Lesson C: A Successful Life For Everyone
This is the third lesson of the four main lessons in the Thought Bricks Intro Course. In this lesson Bernard helps us build our sense of faith and belief with simple practical steps which anyone can use.
Blessings,
William
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Lesson C: A Successful Life For Everyone
You have reached half-way in this opening portion of the Thought Bricks Course. By now, if you have studied the teachings and put them into practice, you will feel very differently about yourself, life, the All-Life and the creative powers you have inherited, than you did at the beginning.
Probably you have already begun to correct your thinking; changing negative thoughts to positive ones, and encouraging yourself onward. Encouragement is vital. Life in this modern world of ours has enough problems and difficulties without adding to them ourselves by unnecessary criticism and harshness. We all know how a few drops of oil will help machinery to work more easily. Self encouragement will do the same for us.
How do you rate yourself regarding belief? You have made some headway by now, sensing already some good results approaching. You may have had some successes as many students have done before you.
In this lesson we are going to step aside a little, considering this question. (It has been asked. many times.) “Suppose a person tried, and just couldn’t get belief? Is there no other way, but that described in the first two lessons?” The answer is that everyone can believe, and where one way is not effective, another can be used. This lesson describes one of those ways.
I believe completely in what I am about to write here. I consider it so simple that every person who reads this, will be able to understand it, and. to use it to enjoy a successful life.
If you follow these instructions out to the letter I truly believe that, whether you have at present any faith or not, a successful life will open to you.
Let’s get right down to ‘brass tacks” then. I am not going into any theories or arguments. All I shall do is to tell you exactly what to do to gain a successful life. You may think after reading this, “It sounds wonderful, yet I just can’t believe it could happen to me”. Never mind what you believe or what you don’t believe. Never mind what you hope or what you feel you dare not hope. If you follow out to the letter the clear and simple instructions I am giving you here a successful life will be yours.
What does the word “success” mean to you? Remember that people have different ideas. Your idea must be formed with yourself in mind. It must suit you, be in tune with your personality, age, interests and general development. If it is something quite foreign to you, you won’t really believe in it – it will belong to a “foreigner” and not to you at all. Think carefully and make a balanced choice. Then all you have to do is to read this lesson and follow out its instructions to the letter.
At this point you may object, “But we are told. that we must have faith, that we must believe, in order to have ‘what things soever we desire’. How then can one get all this without faith or belief? In reply I say: Faith and belief are necessary to make people act in the way I shall describe in this leaflet. If you act in this way day after day, the actions will give rise to faith and belief. These attitudes will grow in you if you follow out the actions and thoughts given.
This is something like physical training. A weakling may go to a strong man and ask him to help. The strong man says, ‘Do these exercises I shall give you. You will become strong and then can help yourself.” The weakling replies, “I don’t believe it!” “Nevertheless”, insists the strong man, “follow out these exercises every day whether you believe it or not, and you will grow strong. After that you will have belief in the power of the exercises as well as success from the use of them.”
Faith and belief give people the incentive to act in the way I shall describe in these pages. But if you substitute your will to do them you will gain belief in the power of the actions as well as success from doing them.
Now to begin. Point Number One is this whatever thought you think, it does something to you or your life and affairs. If you think a thought about something outside of you, perhaps miles away from you, it does something. Not to the thing thought about, but to you.
If you think a thought about another person (though it may have some effect on his or her consciousness according to how developed you are and the other person are) it will do something to you. And that something will be far stronger than anything you can affect or alter outside of you. Every thought you think does something to you, acting as as magnet which brings things of a similar nature into your life and affairs.
Consider what happens when, say, you think miserably about a house, envying others who have houses similar to the one you would like. The effect is that you set a magnetic centre of misery up inside you, and that centre goes on drawing – not the house that will give you happiness, but other things that will make you even more miserable than before. You may even get a house, but it would be ‘dust and ashes’ to you, utterly gloomy and unsatisfying.
Now consider what happens when you think happily and hopefully of a house. Planning out all that you would like it to be and living in it already in your imagination. You set up a magnetic centre of happiness within you which immediately starts to attract more happiness into your life. Your mental picture of a house attracts to you people who are also thinking of houses. You will meet as though by accident, those who want houses and those who want to dispose of them or let them. Presently you will get your house and it will give you happiness because you have set up a magnetic centre of happiness within yourself.
It is the same when a man thinks miserably of other people, feeling envious. Such a man sets up a magnetic centre of misery within himself and the very people he wants to help him, bring him only further misery. While those he envies go on their way, quite unmoved by his jealous thoughts. If however, a man thinks happily of others, wanting as much happiness for them as he does for himself, the magnetic centre of happiness grows within him. He attracts friends wherever he goes and finds fulfillment.
