Flesh and Spirit

Love, meekness, gentleness, self-accusation, forgiveness, patience, compassion, reproof-these are the works of the Spirit.

THE flesh flatters; the Spirit reproves. The flesh blindly gratifies; the Spirit wisely disciplines. 

The flesh remembers the injury of a friend; the Spirit forgives the bitterest enemy.

The flesh is noisy and rude; the Spirit is silent and gracious.

The flesh is subject to moods; the Spirit is always calm.

The flesh incites to impatience and anger; the Spirit controls with patience and serenity.

The flesh is thoughtless; the Spirit is thoughtful.

Hatred, pride, harshness, accusing others, revenge, anger, cruelty and flattery – these are the works of the flesh.

Our sufferings

If we could suffer, even partly, through others, our sufferings would be unjust.

ARE our sufferings and troubles entirely the result of our own ignorance and wrong-doing or are they partly or wholly brought about by others, and by outward conditions?

Our sufferings are just, and are entirely the result of our own ignorance, error and wrongdoing.

“Ye suffer from yourselves, none else compels”. If this were not so, if a man could commit an evil deed and escape, the consequences of that deed being visited upon and innocent person, then there would be no Law of Justice, and without such a Law the universe could not, even for a single moment, exist. All would be chaos. Upon the surface, men appear to suffer through others, but it is only an appearance - an appearance which a deeper knowledge dispels.

Man is not the result of outward conditions; outward conditions are the result of man.

He who loves Truth, who desires and seeks wisdom, will be much alone.

JUST as the body requires rest for the recuperation of its forces, so the spirit requires solitude for the renewal of its energies. Solitude is as indispensable to man’s spiritual welfare as sleep is to his bodily well-being; and pure thought, or meditation, which is evoked in solitude, is to the spirit what activity is to the body. As the body breaks down when deprived of the needful rest and sleep, so do the spirits of men break down when deprived of the necessary silence and solitude. Man, as a spiritual being, cannot be maintained in strength, uprightness, and peace except he periodically withdraw himself from the outer world of perishable things, and reach inwardly towards the abiding and imperishable realities.

Unselfishness and Joy

Inside the gateway of unselfishness lies the Elysium of Abiding Joy.

KNOWING this – that selfishness leads to misery, and unselfishness to joy, not merely for one’s self alone – for if this were all how unworthy would be our endeavours ! but for the whole world, and because all with whom we live and come in contact will be the happier and the truer for unselfishness; because Humanity is one, and the joy of one is the joy of all – knowing this, let us scatter flowers and not thorns in the common ways of life – yea, even in the highway of our enemies let us scatter the blossoms of unselfish love – so shall the pressure of their footprints fill the air with the perfume of holiness and gladden the world with the aroma of joy.

Seek the highest Good, and you will taste the deepest sweetest joy.

James Allen

A pure heart and a righteous life are the great and all important things.

THE deeds and thoughts that lead to suffering are those that spring from self-interest and self-seeking; the thoughts and deeds that produce blessedness are those that spring from Truth. The process by which the mind is thus changed and transmuted is two-fold; it consists of meditation and practice. By silent meditation, the ground and reason of right conduct is sought, and by practice, right-doing is accomplished in daily life.

For Truth is not a matter of book learning, or subtle reasoning, or disputation, or controversial skill; it consists in right-doing.

Truth is not something that can be gleaned from a book; it can be learned and known by practice only.

Purification

Purification is effected by thoughtful care, earnest meditation, and holy aspiration.
TRUE strength and power and usefulness are born of self-purification, for the lower animal forces are not lost, but are transmuted into intellectual and spiritual energy. The pure life (pure in thought and deed) is a life of conservation of energy; the impure life (even should the impurity not extend beyond thought) is a life of dissipation of energy. The pure man is more capable, and therefore more fit to succeed in his plans and to accomplish his purposes than the impure. Where the impure man fails, the pure man will step in and be victorious, because he directs his energies with a calmer mind and a greater definiteness and strength of purpose.
With the growth in purity, all the elements which constitute a strong and virtuous manhood are developed.

Self-discipline and the process of Purification

The Rock of Ages, the Christ within, the divine and immortal in all men!

AS a man practices self-control he approximates more and more to the inward reality, and is less and less swayed by passion and grief, pleasure manifesting manly strength and fortitude. The restraining of the passions, however, is merely the initial stage in self-discipline, and is immediately followed by the process of Purification. By this a man so purifies himself as to take passion out of the heart and mind altogether; not merely restraining it when it rises within him, but preventing it from rising altogether. By merely restraining his passions a man can never arrive at peace, can never actualize his ideal; he must purify these passions.

It is in the purification of his lower nature that a man becomes strong and godlike.