falla cy and altogether vi tiatesthe professed j ustification of the health-affirm a

tion method of healing. F or“you” and “the

rea l man in you” are n ot usually identical inNew Thought . The word “

you is a p ersonalpronoun and distinguishes you from others . Itdenotes individuality. But the “real man isneither personal nor indivi dual ; it is instead im

personal and universal. The identification of

you” with the “real man is illegitimately re

sorted to only to meet a special need.

Another fallacy is the implicit denial of thesickness . The real man is not sick, and you arenot sick. Bu t if neither one is sick, who or whatis sick ! If no one is sick, then what is all thepother about ! Why take a “treatment !” Whyresort to the healer ! The fact that a man um

derg oes the treatment and books are written forhis direction and en couragement is a virtualacknowledgment that someone is sick. Thetreatment and the alleged justification of thetreatment is a denial that he is sick. It is thus a“Yea and Nay” scheme. It affirms and deniesone and the same thing.

One can understand how a sick man mightconstantly say to himself : I am sick and needhealing and strength . I do now open up my

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72 NEW THOUGHT

definition of the subconscious mind and according to their own solemn warnings based uponthat definition , the subconsciousness is an Augeanstable that can never be wholly cleansed. F or

its sickly , evil ideas and emotions can never beousted. Once harbored they abide forever, orat least as long as the mind abides . A nd sincethe body is sa id to register and expres s the subconscious mind with finest preci sion, is not thebody in a hopelessly evil case !Any one of these three fallacies is important

enough to condemn the principles on which thehealth-affirm ation method of healing is based.

This method, nevertheless , is not entirely errone

ous . It is , however, an illustration of the NewThought practice of putting truths out of focusso that true perspective and proper proportionsare destroyed.

In closing this discussion of the health—affirmation treatment of disease let us consider thelength of the healing process . A s already stated,the “treatments” must in some cases be repeatedthrough many years . There are several gravereasons for this . F irst, it is the conscious mindthat makes the affirmation . Now, although theconscious mind has a great influence over thebody, it is the subconscious mind chiefly thatregulates the physical li fe. Consequently thebody will not be healthy until the affirmationsof health become dom inant in the subconsciousness . It is characteristic, however, for the lower

PRINCIPLES OF HEALING 73

self to change slowly. Therefore, in many in

stances the body will not change to health

rapidly.

Secondly,your body is now expressing on the

physical plane a great deal of your past badnessand error in the mental plane . It will take timeto counterbalance this by new thoughts of healthand power . (As we have already seen no newthoughts of health can, according to NewThought , annihilate old thoughts of sickness ,and these “sickly” ideas must continue to beexpressed by the body. !Thirdly, our environment is a materialistic

one,crowded with errors as to the body and as

to health and di sease. We have to make, eachone for himself, a new thought environment ; wehave to become at home in a new world of ideas ,New Thought ideas . But this cannot be done ina m oment . It takes time. Eternal vig ilancealso is the price of our liberty to be perfectlywell .F ourthly, the healing of the body is vitallyconnected with the transformation of the

'

whole

man , including his moral nature. It is useless ,according to some New Thought writers , to tryto heal the body apart from endeavor to purifythe soul . F or physical disorder results not onlyfrom unwi sely thinking thoughts of physicalweakness and disease. It results also from im

pure, covetous , proud, j ealous , selfish, malignantthoughts and feelings . Bodily health is the

74 NEW THOUGHT

physical expression and counterpart of morality ,love, goodness . Moral transformation , however,is usually a slow process . Restoration to health,therefore, is equally slo-w.

This emphasis on the ethical is praiseworthy .

But alas ! once more truth is distorted almost outof all recogn it ion of its fair lineaments . Is ittrue that men in good health are necessarilysaints and sick m en are necessarily sinners !What about the mighty men of valor who havebeen ru ffians , pirates , thieves , and blacklegs !What shall we say of men and women who havebeen truly salt of the earth and yet have passedtheir days in weakness and pain ! “Who sinned,this man , or his parents , that he should be bornblind ! J esus answered, N either did this mansin , nor his parents ; but that the works of Godshould be made manifest in him . (John 9 : 2F or such reasons as the above the New

Thought dis ciple sometimes makes slow progresstoward health , and has to persevere for a longtime in the face of seeming failure. But let himremember that healing takes place in the mindbefore it appears in the body ; and that if he istaking faithfully the mental treatment prescribedabove and repeatedly immerses himself in theGod-consciousness , his subconscious mind issurely changing. Let him remember also thatsince the inner must find expression in the outerand the outer is only the externalization of theinner, and since the law is absolutely invariable,

PRINCIPLES OF HEALING 75

his body simply cannot help being healed incourse of time ( i f he lives long Faithis essential, confidence is the tali sman , perseverance is the secret of success . F or without faiththe affirmation that I am well is no affirmation , itis merely a form of words . To have power overthe subconscious mind t he conscious mind’s af

firm ation must be a real one. By the law of therelation of the conscious to the subconscious mindthe intenser the former’s belief in an idea the moredeeply and powerfully will that idea impress andchange the latter . F aith , therefore, strongfaith has a large place in New Thought healing.

It is not usually called faith. The New Thoughtvotary does no t believe ; he ! N OWS.

CHAPTER X

PRINCIPLES AND METHODS OFHEALING

(Continued!

The other main method of healing in New

Thought is that of harmonizing with the diseaseand the pain . The word “

vibrate” is one of theshibboleths by whi ch a New Thou g htist betrayshis connection wi th the cult. We are directed tovibrate” wi th the fever or the heada che or theinsomnia.When sickn ess overtakes you, do not resist it.

This prin ciple or law of nonresistance is one ofthe leading features of New Thoug ht thera

peu tics. We must not resist a disease becauseres istance produces “ friction .

” “Friction” is achief bugaboo in New Thought. It is as destructive as grit in a delicate mechanism. R e

sistan ce to diseas e is useless . I n fact it is worsethan useless . It tightens the g rip of the diseaseupon you . The more you struggle the deeperthe fangs sink into your shrinking organism .

Whatever you do, do not resist, do not striveagainst the di sease that seems to threaten yourlife.F or disease will cease to threaten you with

death if you vibrate with it. You can change its76

PRINCIPLES OF HEALING 77

frowning aspect into one of benig nancy . Smileupon it and it will smi le upon you. Does notJesus say

,

“Love your enemies” ! Disease is anenemy or seems to be such. Love thi s enemy andit cannot help becoming your friend. This isthe law of the universe and cannot be broken.

Nothing can harm you but you yourself. Noharm can come to you from the disease if youlove it. If you do not love it , harm will come ,and you will be to blame. In this matter as inall others you are the only possible sourceof harm to yourself.Therefore regard the fever as your friend. It

is your friend, though disg uised as an enemy.

It has a mission . That mission is to teach youa needed lesson ; it is to discipline you ; it is toheal you . The representations of this missionare varied, but in any ca se the purpose of thedisease is kindly ; it intends only good to you .

It is your friend. Welcome this friend, rej oicein its presence, embrace the s ickn ess , vibratewith i t, harmonize with it, yes , love it.By welcoming physical ills is meant in part

that you should g i ve them amplest opportunity .

Give the fever the freedom of the city. Givethe cancer carte blam e

-he. Desire tuberculosis todo its perfect work. Place no obstacle in theway of cerebro-spinal meningitis . One wouldnaturally think that to increase the scope andpower of your dear friend’s beneficen t ministrywithin your physical organism would be to gain

78 NEW THOUGHT

a greater blessing. The curious thing, however,i s that you must be careful not to in crease thepower of this friend . Let him go to the leng thof his rope

,but above all things do not lengthen

the rope a single inch . R esistance g ives greaterpower to the diseas e ; therefore do not resist . Ifdiphtheria is simply the eff ect of recuperativeforces

,one would think that the increase of its

virulence would indicate an increase of the powerand efficiency of the recuperative forces . Thesimple fact is that the increase of the diphtheriameans the increased eff ectiveness of the destru ctive forces . The New Thou g htist is forced torecognize the exist ence of destructive forces .His explanation is that diphtheria left to itselfor rather “vibrated wit is only recuperative,bu t the instant you resist it , it becomes destru ctive, the friend is changed to an enemy. F orcesthat are not the forces of the mind destroy thebody because the mind resists their loving work.

This attitude to disease is based upon the ideathat sickness is the result of the operation of universal spirit working directly upon the body .

In some way or other the body is in a damagedcondi tion and needs repair and renovation .

Spirit is the “Eternal Wholeness” and by itsvery nature seeks to promote wholeness and perfection everywhere . Spirit also is loving andseeks to promote that which is good . Perfecthealth is wholeness on the physical plane ; it is agood thing. Consequently the loving spirit

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80 NEW THOUGHT

lessness or what not , are said to be the result of“friction.

