The Way of Peace | Page 8

seen.
Thy Master sits not in the unapproached mountains,
Nor dwells in the mirage which
floats on the air,
Nor shalt thou discover His magical fountains
In pathways of sand
that encircle despair.
In selfhood's dark desert cease wearily seeking
The odorous tracks of the feet of thy
King;
And if thou wouldst hear the sweet sound of His speaking, Be deaf to all voices
that emptily sing.
Flee the vanishing places; renounce all thou hast;
Leave all that thou lovest, and, naked
and bare,
Thyself at the shrine of the Innermost cast;
The Highest, the Holiest, the
Changeless is there.
Within, in the heart of the Silence He dwelleth;
Leave sorrow and sin, leave thy
wanderings sore;
Come bathe in His Joy, whilst He, whispering, telleth
Thy soul what
it seeketh, and wander no more.
Then cease, weary brother, thy struggling and striving; Find peace in the heart of the
Master of ruth.
Across self's dark desert cease wearily driving;
Come; drink at the
beautiful waters of Truth.
THE ACQUIREMENT OF SPIRITUAL POWER

The world is filled with men and women seeking pleasure, excitement, novelty; seeking
ever to be moved to laughter or tears; not seeking strength, stability, and power; but
courting weakness, and eagerly engaged in dispersing what power they have.
Men and women of real power and influence are few, because few are prepared to make
the sacrifice necessary to the acquirement of power, and fewer still are ready to patiently
build up character.
To be swayed by your fluctuating thoughts and impulses is to be weak and powerless; to
rightly control and direct those forces is to be strong and powerful. Men of strong animal
passions have much of the ferocity of the beast, but this is not power. The elements of
power are there; but it is only when this ferocity is tamed and subdued by the higher
intelligence that real power begins; and men can only grow in power by awakening
themselves to higher and ever higher states of intelligence and consciousness.
The difference between a man of weakness and one of power lies not in the strength of
the personal will (for the stubborn man is usually weak and foolish), but in that focus of
consciousness which represents their states of knowledge.
The pleasure-seekers, the lovers of excitement, the hunters after novelty, and the victims
of impulse and hysterical emotion lack that knowledge of principles which gives balance,
stability, and influence.
A man commences to develop power when, checking his impulses and selfish
inclinations, he falls back upon the higher and calmer consciousness within him, and
begins to steady himself upon a principle. The realization of unchanging principles in
consciousness is at once the source and secret of the highest power.
When, after much searching, and suffering, and sacrificing, the light of an eternal
principle dawns upon the soul, a divine calm ensues and joy unspeakable gladdens the
heart.
He who has realized such a principle ceases to wander, and remains poised and
self-possessed. He ceases to be "passion's slave," and becomes a master-builder in the
Temple of Destiny.
The man that is governed by self, and not by a principle, changes his front when his
selfish comforts are threatened. Deeply intent upon defending and guarding his own
interests, he regards all means as lawful that will subserve that end. He is continually
scheming as to how he may protect himself against his enemies, being too self-centered
to perceive that he is his own enemy. Such a man's work crumbles away, for it is
divorced from Truth and power. All effort that is grounded upon self, perishes; only that
work endures that is built upon an indestructible principle.
The man that stands upon a principle is the same calm, dauntless, self-possessed man
under all circumstances. When the hour of trial comes, and he has to decide between his
personal comforts and Truth, he gives up his comforts and remains firm. Even the
prospect of torture and death cannot alter or deter him. The man of self regards the loss of

his wealth, his comforts, or his life as the greatest calamities which can befall him. The
man of principle looks upon these incidents as comparatively insignificant, and not to be
weighed with loss of character, loss of Truth. To desert Truth is, to him, the only
happening which can really be called a calamity.
It is the hour of crisis which decides who are the minions of darkness, and who the
children of Light. It is the epoch of threatening disaster, ruin, and persecution which
divides the sheep from the goats, and reveals to the reverential gaze of succeeding ages
the men and women of power.
It is easy for a man, so long as he is left in the enjoyment of his possessions, to persuade
himself that he believes in and adheres to the principles of Peace,