For many years there has been an endless discussion as to the origin of evil. Theologians have told us that God is Love, and that God is Omnipresent. If this be true, there is no place where God is not. Where, then, is Evil, Satan and Hell?
Let us see:
God is Spirit.
Spirit is the Creative Principle of the Universe.
Man is made in the image and likeness of God.
Man is therefore a spiritual being.
The only activity which spirit possesses is the power to think.
Thinking is therefore a creative process.
All form is therefore the result of the thinking process.
The destruction of form must also be a result of the thinking process.
Fictitious representations of form are the result of the creative power of thought, as in Hypnotism.
Apparent representation of form are the result of the creative power of thought, as in Spiritualism.
Invention, organization and constructive work of all kinds are the result of the creative power of thought, as in concentration.
When the creative power of thought is manifested for the benefit of humanity, we call the result good.
When the creative power of thought is manifested in a destructive or evil manner, we call the result evil.
This indicates the origin of both good and evil; they are simply words which have been coined in order to indicate the nature of the result of the thinking or creative process. Thought necessarily precedes and predetermines action; action precedes and predetermines condition.
Part Twenty will throw more light upon this important subject.
PART TWENTY
1. The spirit of a thing is that thing; it is necessarily fixed, changeless and eternal. The spirit of you is -- you; without the spirit you would be nothing. It becomes active through your recognition of it and its possibilities.
2. You may have all the wealth in Christendom, but unless you recognize it and make use of it, it will have no value; so with your spiritual wealth: unless you recognize it and use it, it will have no value. The one and only condition of spiritual power is use or recognition.
3. All great things come through recognition; the scepter of power is consciousness, and thought is its messenger, and this messenger is constantly molding the realities of the invisible world into the conditions and environments of your objective world.
4. Thinking is the true business of life, power is the result. You are at all times dealing with the magical power of thought and consciousness. What results can you expect so long as you remain oblivious to the power which has been placed within your control?
5. So long as you do this you limit yourself to superficial conditions, and make of yourself a beast of burden for those who think; those who recognize their power; those who know that unless we are willing to think we shall have to work, and the less we think the more we shall have to work, and the less we shall get for our work.
6. The secret of power is a perfect understanding of the principles, forces, methods and combinations of Mind, and a perfect understanding of our relationship to the Universal Mind. It is well to remember that this principle is unchangeable; if this were not so, it would not be reliable; all principles are changeless.
7. This stability is your opportunity; you are its active attribute, the channel for its activity; the Universal can act only through the individual.
8. When you begin to perceive that the essence of the Universal is within yourself -- is you -- you begin to do things; you begin to feel your power; it is the fuel which fires the imagination; which lights the torch of inspiration; which gives vitality to thought; which enables you to connect with all the invisible forces of the Universe. It is this power which will enable you to plan fearlessly, to execute masterfully.
9. But perception will come only in the Silence; this seems to be the condition required for all great purposes. You are a visualizing entity. Imagination is your workshop. It is here that your ideal is to be visualized.
10. As a perfect understanding of the nature of this power is a primary condition for its manifestation, visualize the entire method over and over again, so that you may use it whenever occasion requires. The infinity of wisdom is to follow the method whereby we may have the inspiration of the omnipotent Universal Mind on demand at any time.
11. We can fail to recognize this world within, and so exclude it from our consciousness, but it will still be the basic fact of all existence; and when we learn to recognize it, not only in ourselves, but in all persons, events, things and circumstances we shall have found the "Kingdom of heaven" which we are told is "within" us.
12. Our failures are a result of the operation of exactly the same principle; the principle is unchangeable; its operation is exact, there is no deviation; if we think lack, limitation, discord, we shall find their fruits on every hand; if we think poverty, unhappiness or disease, the thought messengers will carry the summons as readily as any other kind of thought and the result will be just as certain. If we fear a coming calamity, we shall be able to say with Job, "the thing I feared has come upon me"; if we think unkindly or ignorantly we shall thus attract to ourselves the results of our ignorance.
13. This power of thought, if understood and correctly used, is the greatest labor-saving device ever dreamed of, but if not understood or improperly used, the result will in all probability be disastrous, as we have already seen; by the help of this power you can confidently undertake things that are seemingly impossible, because this power is the secret of all inspiration, all genius.