” There can be no healing, at leastusually

,without friction. But New Thought

warns us against friction . It is deadly . Wemust not resist disease because resistance produces friction, and restoration to health is difficult proportionately to the amount of fri ction.

Here is something of a riddle.Note further that the idea of resistance is

very prominent. Who res ists ! You resist .“You in this case means your mind. Positiveresi stance, then , between spirit and mind is afact according to New Thought. How then canspirit be

“the A ll” and mind be simply spiritexpressing itself or the expression of spirit or themeans of the expression of spirit ! Will the ideathat mind is “the partial expression” of spiritabolish the difficulty and harmonize this actualantagonism between spirit and mind with thefundamental monism of New Thought !It ought to be self-evi dent that a man cannot

g ive himself this harmonizing—with-disease treatment without thinking about the disease. Howcan a man vibrate with appendicitis , embrace it ,love it

,without fixing his mind upon it ! But

according to the health-affirm ation method thisis j ust what a man must not do. He must notthink of the di sease ; he must only affirm health .

Contrary to Christian Science, which in manyrespects is identical with New Thought, he mustnot even deny the existence of disease, lest in so

PRINCIPLES OF HEALING 8]

doing the bare idea of the disease be presented tohis mind.

The New Thought theory of nonres istance is ,if not true, perhaps second cousin to the truth .

To take away every vestige of fear and replaceanxiety and dread and alarm with confidence,serenity

,hope

,and j oy is to do a great deal for

a sick man . It is of great therapeuti cal valueto calm the min d, to create repose, to inspireassurance that what is is for the best , that oneis on the upward road, and that the very thingwhich many dread will prove a blessing.

All this is possible to intelligent Christian faithand has been actualized in the experience of

millions of Christian believers . In order to re

ceive this help in sickn ess one does not need toworship at any shrine of pantheism like NewThought . He does not n eed to accept the paradcx that we are to love disease in order toget rid of it, that we are to embrace loathsomeleprosy that it may leave us and leave us , wefondly hope, forever ; going to the full length ofabsurdity by rej ecting medicine and belittlingsanitation because the use of remedi es and careis resistance to disease, converting it from afriend into a foe !F inally, New Thought

’s relation to health isnot only restorer but preserver. Indeed, intheory its chief value to the physical life consists not in the cure of disease but in its prevention. The affirmation of health is said to be j ust

82 NEW THOUGHT

a s efficacious in the preservation of health as inits restoration. A nd this position is thoroughlyconsistent. According to New Thought thepower to preserve or restore health issues from anew consciousness , the

“God—consciousness Itstherapeutics is merely a by-product of a processthat aff ects a man’s whole life. The aim of New

Thought, like Christianity, is to transform in

dividual men and by so doing to build up a newhumanity. It seeks to create in us a new consciou sn ess incomparably wiser, purer, stronger,happier than the ordinary human consciousnessof to—day . This new consciousness is necessarilyaccompanied by bodily perfection ; and, if true toits principles , N ew Thought would never waverfrom the position that bodily health cannot beproduced or preserved apart from the mental ,soc ial, and moral health of the individual concerned . Of course this last position is a re

du ctz'

o ad absu rdum .

CHAPTER XI

DRUGS , HYGIENE , AND DIET

It is easy to see why New Thought deprecatesthe use of medicine, though, as will appear in thepresent exposition , from one of its standpoints ,the use of the m a teria, median i s reasonable andhelpful . According to the health-affirm a tion

idea drugs are useless . How can a man affirmperfect health, and at the same time pour drugsdown his throat ! If I am well, I do not needmedicine. F urther, to use drugs would be an ad

mission that I am ill and so would be contrary tothe affirmation of health and would nullify thatmethod of healing.

The use of drugs is also diametrically opposedto the harmonizing-with—disease method of healing. How can a man welcome disease and atthe same time fire pills at it ! How can a manlove a sickness and yet seek to banish it ! Howcan a man “vibrate” with an illness and yet tryto get rid of it by the use of “poison” ! The useof drugs is a wanton insult to one’s benefactor .It is resistance ; and res istance only serves tochange a friend into an enemy and makes thedisease or its symptoms destructive instead ofcurative.Drugs are useless also because of the power of

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thought . Thought creates,moulds , and controls

the body to the last detail and degree. This istrue of the bodies of all men, and not only of thebodies of New Thought disciples . If thoughthas the whole field to itself, medi cine i s an interloper , and, further , an interloper that can ac

complish nothing. At least, its trespassing iseff ective only so far as thoughts arise in connection with the use of the drug and do their workon the body.

The last sentence suggests a solid basis in NewThought itself for the use of drugs . The bodyis the expression of the mind and its ideas . Ifit is my fixed idea that by taking the pills Ishall be cured, that involves the idea that I amgoing to be cured. This idea of cure cannothelp becoming externalized or expressed in anactual bodily cure. So long as I have the ideathat healing is coming and is certain, the healing will take place. If the use of drugs is , inmy ignorance , prerequisite to this confidence,then it is reasonable to use them even from theNew Thought standpoint . And we find thatsometimes New Thought theorists do suff er theu se of medicine . This suff erance of a superst ition is said to be only a concession to the newrecruit or the weak brother who as yet can onlytoddle on the high plane of New Thought andstill gasps for breath in its rarefied atmosphere .But note that while the Use of drugs is quitecompatible with the New Thought teaching con

DRUGS , HYGIENE , AND DIET 85

cerning the complete and exclusive power of themind over the body, it will no more mix with thehealth-affirmation and the harmon izing-with-dis

ease methods of healing than oil will mix withwater.A nd what would the reader suppose NewThought’s estimate of hygiene to be ! If NewThought principles are correct and if logic hasany rights at all, then sanitation i s in the sameclass with the u se of drugs . There is no needto repeat the above course of reason ing ; it ap

plies equally well to sanitary science. Recallalso what was said in an earlier chapter concerning surgery. Most New Thought writersare not audacious enough to flout sanitation .

The “materialistic spirit of the age has thatmuch hold on them . They say : Hyg iene is desirable, though the power of thought is the primething. This is the New Thought flag at nearlyhalf-mast. Why lower the proud colors so far !Why should the claim that the power of thoughtis all-su fficient and indeed is the only existentpower yield an inch to the claims of sanitation !Such yi elding can only be by way of concessionto our ig norance. Like the concession to usedrugs , this concession also nu llifies the idea ofour infinite perfection which is the nerve andsinew of the health-affirm at ion method of healingand of preserving health.

Diet is also a matter of professedly little importance to the New Thou g htist . It might be

86 NEW THOUGHT

hinted here that,according to the New Thought

idea that the only power exercised over the bodyis mental , it is passing strange that food is necessary at all . It will not be necessary in thegolden age when thought will be able to createand dissolve the body. At present , for some inexplicable reason , we must eat . New Thoughtwe see has still a sphinx or two . But does itmake any diff erence what we eat ! Each NewThought writer is a free lance. Some say, forexample

, ca t no flesh . Others enunciate the welcome doctrine : What a m an eats should be

g overn ed by his individual taste . Some rashlycross the boundary of New Thought and standing on our vulgar, materialistic soil warn usagainst “overloading the stomach with rich foodwhich clogs the system and produces disease.This is a fearful j olt for the haples s uninitiatedreader . Not that he craves the rich food ; butto see a New Thou g ht ist fall right off his ethereal “subj ective plane” and strike our earth—level“obj ective plane with such a sickening thudall the spectator’s strength goes from him and heis left as limp as a rag. But his spirit is re

vived almost at once by being assured by thesame writer that digestion is chiefly a matter ofmental states . Complete recovery is retarded,however, by reading a statement by anotherauthor to whom thought-power has absolutely nolimit that it is difficult to cure malaria in theswamps where it was contracted. Then again

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CHAPTER XII

PR ACTICAL DEFECTS INNEW THOUGHT THE R APEUTICS

When New Thought promises a man the restora tion or preservation of his health by the sheerpower of thought, it assum es that a man cancontrol his own mind . This assumption is alsoat the bottom of its doctrine of “invitation .

”

If a man is well, he is sure to become sick, i fhis mind consciously or subconsciously (and thesubconscious was once the conscious !