Everything you see, begins with thought. (Remember what you read in an earlier lesson? The world came into being by means of thought. There wasn’t anything tangible to make it from.) And everything comes into being for us by means of thought. You are an offspring of Universal Creative mind. Just as a drop of water cast up on the sand, is an offspring of the ocean. The drop of water has exactly the same attributes as the ocean, and so have you creative power in your mind. You will now understand me when I say that to form and direct your thoughts is the most important thing you can do.
You are now ready to be begin your practice to bring to yourself a successful life. This is what you must do every day without fail.
(1) Control your thoughts. At first they will leap about like a restive dog. Put “a lead on the dog” and take control. When your thoughts rush on draw them back firmly. Tell yourself that it is your mind and that you will from now on think what you like.
(2) Develop your magnetic centre with the right kind of thoughts. Then you find yourself thinking miserably, say within yourself, “I disown this misery. I build within myself a magnetic centre of happiness.” It doesn’t matter how many times you have to do this in a day. It may be hundreds at first! Gradually you will get control. (Say the word “happiness” over and over to yourself too – it will help to build your “centre”.) Do the same with fear, jealousy, ill-health etc., begin, “I disown”, then add whatever you wish to banish. For instance:-
“I disown this fear I now build within myself a magnetic centre of courage.” Or:-
“I disown this ill-health I now build within myself a magnetic centre of health.”
(3) Think it over carefully and decide what you want in order to have a successful life. Remember that you will not want anything that would harm or rob another (for your desire to harm or rob would create a magnetic centre, attracting to you people who wished to harm or rob you). ‘Do yourself proud” in your plans for a successful life, but remember to let them suit you, your background and abilities. Otherwise they would not bring you satisfaction. Let your plans be something you can easily imagine yourself having and enjoying. When you have it all set, get a notebook and write it down clearly, under headings. Make it short, so that you can memorise it and repeat it often. Then underneath, elaborate and give details, as though you were an architect planning a house.
(4) Repeat your “Plan For Success” as often as possible during each day. Read your detailed “Plan For Success” night and morning, lingering over it if possible and getting the feel of yourself in possession of what you desire. Feel the thrill of it!
(5) First thing every morning (if possible, before you open your eyes on waking) say happily within yourself, “Today is a day of opportunity, to bring me nearer to my success!”
(6) Watch for unexpected happenings, “chance” meetings, a passage in a newspaper or book – any little incident that may be a step onward towards your aim. Be expectant, be enthusiastic, and you will be satisfied! When you see your life unfolding, as it will when you build your magnetic centre within, follow up all the “avenues” until you come out into the “open ground” of your heart’s desire.
(7) Be serious as well as happy about all this. Don’t take the attitude, “What fun I will write down all the things I’ve ever wanted in life and see what happens. Who knows? It may cause my luck to turn.” This lesson isn’t about luck. It shows a scientific method of utilising the creative power of the mind. When you plan out your desires and hold to them as described, here, a way to achieve them will unfold within your mind a way which may be absolutely unexpected yet well within your powers. A new way to a new life.
This is the method for you to use. Follow it every day until you have your own successful life. You may think it needs persistence. What if it does? A carpenter, draughtswoman or mechanic could not learn their trade without following instructions day after day. Whereas you are learning to attain all you want in life – and those seven things to do each day are so very simple!
As I have already said, whether you have faith and belief or not right now, is of little consequence provided you act as I have described. Faith and belief will grow as your success appears. And your success will appear, if you persevere. I know. I have done all this myself and proved it!
You may wonder why I followed this method – surely it was not because I had no belief or faith? You’re right it wasn’t for that reason. I used the method because it is effective. It will bring results, whatever the faith-progress of those who use it. You may not need it to help you to grow belief. You could have had quite a lot before you began this Course, and have developed even more as a result of your studies so far. This method though is worth keeping “in stock”.
In the many years I have been thought building (getting breath-taking results at times and always lovely, satisfying ones) I have found it useful to use a variety of techniques. If the same one is used, the mind grows accustomed to it and the thrill fades. (That is why there are so many thought building charts and techniques in the rest of the Course – The Foundation Course.)
A man who had had almost all of those lessons received a new chart (some are sent out automatically with the lessons.) He wrote,”It is magical! I had a very difficult problem to solve in my business and had begun to get a bit dispirited. When the chart came that morning I slipped {a printed copy} into my wallet before leaving for the office. That evening I waited until all the staff had gone, then sat down at my desk, switched on my reading-lamp, opened up the chart and slowly read it through several times. As I did so, a thrill seemed to run through my body and I felt a surge of power within my mind. ‘I can do it!’ I said to myself. ‘There must be a way out!'”
“There was. As I sat looking around the dimly-lit office, the ideas flowed… Next morning I put them into action. (The staff must have wondered where I got the solution from, and the energy, for I had them all working feverishly all day, as I was too.) By the end of the week the result came through – we had cracked it! And it all began with that new chart, the fresh angle that made all the difference and brought me success.”
That was years ago. (Nowadays correspondence has to be more brief because of the time factor.) But it still happens, and you too will find, benefit from changing your thought building methods and getting success from a new approach.
– Bernard