14. To become inspired means to get out of the beaten path, out of the rut, because extraordinary results require extraordinary means. When we come into a recognition of the Unity of all things and that the source of all power is within, we tap the source of inspiration.
15. Inspiration is the art of imbibing, the art of self-realization; the art of adjusting the individual mind to that of the Universal Mind; the art of attaching the proper mechanism to the source of all power; the art of differentiating the formless into form; the art of becoming a channel for the flow of Infinite Wisdom; the art of visualizing perfection; the art of realizing the omnipresence of Omnipotence.
16. An understanding and appreciation of the fact that the infinite power is omnipresent and is therefore in the infinitely small as well as the infinitely large will enable us to absorb its essence; a further understanding of the fact that this power is spirit and therefore indivisible will enable us to appreciate its present at all points at the same time.
17. An understanding of these facts, first intellectually and then emotionally, will enable us to drink deeply from this ocean of infinite power. An intellectual understanding will be of no assistance; the emotions must be brought into action; thought without feeling is cold. The required combination is thought and feeling.
18. Inspiration is from within. The Silence is necessary, the senses must be stilled, the muscles relaxed, repose cultivated. When you have thus come into possession of a sense of poise and power you will be ready to receive the information or inspiration or wisdom which may be necessary for the development of your purpose.
19. Do not confuse these methods with those of the clairvoyant; they have nothing in common. Inspiration is the art of receiving and makes for all that is best in life; your business in life is to understand and command these invisible forces instead of letting them command and rule you. Power implies service; inspiration implies power; to understand and apply the method of inspiration is to become a superman.
20. We can live more abundantly every time we breathe, if we consciously breathe with that intention. The IF is a very important condition in this case, as the intention governs the attention, and without the attention you can secure only the results which every one else secures. That is, a supply equal to the demand.
21. In order to secure the larger supply your demand must be increased, and as you consciously increase the demand the supply will follow, you will find yourself coming into a larger and larger supply of life, energy and vitality.
22. The reason for this is not difficult to understand, but it is another of the vital mysteries of life which does not seem to be generally appreciated. If you make it your own, you will find it one of the great realities of life.
23. We are told that "In Him we live and move and have our being," and we are told that "He" is a Spirit, and again that "He" is Love, so that every time we breathe, we breathe this life, love, and spirit. This is Pranic Energy, or Pranic Ether, we could not exist a moment without it. It is the Cosmic Energy; it is the Life of the Solar Plexus.
24. Every time we breathe we fill our lungs with air and at the same time vitalize our body with this Pranic Ether which is Life itself, so that we have the opportunity of making a conscious connection with All Life, All Intelligence and All Substance.
25. A knowledge of your relation and oneness with this Principle that governs the Universe and the simple method whereby you can consciously identify yourself with it gives you a scientific understanding of a law whereby you may free yourself from disease, from lack or limitation of any kind; in fact, it enables you to breathe the "breath of life" into your own nostrils.
26. This "breath of life" is a superconscious reality. It is the essence of the "I am." It is pure "Being" or Universal Substance, and our conscious unity with it enables us to localize it, and thus exercise the powers of this creative energy.
27. Thought is creative vibration and the quality of the conditions created will depend upon the quality of our thought, because we cannot express powers which we do not possess. We must "be" before we can "do" and we can "do" only to the extent to which we "are," and so what we do will necessarily coincide with what we "are" and what we are depends upon what we "think."
28. Every time you think you start a train of causation which will create a condition in strict accordance with the quality of the thought which originated it. Thought which is in harmony with the Universal Mind will result in corresponding conditions. Thought which is destructive or discordant will produce corresponding results. You may use thought constructively or destructively, but the immutable law will not allow you to plant a thought of one kind and reap the fruit of another. You are free to use this marvelous creative power as you will, but you must take the consequences.
29. This is the danger from what is called Will Power. There are those who seem to think that by force of will they can coerce this law; that they can sow seed of one kind and by "Will Power" make it bear fruit of another, but the fundamental principle of creative power is in the Universal, and therefore the idea of forcing a compliance with our wishes by the power of the individual will is an inverted conception which may appear to succeed for a while but is eventually doomed to failure - because it antagonizes the very power which it is seeking to use.