“invites”

disease. And how is disease invited ! B y thinking thoughts of sickn es s and weakness and weariness and pain, and by harboring feelings ofpride , envy , covetousness , hatred, lust , impatience, uncharitableness , or selfishness in any form,

and by willing anything that is wrong, wrongin the slightest degree. What control over hismind, therefore, a man must have to prevent disease from invading his body ! If a man on theother hand is s ick, how can he be cured ! Hemust not only keep all these evil thoughts , feelings , and volitions out of his mind, he mustpositively think correct and noble ideas , cherishmoral and benevolent feelings , even toward themost spiteful enemies and the most degraded men ,and will only that which is right . What a con

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PRACTICAL DEF ECTS 89

trol of his own m ind a man must have to healhimself of his disease ! No wonder that NewThought ha s its fair proportion of backsliders .

This assumption that a man can control hisown mind completely, or nearly so, is a fatal flawin New Thought therapeutics . F or it is becoming ever clearer to psychologists and alienists andto thoughtful people in general that it is not so

easy for a man to control his mind as many persons suppose . In fact , j ust how best to gain control over our own minds is an extremely difficultproblem . Experience is crammed with evidenceof its difficulty . Temptation, moral struggle, inward conflict , aspiration toward ideals hard toattain , mean nothing unless they mean that menare far from possessing perfect control of theirown minds .N ew Thought itself has its own ways of ad

mitting this truth . The conscious mind is oftenperverse, wilful , wicked, malignant , a rebelagainst the “real man ,

” the spirit, not submittingto the guidance and control of the spirit as itshould . Again , the subconscious mind is oftenopposed to the conscious mind and to spirit , andin so far as it is evil, as it always is in somedegree, it is at variance with the spirit which isAll—Good” and also wi th the conscious mindwhen the latter reforms .F urthermore, the conscious mind in many instances becomes discouraged in its attempts atmental healing, and backslides all too readily

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in consequence,and New Thought books contain

numerous passages exhorting the conscious mindto persevere in the good way ; for unless the conscious mind is persistent and thorough, the bodycannot be healed . This is a clear recog nitionthat it is extremely difficult for a man to controlhis own mind.

The New Thought emphasis upon the relationof sin to disease and righteousness to health istremendous . It is one—sided but it is mighty.

This emphasis strikes a responsive chord in theChristian heart . It is a pity that New Thoughtadulterates the truth with so much error, andthus promises far more than it can fulfill andbrings the truth itself into disrepute by reasonof the error and the failure. We must condemnthe New Thought therapeutics as impracticableand unjustifiable when , on the ground that aman can control his body by controlling his mind ,the use of medicine and the aid of the physicianis opposed and sanitation and dietetics are relegated to a very subordinate and obscure placein order to emphasize and glorify mental influence upon the body.

One need hardly proceed further in criticism ofNew Thought therapeutics . If a man cannotcontrol hi s mind sufficiently, or if his acquisitionof this power is slow, so slow that in most casesit will not be complete until some future incarnation , then the alluring promises of New Thought,j ust as in the case of Christian Science, are like

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ent time,for example, in your own case ! New

Thought itself confesses that this complete m as

tery over matter is only an ideal, not an actuality. How then can I be sure that my mindcan gain such a degree of control over my bodyas to ej ect disease , and stop pain , and preventdisease and pain for the future !We are told that we can be sure of the result.

We are assured also that when a man enters uponthe path of New Thought , he at once begins tomake progress toward the complete mastery ofmatter by the power of his mind. The practicaldifficulty inheres in this very idea of progress .F or if it is a matter of progress and not of instan tan eou s reception or achievem ent, the verycriti cal question is , How long will the progresstake ! Will the length and ease of the pilgrimage he the same for all persons ! When disappointed devotees complain that they do not

g et the results hoped for, the best that NewThought can do is to assure them that the resu lts will appear if only the patients perseverelong enough . But the legitimate question stillremains , Will my mind acquire suflicient powerover my body to end the disease before the disease ends me ! It is a life and death race betweenmy progress in thought-power and the progresso f the disease. New Thought g ives no satisfactory answer to this question .

The problematical nature of the case becomesstill more obvious when We remember that the

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mind which according to New Thought especially controls the body is the subconscious mind.

The subconscious mind is the everlasting sink ofall one’s past evil as well as the repository of allone’s past good (everlasting sink, that is , if themind is everlasting! . If this subconscious mindwhich is evi l as well as good is the mind that es

pecially controls my body and if disease resultsonly from error and evil in the mind, how is itpossible for me ever to become perfectly healthy !This was pointed out earlier, but it will bearrepetition . Surely New Thought, instead of being, as it claims , an angel of hope to a diseasedhumanity , is a messenger of doom . It boasts ofits optimism while unaware of its pessimism .

As to the problem of the extent of the influence of the mind over the body , that is a questionfor physicians , and physiologists , and psychologists , and alienists to answer. In view of theabove exposition it is not necessary to answerthis question in order to form an intelligent es

timate of New Thought therapeutics . We mayhave sufficient evidence of mental influence bothin the causing and in the curing of disease ; wemay gladly believe in this mental influence ; andwe may confidently g ive ourselves mental treatments ; and yet not make an extravag ent appli

cation of principles which only contradict andannul one another when pushed to the extremeand transformed into wild vagaries .The third practical defect in New Thought

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therapeutics reveals itself when the question isasked, Can the body aff ect the mind ! According to N ew Thought principles it cannot . Thisapplication of its principles is sometimes expressly made. Have you a fit of the blues ! Donot blame your liver. “Blues” are mental. Younever have the blues unless you invite them .

The whole New Thought circle of ideas is con

g ru ou s only with the conception of the passivityof the body under the power of the mind. Someo f its expositors tell us that there is nothing intheir principles inharmonious with the belief ina reflex influence of the body upon the mind.

This is an unproved assertion and the critic re

spectfu lly begs leave to diff er.Consequently the extent to which the body

does affect and control the mind sets NewThought therapeutics at nought. What hecomes of the health—affirm ation method of healing ! Or of the harmonizing-wi th—disease methodof healing ! Or of the idea that all bodi ly statesare merely the expression of prior and causativemental states !It is unnecessary for this book to deal with

the question of the influence of the body uponthe mind. It will suffice merely to speak of thepossibility of physical influence upon the mind.

Common sense declares , rightly or wrongly, thatthis influence is extensive. There is a prevalentbelief , for example , that impatience, irritability,despondency, and other dis agreeable mental

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96 NEW THOUGHT

man can adequately control his own mind ; Second, the mind completely controls the body andtherefore a man can control his body by controlling his mind ; and Third , the body has noinfluence over the mind or at most its influence isslight and negligible. The first two of these assumption s are unfounded in experience and arecontradicted by experience. They are thereforeserious practi cal defects , truly fatal flaws , inNew Thought therapeut ics . The third assump

tion may be in accord with the facts , but an immense array of evidence seems to discredit it.I t is at best an hypothesis and should not be

proclaimed as knowledge , infalli ble knowledge.And it is

'

too precarious an hypothesis to constitu te solid rock beneath the f eet of a manwrestling for his very life.But to all reasoning the follower of New

Thought answers : New Thought does heal,therefore New Thought is true . If a man isafflicted seriously wi th the N ew Thought obses

sion, especially if he has been healed within itscharmed circle , you might as well cannonade Gibralta r with apples and oranges as attempt tocapture his assent by reasoning with him . Hecannot be made to see the sig nificance of thecrucial fact that he himself admits that healingtakes place under Christian Science (whose ne

g at ion method he condemns ! that it is wroughtby the more than doubtful relics of saints ; thatit comes in answer to prayer to the living God

PRACTICAL DEFECTS 97

who is regarded as other than the petitioner’s“real” self ; and that it is obtained by a varietyof “mind cures .” If healing comes in connectionwith all these cults and methods which diff erwidely from one another, how can the cure establish the validity of any one of them ! At mostthere is indicated some nucleus of tru th commonto all alike, but not a demonstration of thetruth of any one cult or method entire to the disproof and discrediting of all the others .

CHAPTER XIII

LAW

B y“law” New Thought does not mean com

mand or decree or rule imposed by authority.

The idea of authority is delusive. Authority implies the existence of two or more beings , one ofwhom has authority over the others . But sincethere is only one being existent , there can be noauthority, unless one uses the word loosely anddeclares that the one and only being is authorityunto itself . Theoretically New Thought repudiates as invalid what ordinary people would calllaws human and divin e.The word law is used in New Thought in an

o ther and quite legitimate way, namely, as denoting regular method of operation in the universe . Although N ew Thought often speaks oflaw as if self-executing, we may look upon thismode of speech perhaps as personification ; am isleading personification , it is true ; yet NewThought is not in this respect a greater sinnerthan science itself .Law is universal ; there is no luck, or chance,

or fate. No event is a mere happening. Thisis a universe of order. All events are links in achain of cause and eff ect. The chain is neverinterrupted or broken . The forces of nature

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1 00 NEW THOUGHT

law, that is , it never departs from its ownmethod. The universal life of the “real man” isa harmony .

