|
|
||
|
|
Self-Advancement By Richard Kieninger A
man IS what he thinks. His character and his fortune are the sum of all his
thoughts. Everything that a man does springs from a prior thought, and even his
unpremeditated responses to a surprise situation have their roots in his
past habits of viewing life. Whether his spontaneous reactions are violent or
gentle, brainless or wise, courageous or cowardly, the reaction is in
accordance with the disciplines he has instituted in his manner of thinking
or the lack of control he has over his own mind. Man
IS Mind. Every other century or so an Ego takes on an animal vehicle so he
can function on the physical plane, and all too often he regards the body as
man. An animal responds to the stimuli in its environment according to the
drives built into it by Angels. The body used by human beings has essentially
the same drives; and if the Ego merely drifts through life without exercising
his mind to override his body’s drives, then his life is but as an animal’s—a
creature caught up in the chance happenings of nature. Habits of thought are
begun by one’s parents. The disciplines of consideration of others, neatness
of body and orderliness in all things should be instilled during one’s infancy
by example and instruction lest there by no foundation upon which to build
one’s own self-discipline later. Children who have been neglected and given
free rein grow up to become little more than snarling, grasping, pushy, unkempt
creatures without joy, grace or success in life. If the child happens to be
unusually brilliant, external discipline is even more important, albeit more
difficult to impose, but brilliance without discipline is tantamount to
criminality. Therefore, the responsibilities of parents to start their
offspring in the right habits of thought is great indeed. A
man’s character does not improve by chance or by the favor of the gods. A
noble character is the natural result of continued right-thinking and disciplined
selection of the thoughts which course through one’s consciousness. Since
mind activity is one’s character and determines a man’s environment,
happiness, wealth and health via the laws of mental precipitation, the whole
secret of successfully coping with life stems ultimately from one’s mental
activity. Every man is the lord of his thoughts and is possessed of the
potential for absolute mastery of his mind. Even though a man is the lord of
his thoughts, he is often guilty of misgoverning his domain by omission. It
is easier to drift than to devote time and effort to taking thought, but
advancement comes from self-evaluation, determination of cause and effect,
detailed analysis of environmental conditions and gathering knowledge in
order to enlarge one’s armamentarium of factual tools for surmounting the
adverse conditions of life. The
advancement of one’s character is attended by gains in attaining the Great
Virtues with corresponding intensification of the senses. The Mind can be
trained to turn habitually from negative thoughts and instead immediately
concentrate on only the inherently positive aspects of the Great Virtues
which are possessed of higher vibrational energies. When the Great Virtues
are well established in a man’s character, natural controlled clairvoyance
results. One
may mentally transmute the many negative influences of society into a happy
personal oasis of serenity. Being immersed in identical circumstances, one
man may grouse, be bitter and discontent while his neighbor will be joyful,
thankful, and positive in outlook. The difference lies in attitude of mind
and nothing else. The resistance of the first man is destructive to him; the
mental transmutation of the second man provides a serene environment further
conducive to his spiritual uplift. Suffering
is the karmic result of bad actions which in turn sprang from negative
thoughts. One must always be careful of the kind of things he thinks about
because they become reality. A man’s mind must be intelligently cultivated
lest it grow wild through neglect. If no good seeds are purposely planted in
his mind, then every vagrant thought takes root there. The Mind is a dynamo
which gives power and reality to every seed allowed to grow there, and the
Mind, by law, will bring to fruition every thought whether merely allowed or
encouraged. Evil seeds planted by Black Mentalists or by institutions of men
and their media of communication must not be permitted to grow in one’s consciousness.
And because all thoughts to which we have ever been exposed are harbored
forever in the subconscious memory, man must always be on guard to quash the
negative ones whenever they rise to a conscious level. In this context, the
newspapers and TV do us a vast disservice by continually displaying the vices
of men. A
man does not quite attract what he would like, rather his environment
conforms to what he is. Many a husband would like a beautiful marriage but he
constantly concentrates on the “faults” of his wife. A man may wish and pray
for things, but karma intervenes so that he gets only what he justly earns.
When he becomes aware of the hidden laws which regulate every life with
justice, and he adjusts his thinking to those all-pervasive regulators of
the Universe, then he no longer seeks to accuse others or outside factors for
his condition. He begins to use these laws and improve his lot instead of
just kicking against the world. Trials and failures, like karma, are
educational-they are to be used to make one relate his state to causative
actions he himself introduced. The Laws of God never fail! A man may
earnestly want wealth, but it may also be that he is not really willing to
make the great sacrifice of time and energy prerequisite to becoming wealthy;
and so his real mental predisposition goes against his avowed desire to be
rich. There
are many persons who want to live in the serene and beautiful |
|
|
|
|
|