30. It is the individual attempting to coerce the Universal, the finite in conflict with the Infinite. Our permanent well-being will be best conserved by a conscious cooperation with the continuous forward movement of the Great Whole.
31. For your exercise this week, go into the Silence and concentrate on the fact that "In him we live and move and have our being" is literally and scientifically exact! That you ARE because He IS, that if He is Omnipresent He must be in you. That if He is all in all you must be in Him! That He is Spirit and you are made in "His image and likeness" and that the only difference between His spirit and your spirit is one of degree, that a part must be the same in kind and quality as the whole. When you can realize this clearly you will have found the secret of the creative power of thought, you will have found the origin of both good and evil, you will have found the secret of the wonderful power of concentration, you will have found the key to the solution of every problem whether physical, financial, or environmental.
The power to think consecutively and deeply and clearly, is an avowed and deadly enemy to mistakes and blunders, superstitions, unscientific theories, irrational beliefs, unbridled enthusiasm, fanaticism
多少年來，人們無休止地爭論著惡的起源。神學家們這樣告訴我們，神就是愛，神的靈遍滿宇宙。如果真是這樣，上帝就是無所不在的了。那麽，邪惡，撒旦和地獄又在哪裏呢？讓我們看看吧：神就是靈。
這個靈，就是宇宙的創造性法則。
人是按照上帝的形象和樣式造的。
因此，人也是精神的實體。
而精神的惟一屬性，就是進行思考的能力。
因此，思考是一個創造性的過程。
所以，一切形態都是思想過程的產物。
外在形態的毀滅也是思想過程的產物。
虛幻的形態表現是思想創造力的產物。
顯在的形態表現同樣是思想創造力的產物。
各種發明創造、組織結構以及建設性活動，都是思想創造力的產物，比如，在集中意念的過程中。
當思想創造力昭顯出對人類有益的結果時，我們就稱這個結果為“善”。
當思想創造力顯示出對人類有害的結果時，我們就稱這個結果為“惡”。
這就是善與惡的起源。善、惡不過是人們用來描述結果本質的詞語，這種結果一定是思考過程或創造過程的產物。
思想不可避免地預示並決定著行為；而行為又預示並決定著一切境遇。
第二十章在這個至關重要的話題上作了更多的闡釋。
《第二十章》
1、精神即存在。它必然是固定、永恒、不變的。你的精神就是你的真我。沒有了精神，你就什麽都不是。你越是能夠認識精神及其各種可能性，它就會越活躍。