“Harmony is one of the chief godsin the New Thought Pantheon . Life consistso f an infinitely intricate complex of “vibrations .”

In N ew Thought “vibration” and “vibrate” arewords to conjure wi th . The universe is a vibratory system . We have already seen the use ofthese words in connection with the harmonizingwith-disease method of healing. All the vibrations of the “Universal Spirit of Wholeness” arein perfect concord , and together constitute agrand orchestral harmony . Universal life is aperfect harmony because it is in perfect accordwith its own constitution as expressed in universal law .

The material universe is also under law. The! forces of nature” act under invariable law.

Whether the operation of absolutely invariablelaw excludes m i racles depends upon the definitionof miracle. New Thought rej ects popular ideasof miracle and all forms of supernaturalism ascontrary to the idea of universal law . This re

pu dia t ion of the supernatural is easy since NewThought does not need miracles . What needhas a man for miracles if he believes that in ac

cordan ce with law it is at present theoreticallypossible and some day it will be actually realizable to create and disintegrate material formsby the sheer power of thought ! As beforestated, New Thought writers in citing biblical

LAW 1 01

miracles, especially those of Jesus , always as

sume them to be historical and see in them illus

tra tions and evidence of the truth and power of

New Thought principles . New Thought notonly does not need supernaturalism , it has noroom for it. F or all that is done, call it m iracu

lous or not,is done by the “real m an

” or the“subj ective man in me and in you.

New Thought applies its idea of law to petit ion ary prayer and bows it out with fine disdain.

The very idea of an ig norant“mind” suggesting

to the universal Intell igence that it change itsprocedure or do something it would not do i f therequest were not made ! To admit such a possi

bility would, it is held, shatter law by an earthquake a t its very center .The material universe includes of course the

human body . Human bodies are therefore underlaw. Moreover, since life under law is a harmony ,since all occurrences under law are links in an infinitely wise and beneficen t series o f cause andeff ect, bod ies should always be in harm ony withlaw. But New Thought admits that humanbodies are often out of order, in a state of disharmony, and do not

“vibrate” properly . Thereis a screw loose at this point in New Thought .The screw is supposed to be tightened by a reference to “mind.

” Bodily disorder is not thefault of matter and its laws but of those mi serable offenders , call ed

“minds . Matter of itselfis not evil but good, and if minds only behaved

1 02 NEW THOUGHT

themselves and did not interfere with theforces of nature

,matter , even in human bod

ies , would always be in perfect order . It ismind that muddles everything ( including New

Observe how, after camping awhile on thehigh, far- stretching plain of monism in the rareand serene atmosphere of universal law where theonly existent being operates by an invariablemethod , the New Thou g ht ist in order to escapea difficulty strikes tent and steals away to aquite different reg i on , the low marshes of plurali sm , the habitat of that monster called the!mind.

Considering now this matter of universal lawin relation to the m eddles-ome, intractable mind,notice that the mind is said to “violate” law, actu a lly violate law, vio late UN IVER SA L law. Iflaw were a mandate issued by authority , its violation would be conceivable. But in NewThought law is only regu lar method, it is themethod o f operation of Being. This method isinvariable , absolutely universal . It is not andcannot be suspended for a single instant anywhere in the universe. In fact, there is only onebeing and this being lives and works in perfectharmony with absolutely invariable law . Andyet there is such a thing as the violation of law,departure from invariable m ethod . How is itpossible ! It is not possible if the fundamentalideas of New Thought are true. Nevertheless

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1 04 NEW THOUGHT

will finally bring the mind ( every mind withoutexception! to conform freely, spontaneously andperfectly to the law or method of the spirit .Chaos is gradually disciplined into Cosmos .Even we cave dwellers who live on the “

objective plane” are able to gaze upon some of theforegoing ideas without blinking. This conception of the reign o f universal law is not new.

It is one of the common-places of modern scienceand it has profoundly influenced Chri stian theology . It is to be expect

-cd that any intellectual

movement that claims to be so modern as to styleitself the “N ew Thought” would make much ofthis ruling idea of modern thinking. Credit isdue to the quasi-philosophy under review for itsinsistence upon the fact of law and for its effortto banish from men’s minds the superstitiousnotions of chance and caprice and luck and arbitrariness and irrationality in the working ofthe universe. In this respect it is serving thisgeneration beneficently and eff ectively in spite ofthe contradiction at its very core. Even a housedivided against itself may stand for a time andhave a useful mission . But at ! last, shore it upas one may , such a house cannot stand.

CHAPTER XIV

HAPPINESS

F ew things are so attra ct ive to troubled andburdened hearts as the vision of unclouded happiness and perfect peace. N ew Thought holds upbefore men’s longing eyes the ideal of perpetual joy, happy-hearted superiority to a disagreeable or sordid envi ronment , a blessed emancipa t ion from the tyranny of circumstance, anassured and reposeful m astery of all conditions ,perfect rest amid all the unrest of the world ,serene self—control in the presence of life’s greattragedies , a quiet spirit calm and radiant amidall the worries , uncertainties , disappointments ,and petty trials of daily life . The promises ofNew Thought , like the refreshing springs of the

g reen oasis in the burning desert, well up to meetthe lips of nervous , careworn , over-worked, troubled and suff ering men and wom en .

Why should I not be happy if the “real man inme” is the infin ite and perfect spirit that createsand controls all things or of whom all things areonly the expression ! The

“All-Good” i s ! perfectly benevolent , and is equally omniscient andomn ipotent . How can anything untoward

, u n

desirable, lamentable, or trag ic occur when nothing exists besides the loving, all-wise, and omn ip

1 05

1 06 NEW THOUGHT

oten t spirit ! F urther, this one and only being,perfectly good

,wise

,powerful, always works in

accordance with law, law beneficent and imm utable. A n impregnable rock surely ! Whatfoundation for peace and j oy could be so solidas this ! Contemplate it one moment ! There isonly one being ; this being is limitless in wisdom ,

power, and love, and its method of working isunvaryingly beneficent . If this is true, there isno place in human life for anything really evil orregrettable or ominous or , indeed, in any respectundesirable . There is nothing in the past to regret , nothing in the present to harm , nothing inthe future to fear. We are all moving forwardunder the guidance and control of the inescapable law of evolution . Nothing comes into ourlives unless it is necessary for our ultimate welfare and perfection , and nothing stays anylonger than it is n eeded. Existence is a paradisewithout even the least noxious serpent ; it is mostprecious ointment without a single fly. Such isthe gospel of New Thought to a tired and troubled world longing and sighing for peace andcomfort and power and all that constitutes hap

piness.

But we must study the rationale of the case alittle further. In the first place, the consciousmind has the royal prerogative of receiving or

rej ecting any influence from without that seeksadmission . It is our privilege to choose whatshall be the contents of our own m inds . Our

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1 08 NEW THOUGHT

inevitable that perfect and perpetu al happinessis within the power of any and every man .

If you would be happy, you must in partieular realize your oneness or identity with infinitespirit ; for spirit is limitless in its perfectionsand is infinitely peaceful and happy . To become and remain immersed in the God—consciousness , realizing that the real man in you is perfectly happy , is to live submerged in an ocean ofpeace and j oy . Unhappiness is impossible tothe mind that fully opens itself or is negative

”

to the “All—Good” and is at the same time andby that very process “positive to and positively against all that is evil and miserable.Are you sick ! Think yourself as abounding

in health and vigor. Are you fearful ! R emindyourself that nothing can harm you except yourown thoughts , and proceed to choose onlythoughts of power and peace and good. Are

you melancholy ! B anish at once the m iasma ofdespondency and let in the sunshine of brightimaginings and happy thoughts . Say to yourself Life is sweetest music . My heart is gay.

I sing and trill and carol for very j oy. Are youmisunderstood by your friends ! Admit nothoug ht o f regret or sorrow, much less of resentment or bitterness . Send forth upon yourfriends , as winning forces , thoughts of truthabout yourself and of kindness to them. Areyou hated by enemies ! Love them . Rej oice inthe good that is in them. Remember that at

HA PPINESS 1 09

the center you and they are one and the samebeing, the one and only real man. Tell yourself : Their hatred is only a mistake on theirpart. When they come to know me better theywill love me. Especially when they learn that Iam they, they will love me . I send forth tothem thought—forces to enlighten and win them .

Are you losing money in business ! Let n o

thought of uneasiness or repining enter yourmind. That is the

p

way to further loss . Ratherrecall that all events take plac e in strict accordance with law and law is invariably beneficen t .

You may be traveling toward wealth by thecircuitous route of seeming failure. But whatever is is best.Above all, whatever happens to you or to your

loved ones, do not resist. Instead,“vibrate”

with everything. Resistance brings friction .

