THE SECRET OF SUCCESS by William Walter Atkinson (popular novels .TXT) 📕

/> moment - is the mind YOU? You are aware that your mental states change - your
emotions vary - your feelings differ from time to time - your very ideas and
thoughts are inconsistent and are subject to outside influences, or else are
molded and governed by that which you call "I", or your Real Self. Then there
must be something behind Mental States, Ideas, Feelings, Thoughts, etc., which is
superior to them and which "knows" them just as one knows a thing apart from
itself but which it uses. You say "I" feel; "I" think; "I" believe; "I" know; "I" will;
etc. , etc. Now which is the Real Self? The Mental States just mentioned or the "I"
which is the subject or Real Cause of the mental phenomena? It is not the Mind
that knows, but the "I" which uses the Mind in order to know. This may seem a
little abstruse to you if you have never been made a study of the subject, but think
it over a little and the idea will clearly define itself in your mind.
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We are not telling you these things merely to give you an idea of metaphysics,
philosophy, or psychology - there are many books that go into these matters at
length and in detail - so it is not for that reason. The real reason is that with a
realization of the "I" or Real Self, comes a sense of Power that will manifest
through you and make you strong. The awakening to a realization of the "I", in its
clearness and vividness, will cause you to feel a sense of Being and Power that you
have never before known. Before you can express Individuality, you must realize
that you are an Individual. And you must be aware of this "I" within you before
you can realize that you are an Individual.
The "Me" side of you is what is called Personality, to the outer appearance of
yourself. Your Personality is made up of countless characteristics, traits, habits,
thoughts, expressions and motions - it is a bunch of peculiarities and personal
traits that you have been thinking was the real "I" all this time. But it is not. Do
you know what the idea of Personality arose from? Let us tell you. Turn to the
pages of any good dictionary, and you will see that the word originated from the
Latin word "Persona", meaning "a mask used by actors in ancient times", and
which the word in turn was derived from two other words, "sonare," meaning to
"sound," and "per," meaning"through," the two words combined meaning "to
sound through" - the idea being that the voice of the actor sounded through the
mask of the assumed personality or character. Webster gives the following as one
of the meanings of "Person," even to this day: "A character or part, as in a play;
an assumed character." So then, Personality means the part you are playing in the
Great Play of Life, on the Stage of the Universe. The real Individual concealed
behind the mask of Personality is YOU - the Real Self - the "I" - that part of you
which you are conscious when you say "I AM," which is your assertion of
existence and latent power. "Individual" means something that cannot be divided
or subtracted from - something that cannot be injured or hurt by outside forces -
something REAL. And you are an Individual - a Real Self - an "I" - Something
endowed with Life, Mind, and Power, to use, as you will.
A poet named Orr wrote:
Lord of a thousand worlds am I,
And I reign since time began;
And night and day, in cyclic sway,
Shall pass while their deeds I scan.
Yet time shall cease ere I find release,
For I AM the soul of Man
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Spiritedness
To many of you, the title of this lesson - Spiritedness - may seem to have some
connection with "spirits," "disembodied entities," or else the "soul" or some
higher part of it, to which the name Spirit is often applied. But, in this case, we
use the word in a different sense, and yet in a sense approved by many advanced
teachers and investigators of the occult and spiritual. One of the meanings of the
word"spirit" as given by Webster is as follows:"Energy, vivacity, ardor,
enthusiasm, courage," etc. , while the same authority defines the word "spirited"
as:"Animated; full of life and vigor, lively," etc. These definitions will give you a
hint of the sense in which we are now using the term, but there is still more to it.
To us the word Spirit expresses the idea of the real essential nature of the
Universal Power, and which is also manifested in man as the center of his being -
his essential strength and power, from whence proceeds all that renders him an
Individual. Spiritedness does not mean the quality of being ethereal, "goodygoody,"
spiritual, otherworldly, or anything of that sort. It means the state of
being "animated," meaning, "possessed of life and vigor" - so that the state is
really that of being filled with Power and Life. And that Power and Life comes
from the very center of one’s being - the "I AM" region or plane of mind and
consciousness.
Spiritedness is manifested in different degrees among different men - and even
among the animals. It is an elementary, fundamental, primitive quality and
expression of Life, and does not depend upon culture, refinement or education -
its development seems to depend upon such instinctive or intuitional recognition
of the Something Within - the Power of the Individual which is derived from that
Universal Power of which we are all expressions. And even some of the animals
seem to possess it.