2、你可能擁有世界上的一切財富，但是如果你從來不知道這些財富的存在，也不懂得加以運用，它對你就沒有任何意義。你的精神財富也是如此，如果你認識不到，也不會利用，它也就沒有任何價值。獲得精神力量的惟一條件是認識它、運用它。
3、一切偉大的事情都是從認知而來的。意識是力量的權杖，思想是力量的信使，它們不斷地把看不見的內在世界塑造成客觀世界的環境和境遇。
4、人生的意義在於思考，思考的結果就是獲得力量。你這一生都在與思想和意識的神奇魔力打交道。如果你對這種自己明明可以控制的力量卻視而不見、聽而不聞的話，那會有怎樣的後果呢？
5、如果你真的像上面所說的那樣去做的話，你就會受到表面條件的局限，使自己成為那些“勞心者”役使的馱畜。因為他們懂得去思考，他們認識到了自己的力量；他們更明白，如果不願“勞心”，就不得不“勞力”；想的越少，幹的越多，收獲反而越小。
6、力量的奧秘，在於對精神原理、能量、方法以及精神產物的透徹領悟，並能很好地理解我們與宇宙精神之間的關系。我們一定不要忘記，這個法則是不可改變的，否則它就不那麽可靠了。因此，一切法則都是永不改變的。
7、這種法則的恒定性對你來說就是機遇。宇宙精神祇有通過人類個體才能有所作為。你就是宇宙的活動渠道，你就是宇宙的動態屬性。
8、當你開始領會宇宙的精華本質就在你內心當中──宇宙的精華就是你──你真正的行動就開始了。你會感覺到你的力量，如同火焰一般激發了你的想像力，點燃了你激情的火炬。這種能量能給你的思想註入生命的活力，讓你與宇宙看不見的力量相聯系。也正是這種力量使你無憂無懼地制定計劃，並勇敢果斷地去執行。
9、然而，惟有“寂靜”是這種感知力的源泉，這是實現一切宏偉藍圖的必經之途。你只是一個進行想像的存在實體，想像力是你的工作室。你的藍圖就在這個工作室中構想出來。
10、對這種力量的本質的透徹領悟，是讓這種能力體現出來的必要條件。你需要一遍遍地想像整個方法過程，直到你能夠在任何需要的場合中加以運用。隨之而來的就是無限的智慧，到那時，你就會隨時隨地感受到全能宇宙精神的有求必應。
11、我們或許不知道內在的世界是怎樣的，它離我們的意識太過於陌生遙遠，但它卻是一切存在最根本的事實。如果我們學著去了解它──不僅僅是我們自己的內心，也包括所有的人、所有的事、一切存在與環境的內在，我們就會明白，“天國”就在我們自己心中。
12、我們的失敗也是這同一個原理運行的結果。這個原理是不可改變的，它的運行是精確無誤的，從來不會出現偏離。如果我們思考的是匱乏、局限、混亂，我們就會處處遭逢惡果：如果我們思考的是貧困、不幸、疾病，思想的信使也會像法院的傳票一樣把這些劫難帶來。果之於因，如影隨形；根源無他，都在我們的思想之中。如果我們恐懼災難，那我們就會像“約伯”一樣哭號：“我所恐懼的臨到我身，我所懼怕的迎我而來。”（譯註：語出《舊約。約伯記》第3章第25節）如果我們的思想冷酷無情或愚蒙無知，我們也會同樣把這些無知的結果召喚到我們身邊。
13、這種思想的力量，如果能恰當理解，正確運用，就會成為人類所能夢想到的最厲害的節約人力的裝備，但如果誤解它或是不恰當地使用，就很可能引發災難性的後果，這些我們都已經知道了。借助這種力量，我們可以充滿自信地去做每一件看起來是不可能的事，因為這種力量是一切靈感和天才誕生的秘密。
14、擁有靈感意味著打破常規，擺脫俗套，因為超常的結果需要靠超常的手段來完成。如果我們能夠認識到一切事物的統一性，認識到一切力量都源於內在，我們就能找尋到靈感的泉源。
15、靈感是攝取的藝術，是自我實現的藝術，是個體精神根據宇宙精神做出調整的藝術，是運用適當的機制運行一切能量的藝術。這種藝術能使無形轉化為有形，使個體成為宇宙無限智慧流通的渠道。這是一門盡善盡美地構思設想的藝術，一門實現無所不在的全能力量的藝術。
16、我們應該接受並掌握這樣的事實：無限的力量是無所不在的，因此，它存在於無限微小之中，也存在於無限廣大之中。明白這些，將使我們汲取到這種力量的精華。同時我們更要知道：這種力量是一種精神，因此是不可再分的。這樣，我們能夠隨時隨地地了解它的存在。
17、首先要從理性上理解，繼而要在情感上接受，它將使我們從無限力量的深海中盡情地啜飲。單純做理性上的領會沒有任何作用。情感應該發揮作用，沒有情感的思想是冷冰冰的。思想和情感的結合才是必要的。