F riction involves disquiet and loss of peace .When peace goes , power goes ; power to recu

perate or to acquire or to enj oy . Since frictionthus brings unhappiness , beware of friction andthe resistance that produces it . Does any person , event , or thing seem hostile to you ! R e

sistance will only give him or it added powerover you. Resistance is therefore virtually surrender. Love your enemies

,whether these ene

mies are persons , events , or things , and youchange them into friends ; and when they thusbecome your friends , they will enhance your hap

piness.

1 1 0 NEW THOUGHT

Whatever happen s, accept it as the best thingfor you and for your loved ones . A ll things areunder law. The working of un iversal law hasbrought it about, and since law is beneficent , theevent is beneficen t also. Therefore rej oice inapparent mi sfortune, exult in what seems tragedy, be peaceful , contented, satisfied, happy, nuder all conceivable conditions . “

A ll” is g ood,and nothing outside of “the All” can touch you,because there is nothing, either good or evi l, ou tside of “the A ll .”

This is the New Thought way of putting theold saying that it is worth a thousand pounds ayear to look on the bright side of things . Thissunny Optimi sm of N ew Thought is glitteringlyattractive and is one of its strongest features.For moping and repining and complaining arenot in favor with most people. This su rsum

corda , this call to j oy and peace and confidence,this summons to mastery and vi ctory, rings outlike the pea] of marriage bells. It comes uponthe hot, fever-laden air of the world like a fresh,bracing breeze from the hills . It is a tonic tomind and body, and is doing this weary old

world much good. What a pity it is that menwith such an an g el

’s song of peace and gladnessshould ever sing another tun e ! But, alas ! therepertoire of New Thought includes laments anddirges . After all New Thought has its devil .The reader is by this time well-acquainted withthis devil and knows that it is the “mind.

” In

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1 1 2 NEW THOUGHT

their di sappointment and discouragement ! Theymerely remind them of New Thoug ht principlesoften couched in beautiful poetic language, pointto shining examples of the success ful applicationof these p rinciples , and exhort them to startagain and persevere , PER SEVER E . Surely a poorgospel after all for weak and tempted and bur

dened humanity.

Again,the subconscious mind is an insuper

able obstacle to the quest for happiness . NewThought says : If you would be happy, all youhave to do is to admi t correct , righteous , happythoughts , and rej ect all incorrect, evil , and u n

happy thoughts . B u t according to its own descr iption s of the subconscious mind nothing thatonce gets into that mind can ever be expelled.

Yes , but happiness is a matter of consciousness .That which is in the subconsciousness can therefore make no diff erence to one’s happiness . Butwhat i f subconsciousnes s aff ects consciousness !New Thought declares that the conscious life islargely the welling-up of our subconscious lifeinto consciousness . It also tells us that the subconscious mind teems wi th the whole black list ofthoughts that are destructive of happiness .How, then , can the conscious mind be free fromthese thoughts that blight happiness and banishpeace ! The truth is that New Thought unwittingly exhibits the subconsciousness as the marplot of its whole scheme for the fulness of peaceand plenty and power and j oy.

HAPPINESS 1 1 3

N ew Thought reaches the same suicidal con

elusion in another way and hangs itself by therope of its doctrine of

“expression .

” The innerand invisible is always seeking and gaining expression or embodiment in body and possessionsand circumstances . But the immensely largerpart of the inner and invi s ible in individual lifeis the parti-colored subconscious mind . Itsmanifestation will necessarily be as variegatedas itself. New Thought ideas consequently, carried to their legitima te conclusion, make a li fe ofcomplete happiness absolutely impossible to anyhuman being.

Christianity too off ers men happiness . Jesussaid,

“Come unto me all ye that labor and areheavy laden , and I will give you rest .

” He leftpeace as a precious legacy to his disciplesPeace I leave with you ; my peace I give untoyou : not as the world giveth, g i ve I unto you .

Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it befearful .” (John He told them thathis j oy was to be in them and that their j oy wasto be “made full” and that no one could taketheir j oy from them . The Christian’s peace is a“peace that passeth all understanding.

” It i s apeace that abides . It is not a few quiet

,shaded

pools situated here and there along the rushingriver of life ; it is in the very flow and movementof the ri ver. It is not the peace of the cool evening’s stillnes s after the hot day’s hard work isdone, it is the rest of spirit while bearing the

1 1 4 NEW THOUGHT

burden and heat of the day . Christ’s peace isnot rest from the yoke, but rest under the yoke,heart’s-ease even whi le dragging toilingly atthe . load of life.The Christian j oy inheres in the soul as its

perfume in a rose. It shines like a lamp withina globe

,irradiating and beautifying the soul.

The Christian’s pea ce and j oy is utterly separatefrom callous indiff erence to trouble ; it has nothing in comm on with the factitious repose arisingfrom the denial of the exi stence of evi l ; it standsin sharp contradistinction to the shallow happiness of the man who dare not sympathize wi ththe suff erer or be indignant at the wrongdoeror permit any ploughshare of elemental human.passion to make deep furrows in his soul or barehis spirit to the sharpness of any sword of an

guish , because such experience involves“friction”

and friction prevents or destroys power andpeace and j oy.

According to Christianity no man ought, inview of the sin and woe of the human race, todesire to escape every pang.

“Sorrowful yet always rej oicing” is the true keynote. The idealman was the man of sorrows and acquainted withgrief as well as the man in whom dwelt the fullness of j oy and peace. Man is made for happiness , but he is also made for love. And lovesuff ers in a world of sin and sorrow, suff ers bysympathy with the loved ones who sin and suff er .Even God suff ers . “The Lamb slain from the

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1 1 6 NEW THOUGHT

insoluble in this world, the Christian religionbreathes peace upon the spirit and inspires hopeand courage and strength so that no man is sotruly and profoundly happy as the thoroughgoing Christian . He believes in God the F ather.He is sure that “all things work together forgood to them that love God .

” He believes thathe is the immortal son of the everlasting F atherwho has a plan for the life of his child and hasall eternity in which to carry it out . This present short life is but the prologue to the endlessepic of existence ; it is but the first scene of aneverlasting drama ; it is bu t the orchestral musicbefore the ris ing of the curtain that hides fromour view the stage of the eternal world. Wedwell in the mists here, thick mists sometimes,but they are not the chilling vapors that precedean oncoming night that shall darken our soulsforever , but rather they are the mists that precede the sunrise, the dawning of the everlastingday . And the Christian can be calm and reposeful and full of a great and inextinguishable j oybecause he is sure of God, of God whose names areRighteousness and Love.No man need turn away from Christ the real

Light of the world to follow after the phosphorescent gleams that float over the treacherousmarshes of a quagmire philosophy in order tohave the fullness of peace and joy. Christianhym ns testify abundantly to the real Christianexperience. If one seeks to select a representa

HAPPINESS 1 1 7

tive utterance, he is embarrassed by his riches .Perhaps the following verses may represent hundreds of others like them as they certainly re

cord the blessedn ess of the life of those who trulyfollow the Master who gave us the Beatitudes .

In heavenly love abiding,No change my heart shall fear ;

And safe is such confidin g ,

For nothing changes here.The storm may rage without me ;My heart may low be laid ;

But God is round about me,And can I be dismayed !

Wherever He may guide me,N o want shall turn me back ;

My Shepherd is beside me ,And nothing can I lack

His wisdom ever waketh,His sight is never dim ;

He knows the way He taketh ,And I will walk with Him .

“Green pastures a re before me,Which yet I have not seen ;

Bright skies will soon be o’er me,Where the dark clouds have been

My hope I cannot measure ;My path to life is free ;

My Savior has my treasure,And He will walk with me.

CHAPTER XV

GOOD AND EVIL

At the risk of some repetition it is desirableto devote a few pages exclusively to the topicof this chapter. New Thought ideas on the sub

j ect o f good and evi l are a puzzling maze. Thebewildering confusion arises from the attempt toreconcile hard facts with the fundamental dictum that the “All” is absolutely good.