A recent writer on the "Taming of Animals" expresses instinctive realization of
Spiritedness among some of the higher animals as follows:"Put two male baboons
in the same cage, and they will open their mouths, show all their teeth, and ‘blow’
at each other. But one of them, even though he may possess the uglier dentition,
will blow with a difference, with an inward shakiness that marks him as the under
dog at once. No test of battle is needed at all. It is the same with the big cats. Put
two, or four, or a dozen lions together, and they also, probably without a single
contest, will soon discover which one of them possesses the mettle of the master.
Thereafter he takes the choice of the meat; if he chooses, the rest shall not even
begin to eat until he has finished; he goes first to the fresh pan of water. In short
he is ‘king of the cage. ’Now, then, when a tamer goes into a den with a big cat
that has taken a notion to act ‘funny,’ his attitude is almost exactly that of the
‘king beast’ above mentioned would be toward a subject rash and ill advised
enough to challenge his kingship."
You will notice in the above quotation, that the writer states clearly that it is not
always the baboon with the fiercest tusks that is the master, neither does the
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"king lion" necessarily assert his dominion by winning a physical fight - it is
something far more subtle than the physical - it is the manifestation of some soul
quality of the animal. And so it is with men, it is not always the biggest and
strongest physically who rule -the ruler becomes so by reason of the mysterious
soul quality which we call Spiritedness, and which men often call "nerve," or
"mettle," or "sand." When two individuals come into contact with each other
there is mental struggle - there may not be even a word uttered - and yet soul
grapples with soul as the two pairs of eyes gaze into each other, and a subtle
something in each engages and grapples with a subtle something in the other. It
may be all over in a moment, but the conflict is settled for the time, and each of
the mental combatants knows that he is victor or defeated, as the case may be.
There may be no feeling of antagonism between the parties engaging, but
nevertheless there seems to be an inward recognition on both sides that there is
something between them always leads. And this leadership does not depend upon
physical strength, intellectual attainment, or culture in the ordinary sense, but
upon the manifestation and recognition of that subtle quality that we have called
Spirit.
People unconsciously assert their recognition of quality in themselves and others,
by their use of the term. We often hear of people "lacking spirit"; being
"spiritless"; and of others having had "their spirit broken;" etc. The term is used
in the sense of "mettle. "A "mettled" horse or man is "high-spirited," according to
the dictionaries; and the same authorities define "mettlesome" as "full of spirit,"
so you see the term is used as we have employed it - but the explanation of the
source of the "spiritedness" is not given. Breeders of thoroughbred racing horses
will tell you that a horse having "spirit" will run a gamer race and will often
outdistance and out-wind a horse having higher physical characteristics, but less
"spirit" or "class." Horsemen insist that the possession of "spirit" in a horse is
recognized by the other horses, who are effected by it and become discouraged
and allow themselves to be beaten, although often they may be better racing
machines, physically. This spirit is a fundamental vital strength possessed by all
living things in degrees - and it may be developed and strengthened in one’s self.
In our next lesson we shall recite a few instances of its manifestation among men.
Oliver Wendell Holmes, in one of his books, gives the following vivid description
of the conflict of spiritedness between two men: "The Koh-i-noor’s face turned so
white with rage that his blue-black mustache and beard looked fearful against it.
He grinned with wrath, and caught at a tumbler, as if he would have thrown its
contents at the speaker. The young Marylander fixed his clear, steady eye upon
him, and laid his hand on his arm, carelessly almost, but the Jewel felt that he
could not move it. It was no use. The youth was his master, and in a deadly
Indian hug in which men wrestle with their eyes, over in five seconds, but which
breaks one of their two backs, and is good for three score years and ten, one trial
enough - settles the whole matter - just as when two feathered songsters of the
barnyard, game and dunghill, come together. After a jump or two at each other,
and a few sharp kicks, there is an end to it; and it is ‘After you, monsieur,’ with
the beaten party in all the social relations for all the rest of his days."
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Fothergill says: "Emily Bronte sketched out her ideal of a being possessed of
immense willpower in a thorough ruffian - Heathcliff. A massive, muscular brute!
Well, it was a girl’s conception of a strong man; but I think I have seen some
quiet, inoffensive-looking men in spectacles, who could very soon have shown the
ruffian where the superiority lay."
A celebrated historical example of Spiritedness, under apparently overwhelming
odds, is that of the interview between Hugo, Bishop of Lincoln and Richard Coeur
de Lion, in the church of Roche d’Andeli. In his desire to prosecute the war in
Normandy, Richard demanded additional supplies and money from his barons
and bishops, but Hugo refused to furnish men or money. He claimed that
although the See of Lincoln was legally bound to supply men and money for
military service within the four seas of Britain, the war in Normandy did not
come under that head, and he defied the king. King Richard, called the Lion-
Hearted,