18、靈感產生於內在。“寂靜”是必不可少的。首先，放松肌肉，感官靜止，進入休眠狀態。當你擁有了平衡感和力量感的時候，你也就做好接受信息、靈感或智慧的準備。而這些，正是你形成目標所必不可少的。
19、不要把這些方法同巫術混為一談，二者全無工共同之處。靈感是一種接受的藝術，為你的生活帶來無窮福祉。你人生中最重要的事，便是領會並運用這種看不見的力量，而不是讓它們成為你的主人和統治者。力量意味著服務，而靈感暗示著力量。領會並運用這一靈感的規律將使你擁有超人的力量。
20、每次呼吸的時候，我們都可以獲取更豐富的生命，如果我們有意識地帶著這種意圖進行呼吸的話。“如果”是一個非常重要的前提條件，因為目的意圖掌握著精神註意力。如果不是有意識地去做的話，那你實現的結果就和別人沒什麽不同了。這就是“供應等於需求”的道理。
21、為了獲取更多的供應，你的需求也應該增長，如果你有意識地增進你的需求，供應就會隨之而來，你會發現，你正在進入越來越豐富的生命、能量與活力的供應之中。
22、其中的道理一點也不難懂，但是還的另外一個生命的奧秘是幾乎從來不為人所知的。如果你能把它據為已有的話，就會發現這是生活中最偉大的現實之一。
23、有人告訴我們：“我們活在他的裏面，存在於他的裏面，也在他的裏面運動。”並告訴我們，這個“他”就是個靈，“他”就是愛。因此每當我們呼吸的時候，我們吸納到體內的都是這種生命、這種愛、這個靈。這就是“氣能”，或者叫“氣以太”，它的存在無時無刻不可或缺。這就是宇宙能量，這就是太陽叢的生命。
24、當呼吸的時候，我們把空氣吸入我們的肺部，同時也吸入了這種“氣能”，讓生命本身註入到我們體內，因此，我們有機會與“全部生命”、“全部智慧”、“全部物質”建立起聯系。
25、認識自己與宇宙法則之間的關系，知道自己與它和諧統一，讓自己學會有意識地與它保持一致，這樣，你就能夠掌握讓自己從疾病、匱乏、局限中解放出來的規律。說到底，也就是能夠讓你呼吸到“生命的氣息”。
26、這種生命的氣息是超自然的存在。這就是“真我”的精華，純粹的本質，或者說，就是宇宙存在，而我們如果能夠有意識地與它保持和諧統一，就能使它紮根生長，並控制行使這種創造性的能量。
27、思想是一種創造性的振動形式，環境的生成取決於我們的思想狀態，因為我們所釋放的能力，正是我們所擁有的。我們必須“是”什麽，才能去“做”什麽。我們“做”的程度也取決於我們到底“是”什麽樣的。因此，我們的所作所為完全和我們的“存在”本質相吻合，而我們的存在取決於我們的“思想”。
28、每當你進行思考，你就開動了因果循環的列車，你所創造的環境完全與產生它的思想狀態相吻合。思想如果能夠與宇宙精神保持一致，那麽就會引發相應的好的結果。而破壞性的_或是混亂不堪的思想都可以運用，但是永恒不變的規律不會允許你“種瓜得豆”。你可以隨心所欲地運用這些神奇的創造力，但一切後果須得自負。
29、這就是來源於“自由意誌”的危險。有些人可能以為通過意誌的強制性作用可以迫使這個法則進行改變。通過“意誌力”，他們能夠“種瓜得豆”。然而，創造力的基本原理是普遍存在的。因此，想要通過個人意誌的力量使宇宙力量依從我們的願望是一種歪曲的理念，這種理念可能會獲得一時的成功，但終究會落得個鎩羽而歸的下場──因為這種想法與它所尋求的宇宙力量存在著沖突。
30、迫使宇宙與你妥協不過是個人的一廂情願，這種用有限對抗無限的做法無異於螳臂當車。只有與不斷向前運動的“宇宙整體有意識地協調合作，才能最大程度地把握住我們永恒的幸福。
31、你本周的課業是，進入到“寂靜”的狀態中，聚精會神，思考這個道理──“我們活在他的裏面，存在於他的裏面，也在他的裏面運行”，這句話是絕對精確的！你的存在是因為他的存在。如果他是無所不在的，那麽他一定也在你的裏面。如果他是萬有之有，那麽你一定就在他的裏面！如果他是靈，那麽你是“按照他的形象和樣式所造”，而你和他在精神上的差異僅僅是程度之分，而作為他其中的一個部分在特性上必然與整體完全一致。如果你能對這些大徹大悟，你就會認識到善惡之源，看到集中意念的神奇能量，找到解決所有問題的萬能鑰匙──不管是健康問題、收入問題還是境遇問題。
深邃、透徹、符合邏輯的思考是一種能力，這種能力是一切過失、差錯、迷信、盲從、謬論、狂熱、偏激的公認的死敵。-------- 哈多克
待續