On the one hand New Thought frequently ad

mits the existence of what are commonly calledevils , moral, social, mental, and physical ; and onthe other hand the existence o f evil is mostgrudgingly granted, toned down , obscured byexplanations that do not explain , and at timesdenied outright .Let us follow a few threads in the tangled

skein . In the first place, it is asserted that allthing s are good. Things in themselves are notand cannot be evi l. If evil exists , it consists inthe wrong use of things ; they become evil onlyby being misused. To this position no Christian believer in a perfect and benevolent Creatorshould obj ect . The Bible says ,

“And God saweverything that he had made, and, behold, itwas very good” (Gen . 1 : New Thoughtholds to the goodness of things because things

1 1 8

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1 20 NEW THOUGHT

toward spirit,toward other minds , and toward

things . The mind takes this wrong attitudeeither wilfully or ignorantly. Occasionally theN ew Thought teacher has much to say about aweak or a perverse will and gets pretty close toa true idea of moral evil . H e finds this verydangerous ground, however, for a man who believes that the sum total of being is absolutelygood and he is sure to retreat and make statement s implying that there is no real moral evi lafter all.Usually the mind is represented as taking the

wrong attitude, not in perverse wilfulness , but inig norance . S in is due only to lack of information . This must be so . F or no one would knowin g ly inj ure himself ; and, s ince other people areidentical with his real self, he would never knowin g ly injure others . Notice in passing that wehave here the same confusion of the impersonal,universal

,real man with the personal, individual

“mind” represented by the personal pronounwhich we observed once before in another conn ect ion .

The New Thou g ht ist , like the Christian Scientist , seems to think that he escapes the terrible

problem of evil or that it becomes attenuatedalmost to a shadow by calling it ignorance . Evilis said to be only an error. But is not an erroran evil , at least in the intellectual sphere ! Arenot many so—called errors , moreover, loathsome,monstrous , destructive!

“

Do we save ourselves

GOOD AND EVIL 1 21

from them by a euphemism ! Do we lessen theirpower to defile and curse when we put a diff erentand les s repellent label on them ! New Thoughtand Christian Science say that

“All” is good , andthey think that they consistently hold to thisfundamental dogma just because they refuse tocall a spade a spade. Instead of saying “evil”

they say “ignorance,” “mistake ,” “error,

” “partial expression ,

” and 10 ! there is no evil and trulythe

“All” is good ! Whatever you call it , thehorrid, accursed thing is in human hearts andlives just the same. A cesspool is j ust as foulwhether you call it a cesspool or a means ofsanitation .

When New Thought declares that the onlyexistent being is infinitely wi se and then affirmsthat the error in human life is inconceivably enormous in the total and then says that the prevalence of error is due to the fact that the infinitelywise and only being only partially expresses itself, and yet the being is not in error but onlythe “mind,” and yet the mind, crammed withdangerous and horrible errors , is only the being

’sexpression of itself and that therefore even themost frightful evils are not positively but onlynegatively evil, when New Thought talks in thisfashion, as it usually does , it i s but a

“Job’scomforter” for the poor fellows that are smittenfrom sole to crown with painful boils , physicalor moral, and are passing their wretched dayson the dunghill.

1 22 NEW THOUGHT

In the fourth place , New Thought usuallyteaches that evil or error is but temporary . Itis temporary because by the law of evolutionknowledge must increase. Evil is only for a timebecause it i s simply limitation , and by the process of evolution , as New Thought interprets it,limitation of every sort is gradually diminishing,for the infinite spirit is moving on toward perfectself—expression . Evil is transient also because itis a means o f education. Great stress is laidupon this aspect of evil, perhaps because to theNew Thou g htist it seems to off er an open doorto es cape from the problem of evi l, or at any rateto lessen its mag n itude. It is even asserted thatmen make “mistakes ,

” knowing that they willprofit by them, and this position is condoned.

This is tantamount to the maxim ,

“Let u s doevil that good may come” ; the apostle Paul adds,“whose damnation is j ust . F ew New Thoughtwriters thus carry the consequences of their ideasto the very last ditch, and yet all of them implythis conclusion. And since all evi l is educational, it is transitory ; for when the education iscompleted, the means of education will disappear .In the fifth place, there is no such thing as

evil . Evil is only appearance, not reality . Itis not real, but only a shadow ; it is not positive,but merely negative ; it is not essential badnessof heart, but only ignorance ; it is not a wickedchoice of that which a man knows to be wrong,

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1 24« NEW THOUGHT

himself, that in fact they are God, is to Openwide the flood gates for evil to rush through anddevastate human life.The tendency of men to indulge fleshly lusts

or greed of gold or passion for position andpower is so strong that it is immeasurably perilous to remove legit imate barriers to their selfishness . N ew Thought teaches that licentious lustand all abominable passions are only on the surface of life , they do not issue from your

“real”

self, at heart they do not belong to you or aff ectyou . True , it will be a mistake for you to indu lg e thes e propensities , but , if you do , the lawof evolution

,the universal law that is infinitely

wise and ben eficen t in its operations , will rectifythe results o f these “mistakes” both in your ownlife and in the lives of those you seem, but onlyseem , to inj ure. Vile lusts are only limitations ,the partial expressions of perfect purity ; cruelty,hate , malignity , and j ealousy are the part ial express ions of perfect kindness , generosity, andlove. And it is because these passions are only apartial expression of goodness that they seem tobe evil . A ll this sort of thing about which theunseeing world makes so much ado is only asuperficial and temporary phase of your experience . Some day you will outgrow these mistakes by becoming further enlightened. The indu lg en ce in what the uninitiated multitude callsdreadful and dangerous passions will really proveto be an ascension , not perhaps directly, but by

GOOD AND EVIL 1 25

a sort of spiral path to the plane of light andlife and knowledge and goodness . That whichis misnamed evi l is the means of moral culture.You go to s chool to vice to learn virtue ; selfishness is your tutor to train and perfect you inlove .This is in part the present writer’s phrasing

of New Thought doctrine . N evertheless it presents strictly and without any exaggeration theoutrageously immoral and dangerous substanceof certain favorite New Thought ideas .Christi anity on the contrary proclaims u ncom

promisingly the reality and the enormi ty ofmoral evil and calls upon men to repent . Ittells men the naked and humiliating tru th aboutthemselves . It awakens conscience until theclarion call is heard within the soul summoningthe sinner to forsake evil and turn to goodnessand to God. It also woos the man from evil togoodness by the tender and profound appeals ofthe divine love, especially as revealed in the crossof Christ . Christianity off ers the indispensablehelp o f an almighty Savior a nd F riend toaid the sinner in repenting and in reforming whileat the same t ime it rouses all the forces for goodin the man’s nature to work with God for thecleansing and transformation of heart and life.Its standard of goodness is the moral perfectionof God himself as exhibited in the life of J esus ,the elder Brother, and the sympathizing Helperof every m an . It is in the sphere of personal

1 26 NEW THOUGHT

relations that men are moved and helped, and itis j ust here that Christiani ty meets and h elpsmen .

To exchange all this. for the idea that I am thegood God and have no evi l or need at the heartof me, and that seeming evil is only the limitationwhich my infin itu de undergoes and is but thepartial expression of my limitless perfection asI move on steadily and surely from personal toimpersonal existence, and that, being under thelaw of evolution, I need not worry over my “mistakes — to exchange the Christian conceptionand experience for New Thought’s superficialtravesty of the sublime conceptions of law and

evolution and optimism and the immanence andinfin itu de of God is to exchange gold for tinsel,and di amonds of the first water for paste imitations .

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1 28 NEW THOUGHT

because minds and their doings are positively bad,but only because they are negatively bad. Evilis only a lack of something ; it is incompletenessand incompleteness that is a natural and inevitable stage in our progress toward perfect ion .

It is the stage of partial ig norance and partialknowledge. There is manifestly no room herefor the fundamental moral instincts of mankind.

Indeed we are sometimes express ly told that regret for our past misdeeds is foolish. R epentance exposes the mind and body to weakness andsickness . It is harmful because it produces fri ction ; and

“friction” i s one of the nightmares ofNew Thoug ht . F ear is man’s worst enemy, eventhe fear arising from the consciousness of guilt.R emorse is folly . Conscience is the great deceiver and the great bully. How many degreesthe needle of the New Thought compass is deflected from the magnetic pole of truth by thepantheistic iron in the hull of the ship !Now since sin is only ignorance, the way out

is the path of knowledge. Let there be light .Show men their errors and they will forsake themboth in theory and in practice . It is im possiblefor a rational being to live irrationally . A mancannot knowingly act an error or live a lie . Per

fect goodness comes of necessity with perfectknowledge. The tree of the knowledge of goodand evil is the real tree of li fe, and in the dayin which thou eatest thereof thou shalt surelylive.

NEW THOUGHT ETHICS 1 29

But how shall one acquire knowledge ! Lookwithin .

' ! now thyself. Christian and B uddhistic sacred writings , Emerson

’s Essays , WaltWhitman’s poetry , New Thought lectures andbooks , and other external sources of kn owledgeare helpful toward enlightenment, but after allthe royal road to learning and consequently tomoral perfection is to look within . But what isthere within ! The universal spirit, the real man ,which is omniscient. One may well relegate toa second place all the wisdom of the ages that isto be found in books , if, by looking withi n, thevery pages of om n isci-ence are open to view.

