William Atkinson - The Essential Works of William Walker Atkinson - 50+ Books in One Edition

Spirit is perceived by the reason to be identical with Life. A lifeless Spirit could not manifest and express activity of any kind. If Spirit had not Life there would be no living, acting, moving universe or any part thereof. But Spirit must be more than "alive." Life must be an essential fact of Spirit, for it is perceived to be in actual being. Life is seen to be identical with Spirit. Spirit is Life itself. There is nothing else for Life to be but Spirit, and nothing else to be Life but Spirit. Moreover, Spirit must be All-Life, for there is nothing else but Spirit to manifest or to be Life.

But Spiritual Life cannot be material life, for the latter has its beginning and ending in time and manifests many facts directly opposed to actual being. Material life meets with none of the requirements of actual being, and is clearly phenomenal in all of its facts. Its only REALITY is based upon the immanence and manifestation of Spiritual Life in its forms, phases, and activities. Spiritual Life is the support and sustaining essence of phenomenal life.

Phenomenal forms were formerly divided into two classes, viz.: (1) living forms and (2) lifeless forms. But Science now perceives that there is nothing lifeless in the universe; that the universe and everything in it is alive and vital. Life is perceived even in the atoms of matter. As Luther Burbank says: "All my investigations have led me away from the idea of a dead universe tossed about by various forces to that of a universe which is absolutely all life, soul, thought, or whatever name we choose to call it. All life on our planet is, so to speak, just on the outer fringe of this infinite ocean of force. The universe is not half dead but all alive ."

STATEMENT: SPIRIT is Law; its Law is the only Law, and all the Law there is, yet it is Immaterial Law.

This statement announces the Law of SPIRIT, the All-Law of SPIRIT. There are many definitions of "Law," but the most comprehensive in our consideration of the term is that which is used in mathematics, which is as follows: "Law is the rule according to which anything proceeds; the mode or order of sequence."

The presence of Law is recognized by the reason. It is seen in constant manifestation in the universe. It is perceived to be in actual being, in its essence. There is no other source for Law than Spirit. Law is perceived to be an essential fact of Spirit and is identified with it. Spirit is Law itself. Spirit is a Law-unto-Itself and Law-in-Itself, and its Law must govern all manifested by it. There is nothing else to manifest Law, or to be Law, other than Spirit. Therefore Spirit is seen to be Law. Moreover, by the same reasoning, Spiritual Law is seen to be all the Law there is; there is no other Law possible.

PURE LOGIC OF LAW.

In the consideration of the processes and activities of the universe it is perceived that all sequence is orderly and regular and in accordance with Law. In short, all universal processes manifest the processes of Pure Logic. The universal processes are seen to be logical, proceeding from cause to effect with unerring and invariable direction. Given certain causes, and certain results follow. The Universal Law is seen to be a purely logical (and therefore mental) operation. Universal Law is evidence of Universal Mind. As an authority says: "Observing the uniformity, the immutability of the processes of nature, we recognize that every fact has its antecedent, and this again its own, and soon, until in retracing the processes we lose ourselves, after fewer or more steps, in the single universal cause. We lose ourselves in infinity; we recognize the manifestations, the workings of the eternal power in ourselves as well as in nature generally. And we know from history, human, geological, and astronomical, that thus has nature manifested herself since time has recorded. The universal energy works through us. We really originate nothing, we initiate nothing. We originate no force or energy any more in the world of mind than in the world material.…We are agents in the hands of the Creator; instruments of the universal energy; conscious instruments, intelligent agents, but controlled—controlled both through the mind and the body.…The will of the Almighty is our will. We originate nothing, and when by our actions we modify anything, it is as links in the endless chain of nature's sequences. We are phases of the eternal energy. And the interacting circumstances of individuality and environment which determine our actions owe their existence at any given moment simply and wholly to the natural course or sequence of events."

One of the world's greatest scientists of a past generation uttered the following magnificent phrase, based upon the result of his life work and investigation: "The Universe is governed by Law!" And all thought worthy of the name acquiesces in his statement. Everything is under Law. There is nothing Lawless. There is no such thing as Chance. Chance is but a name for "laws not recognized or perceived." The universe, and everything in it, proceeds in an eternal procession of absolutely regular and orderly sequence. There are no exceptions to Universal Law. And all laws are seen to proceed from one Law, and this One Law is seen to be the LAW OF SPIRIT.

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STATEMENT: SPIRIT is Mind; its Mind is the only Mind, and all the Mind there is, yet it is Immaterial Mind, and not Material Mind or Thought.

THIS IS a statement of primary importance . It announces the Mentalism of Spirit, the All-Mindness and Inclusive Mentality of Spirit. It is impossible to define "Mind" except in its own terms. Definitions of Mind are usually seen to be but attempts to define Thought. Mind may be considered as the Substance in which Thoughts are formed and in which they appear . Mind has ever been recognized as something ultimate and fundamental, something at the very center of Ultimate REALITY. This recognition is accompanied by the perception that Mind must be Spirit and Spirit must be Mind. Spirit divorced from Mind is seen to be a Nothing; while Mind divorced from Spirit is naught but a word. The reason inevitably reports that All-Mindness must be in Spirit and that Spiritual Mind is all the Mind there is. There is nothing else to have or to be Mind other than Spirit. Wherever Mind is then that Mind must be Spiritual Mind.

MIND AND THOUGHT.

But the statement also makes the very important distinction between Mind and Thought. Thought, particular or universal, is but an activity of Mind . It is important to make and understand this essential distinction between Mind and Thought. That which the majority of us have been calling Mind is really but Thought. Let us then see the distinction and difference. We can understand Universal Mind and Universal Thought only by analogy, by considering our own particular mind and thought and reasoning therefrom up to Infinity.

Man knows his mind simply by reason of its thoughts, feelings, emotions, ideas, etc. He feels, has emotions; thinks, has ideas; imagines, has mental images; remembers, has representations of previous mental images, etc. All these he recognizes as incidents and manifestations of that mysterious Substantial Something that he calls "Mind." He is conscious of his mind (and of himself , for that matter) only when he is aware of these manifestations of mind. Apart from them he might as well be dead, for if they did not exist he would not know that he himself existed or had a mind. To all intents and purposes his mind is but the totality of his thoughts, ideas, mental images, mental feelings, etc. Whatever else it may be he does not know and cannot tell. He is not aware of its existence otherwise.

A celebrated German psychologist was wont to begin his first lecture of psychology by bidding his students to "Think about that wall opposite you." They complied. Then he said, " Now think about the thing that thinks about the wall . That thing is the mind, and is the subject-matter of psychology, our study."