New Thought lays great stress upon the ideathat knowledge of how to live is accessible to anyman because in every case the real man is theun iversal spirit and in looking at the universalspirit he is only looking at himself. This is nucommonly like sleight of hand. The ig norantmind looks at the omn is cient real man and in sodoing is looking at itself ! Ignorance gazesupon knowledge and beholds itself as in a mirror ! This is still another instance of the fallacy of confounding the individual self with the“real” self .We saw in an earlier chapter that the God

consciousness , the realization that you are Godor infinite spirit , is the secret of kn owledge.And since knowledge makes moral evil impossible ,the consciousness of God, the living the

“real”

life, the realizing sense that you are the only,

1 30 NEW THOUGHT

the universal, the infin ite being is the path toperfect goodness .Let us see how thi s is supposed to work practi

cally. Let a m an meditate long and deeplyupon the central truth of New Thought thatthere is only one being until he realizes it vi vidlyand profoundly. He thus comes to know that heis the All . But if he is the All , then, in opposingthe All, he is opposing himself and inj uring himself. (Note that the real man can suff er inj ury ;in other connection s New Thought deni es this .!But no man will wittingly in j ure himself. Itfollows that when a man gains a clear vision ofhis oneness with the All, or, better, that he is theAll, it is impossible for him wilfully to rebelagainst the All and its laws . Rather will he lovethe All. It is easy to love one’s self. When Iknow that my real self is the All and especiallythe “All-Good,

” I shall love the Eternal Wholeness and love it spontaneously . N othing elsebut love to God is possible to me when I havegazed long and steadily withi n and see that Iam God .

When I see that I am God, I shall see alsothat there is no one above me who gives laws tome. Moral authority is null and void. Thereis no

!

such thing as a valid command. Allauthority is in myself, which is equal to sayingthere is no such thing as authority. It is a degradation to think of obeying anyone. The ideaof obedience is a superstition, for it is nonsense

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1 32 NEW THOUGHT

Thought love is always in the last analysis selflove, and, so far as its ethics can be classified,they are utilitarian . The cardinal idea is thatinjury of others is inj ury to self and doing g oodto others is doing good to self . Its love is theoretically nothing bu t s elf—love . This is true atany rate so long as it is under the spell of pantheistic monism .

New Thought , how-ever, often appeals fromRichard drunk to R i chard sober . While in toxicated with pantheism , it is all for self—love, butat other times , it denounces selfishness unsparing ly.

But how is a reprehensible selfishness possible !It is connected with individuality . And herepluralism comes in with a rush . This is ever thecase with New Thought. While monism holdsthe territory and reign s serenely over its wideand glorious domain , suddenly a tidal wave ofplura lism rushes in resistlessly upon the fairlandscape and engulfs it . In New Thought the“mind” i s always the skeleton in the closet ; itis the ghost that refuses to be laid.

Proceeding now to the consideration of individu ality and selfishness we learn that men areindividual persons . They can think of one an

other and act for or against one another . Andobserve that “another” means an other , not self.The individual now is the self ; though not the“real” self , yet for the practical purposes ofNew Thought ethics it is the self. Tom is Tom

NEW THOUGHT ETHICS 1 33

and Dick is Dick and Harry is Harry . Andbecause they are three individuals they can pullthree diff erent ways at once. N ow this is selfishness ; and it is evi l, moral evil . Surely NewThought is here “not far from the kingdom” ofethical truth . But just as Bunyan’s pilgrimdiscovered that there was a short route to hellfrom the very gate of heaven , so New Thoughtfalls back from this high place into the abyss ofthe immoral . Tom , Dick, and Harry are notafter all to be blamed very much for their selfishness , and when they have become New Thoughtists they must not indulge vain regrets over theirpast contrariness . It is only a matter of ig norance and enlightenment . They selfishly pullthree diff erent ways because the fact of indivi duality looms up too large before them . If theyperceived the truth that they are in reality onlyone being, they would pull together in harmonious cooperation . Selfishness , the root of all thesuff ering and wretchedness in the world, is inseparable from individuality . It cannot be eradicated except by the suppress ion of individuality .

Individuality for this reason is decidedly underthe New Thought taboo . The ideal existence i snot personal but impersonal ; not indi vidual , butuniversal . Life will reach the zenith of purityand glory when the universal spirit shall live onlyin the universal or spirit mode and all individualsshall have become absorbed in universal being.

One cannot help wondering why the universal

1 344 NEW THOUGHT

ever individuated itself at all. It”

seems like theself-degradation of infinitely perfect being. Isit not merely a plunge into the depths j ust forthe sake of climbing slowly up to the heightsagain !As to the dynamics of New Thought ethics ,

no special need of power is indicated and certa inly no power outside of yourself is to be ex

pected for a sing le instant . Not power butknowledge is essential to success . N ew Thoughtists , like Christians , have the benefit of the ex

ample of Jesus and they make some use of it .They also seek help in the ethical life from allthe great and good men in the pas t and present .In this respect many Christians could learn wisdom from the followers o f New Thought . Theyuse the Christian. Scriptures not a little . Theyfeed their souls most of all in the verdant , flowerypastures of New Thought literature.Christian ethics stand out in marked contrast

to the ethics of New Thought . Chr i stianitydoes not trifle with dynamite by playing fast andloose with the idea and fact of moral evil . Itbelieves in the great intuitions of the human soul .Truth is writ large in the vast race-feelings ofmanki nd ; of them God might say ,

“Behold, withhow large letters I have written unto you withmy own hand .

” The moral intuitions,are

, ac

cording to Christian ethics , the clear, limpidspri ngs in which truth Wells up into our consciou sness from the deeps of the divine mind : and

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1 36 NEW THOUGHT

challenge. Its F ounder taught that there is j oyin heaven over one sinner that repenteth . H is

gospel is the gospel of the “whosoever.” Theideal of Christianity combines in perfect balancethe individual and the social . It would developeach distinct and separate person , not blot outhis personality. Instead of bidding men hope forabsorption into Nirvana as their highest goal,it teaches them to follow him in whose F ather’shouse are many mansions . Christianity, whileworking for the perfecting of the indivi dual , isalso looking and laboring for the kingdom of God,a vast and glorious social system of perfectedpersonal beings living together in perfect harmony and love .Christian morality is reenforced by the Chris

tian relig ion , a nd “the gospel is the power of

God unto salvation.

” All the example, precept,s entiment , and rhetori c of New Thought does notfurnish moral power enough for the needs of theethical life. N ew Thought cannot satisfy the

deepest moral needs of men because it ignores thereality of the profoundest moral instincts or denies them utterly. Christianity gives full recogn it ion to them and off ers to weak and sinningmen the very power of God, of God who is nota man’s own real self.

CHAPTER XVII

NEW THOUGHT AND RELIGION

Whether New Thought is religious or not,depends upon what relig ion is . There are highlyelasti c definitions of religion . It is , for example,a feeling, a temper, an aspiration , an attitude,a being spiritual , and so forth . But the idea ofreligion , as held almost universally in all ages ,involves the existence of two parties , the onehuman and the other not human or at least notnow living an incarnate human life.But the keystone o f the New Thought arch is

the dogma : All is One, One is All . Or, tostate it more clearly There is only one being,and that being is your real self . N ow, it is plainthat if there is only one party and you are thatparty , religion as historically conceived is an impossibility , and the very conception of religionwhich has been one of the greatest factors in theintellectual and moral life of man is untrue .New Thought uses some of the leading reli g i

ous words . It speaks of revelation, but meansby it the unveiling of yourself as spirit to yourself as mind, the method of revelation being introspection . It speaks of communion with God, butun derstands by it conversing with yourself. Its

1 37

1 38 NEW THOUGHT

communing wi th God is a monologue ; its beatificvi sion is the rapt contemplation of self. NewThought uses the term atonement , but only a s

sig n ifying the harmony of your lower , personal,individual self with your higher, impersonal, anduniversal self. The word salvation is used, butthe only divi ne Savi or a man can have is his owndivine self, often referred to as

“the Christ within .

” Moral government is wholly self-government The almost un iversal conception of obedience as being and doing what another commandsis degrading and weakening. Indeed the worstpossible evil is the surrender of the right togovern yourself. New Thought sometimesspeaks favorably of religion and seems to regarditself as religious , but it discountenances adherence to any one relig ion , because all relig ionsrequire obedience to an authority other than theworshiper himself.All this is not religion. New Thought might

justly be called spiritual, however, because itteaches us to regard ourselves as essentially spiritand to give the first place to the spiritual naturewith its needs and powers and possibilities of

servi ce, of achievement, and of blessedness . Butthe identification of your spirit wi th God robsthe word religion of all meaning.

New Thought, then, is not a relig i on and isnot religious so long a s it wears the guise ofpantheistic monism . But whenever it appears aspluralism , as it does at any moment without the

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NEW THOUGHT

Even when unwi ttingly a pluralist , the NewThought di sciple is largely influenced by himself as monist. By his fundamental identificationof the sinner with the holy God, the enormi ty ofsin and its guilt is obscured, the idea of realmoral authority and governm ent is nullified, thevoice of conscience proclaiming ill desert andpenalty therefor is weakened, knowledge aloneinstead of both kn owledge and moral power isthe supreme need, the highest love, that of oneperson for another, is excluded, and the heartstirring

,conscience—rousing, soul—winning love of

God in Christ for m en is a chimera . The highest moral sanctions are lacking and also thegenuine religious experience of the Chri stian typewhich is the mightiest moral dynami c.We may now touch upon the attitude of New

Thought to Christianity , to the Church , and tothe Bible. We are told that the real

!

Christianityhas never been tried. But at last the hour hasstruck, the fullness of time has come, and Christian ity appareled as New Thought comes ridingin the chariot of the sun to illumine, cleanse, andbeautify the world. So—called Christianity is adeg enerate and a pervert . It has entirely mi sunderstood the mission of Jesus as he understoodand proclaimed it . Men perverted his relig ioninto a religion of dogma and of institutions . Inits primitive period, before it became dog maticand institutional, Christianity was vi tal and ef

fective, but it soon lost its li fe and power. It

NEW THOUGHT AND RELIGION

needs revitalizing. It needs to become incomparably more spiritual than it is . To this end itmust be delivered from the thraldom of dogma , itmust be removed from its intellectual and historica l foundation, above all it must be rescuedfrom sectarianism.

New Thought poses as the savior of Christian ity. It proposes to save the Christian religion by off eri ng itself as the only genuine Christ ian ity. It claims that all its leading principles are to be found in the N ew Testament . Itaffirms that its ideas consti tute the substanceand essence of biblical Christianity.

Sometimes New Thought leaders say bitingthings about the Church and about the doctrinesheld by most Christians . Usually, however, thereis no bitterness and no call to a rms . The an

ta g on ism takes the form of what is suspiciouslylike a supercilious assumption of superiority .

Sometimes they talk in a condescendingly benevolen t and patronizing manner : The Church isnot to be directly opposed but should rather betolerated. The Churches , including even theirdenominationa lism , are useful as a lower stageof religious development . The fact that theyexist shows that they were needed ! for nothingari ses unless it is neces sary and des i rable ; evolution reigns , and the series is an ascending one.

(What now about Christianity’s fall from its

pristine purity ! !It would be unreasonable, therefore , to attack

1 42 NEW THOUGHT

the Church and its dogmas and institutions anddenominationalism and unspirituality. To do sowould be foolish also because resistance wouldonly entrench this degenerate Christianity moredeeply in the life of the world. That which iserroneous and wrong and harmful cannot be overcome and displaced by resistance , but only bylove. Just as you must love a disease if youwould extirpate it , so you must love the Churchand its dogmas if you wi sh to see New Thoughttake the place of the Church and of “dogmaticChristianity ” Let us cultivate a oneness ofspirit with all the intellectual, external , formal,dry-as-dust systems of religion, and they willbecome our friends instead of our enemies . Theywill become so friendly , indeed, as to please usby-disappearing from the face of the earth. Wewill love them into annihilation. Could one finda more striki ng example of su avi ter in m odo,

forti ter in re!

New Thought is respectful to the Bible andoften enthusiastic in praise of the grand, oldBook. It claims to be in agreement with theScriptures . The B ible is to it the g reatest ethical and spiritual book in the world. It recordsthe experiences and utterances of many of thegreatest “practical idealists” in history. Part icu larly it presents to us the supreme idealist , Jesus of Nazareth . The Bible is thesupreme book-revelation of God the realman . New Thought writers frequently quote

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1 44 NEW THOUGHT

It is no t wi thin the province of this book toespouse any particular philosophy and championany views as to the nature of ultimate reality ,of the relation of the infinite to the finite, ofmind to matter, of spirit to body, of the natureof subconsciousness , or to discuss ethical theory,or the concept of law, or the theory of evolution.

The sole obj ect of this book is to tell what NewThought has to say on these weighty themes andto judge of its value from the standpoint of selfconsistency , intelligibility, and practicality.

In the j udgment of the present writer thehandwriting of Truth upon the wall of NewThought would be : Thou art weighed in the

balances and art found wanting. Not that itdoes no t contain much precious truth or does notimpart inca lculable benefit to many of its votaries or is n ot a powerful ally of Christianityagainst materialism and worldliness .New Thought is exposed to j ust censure rather

because it propounds as a new philosophy of lifea medley of ancient and, in important particulars , incongruous ideas , undigested and u nassim ilated

,ideas whose mutual relations its sponsors

do not discern a nd whose logical implicationsand consequences they do not perceive .The head and front of N ew Thought’s off end

ing, however, is not that it mishandles noble ideasbut that it offers its fundamentally self-contradict in g philosophy as the basis for practicalliving and as the determining factor in the great

NEW THOUGHT AND RELIGION 1 45

est issues of life, and as the superior of and sub

stitu te for the Christi an morality and the Christian religion .

New Thought contains truth and does good ;nevertheles s it is a menace . It is the good thatis the enemy of the best . To say nothing aboutthe possibilities of harm as well as of benefit inthe sphere of therapeu tics , it i s not safe to letloose upon the world for practi cal applicationthe idea that the real Jesus and the real Judasare absolutely identical, that there is no essentialdifference between Paul and Nero , between St .F rancis of Assisi and Caesar Borgia, betweenthe Virgin Mary and Herodias . The Chri stiandoes not believe that the vile purlieus of vice arethe chosen abodes of Deity, that dens of infamyare courts of heaven , that the brothel is one of therooms in the palace of the ! ing. While hardlyany New Thought writer would be brazen enoughto put his doctrine in this terrible form, that isexactly what his doctrine amounts to.Moral evi l is regarded leniently, blandly , plac

idly . It is treated as mere ignorance ; pastevi l is not to be regretted ; penitent sorrow isfrowned upon . Moral evil is the upward path toperfection . And the climax in this series of in

du lg en ces to the sinner is that there is no suchthing as real evil

,evil only seems to be bad . All

is One and One is All, and the All—One is the AllGood.

Any philosophy or religion proclaimed as the

1 46 NEW THOUGHT

guide of life must be j udged chiefly by its ethicsand by its moral tendencies and moral influence.Christians cannot but believe that to quote theBible in support of the outrageous ethics described above and in the preceding chapter andto cite Jesus as the supreme example of what NewThought stands for is nothing less than “to stealthe livery of heaven to serve the devi l in.

” If

J esus is “the way, the truth, and the life,” then

New Thought, notwithstanding all its truth andbeneficence, is either as ethics or as religion , toa serious extent false and pernicious .

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1 481 APPENDIX

should read that amazing display of rhetoricalpyrotechnics ,

“The Discovery of a Lost Trail,”

by Charles B . Newcomb (Lothrop, Lee, Shepard Next one should read, in order tocomplete the foundation of his study of NewThought, the following three books :

The Mastery of Mind, by H enry F rank , (R .

F . F enno“The Phi losophy of Self -Help, by S . D . ! irk

ham , (G . P . Pu tnam ’s Sons! .

“Man and the D ivine Order, by H. W. Dresser,

(G . P . Pu tnam’s Sons! .

The student may now rove and browse at wi llin the pastures of New Thought literature . Ashort list of books is appended :

Mental Healing , by L. E . Whipple, (The Meta

physica l Publishin -

g Co.

,New York! .

“TheWi ll to beWell,

”by C. B . Patter-son

, (F unkWa g nalls“Studi es in the Thou g ht World, by Henry Wood

,

(Lothrop, Lee Shepard“Nerves in D i sorder, by A . T . Schofield, (Mof

f at YardMind Power and Privi leg es, by A . B. Olston ,

(T . Y. CrowellPaths to the Hei g hts, by Sheldon Leavi tt, (T .

Y. Crowell 8:“What All the World’s A —Seekin g , by R . W.

Trine, (T. Y. Crowell

APPENDIX 1 49

F rom Poverty to Power, by James Allen, ( R .

F . F enno!

Mind Power, by W. W. Atkinson

, (The Progress Co.

,Chicag o! .

The perusal o f even these few books willfamiliarize the student of New Thought with itsideas , methods , ambitions , tone and temper. Ofcourse if the reader wishes to pursue the matterstill further , the number of New Thought booksis large and is being constantly increased.