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INSPIRING
PAGES :
Finding
Your "Secret Place"
by
Emilie Cady
Our
highest desires are, in fact, God's desires longing to be manifested
through us. Then we just have to "let go and let God",
by finding "the secret place of the Most High" and dwelling
in it. Let us learn how from the nourishing words of one of the
greatest mystics in the New Thought Tradition.
We
need not be anxious or in a hurry for the full manifestation. Let
us not at any time lose sight of the fact that our desire, great
as it is, is only God's desire in us. "No man can come to me,
except the Father t hat
sent me draw him"
(Jn. 6:44). The Father in us desires to reveal to us the
secret of His presence, else we had not known any hunger for the
secret, or for Truth.
"God
is seeking you"
Know
once and forever that you are not seeking God, but God is seeking
you.
Your longing for greater manifestation is the eternal energy that
holds
the worlds in their orbits, outpushing through you to get into fuller
manifestation. You need not worry. You need not be anxious. You
need
not strive. Only let it. Learn how to let it.
After
all our beating about the bush, seeking here and there for our heart's
desire, we must come right to Him who is the fulfillment of every
desire; who waits to manifest more of Himself to us and through
us.
If you wanted my love or anything that I am (not that I have), you
would
not go to Tom Jones or to Mary Smith to get it. Either of those
persons
might tell you that I could and would give myself, but you would
have
to come directly to me, and receive of me that which only I am,
because
I am it.
In
some way, after all our seeking for the light and Truth, we must
learn
to wait, each one for himself, upon God for this inner revelation
of
Truth and our oneness with Him.
The
light that we want is not some thing that God has to give; it is
God
Himself. God does not give us life or love as a thing. God is life
and
light and love. More of Himself in our consciousness, then, is what
we
all want, no matter what other name we may give it.
My
enduement of power must come from "on high," from a higher region
within
myself than my present conscious mind; so must yours. It must be
a
descent of the Holy (whole, entire, complete) Spirit at the center
of your
being into your conscious mind. The illumination we want can never
come
in any other way; nor can the power to make good manifest.
Sitting
in the Silence
We
hear a great deal about "sitting in the silence." To many it does
not mean very much, for they have not yet learned how to "wait...in
silence for God only" (Ps. 62:5), or to hear any voice
except external
ones. Noise belongs to the outside world, not to God. God works
in
the stillness, and we can so wait upon the Father of our being as
to be
conscious of the still, inner working--conscious of the fulfillment
of
our desires.
"Sitting
in the silence" is not merely a sort of lazy drifting. It is
a passive, but a definite, waiting upon God. When you want to do
this, take a time when you can, for a little while, lay off all
care. Begin your silence by lifting up your heart in prayer to the
Father of your being. Do not be afraid that, if you begin to pray,
you will be too "orthodox." You are not going to supplicate God,
who has already given you
things "whatsoever ye desire" (Mk. 11:24 A.V.). You
have already learned
that before you call He has sent that which you desire; otherwise
you would not desire it.
You
know better than to plead with or to beseech God with an unbelieving
prayer. But spending the first few moments of your silence in
speaking directly to the Father centers your mind on the Eternal.
True
Prayer
Many
who earnestly try to get still and wait upon God have found that,
the
moment they sit down and close their eyes, their thoughts, instead
of
being concentrated, are filled with every sort of vain imagination.
The
most trivial things, from the fixing of a shoestring to the gossipy
conversation
of a week ago, chase one another in rapid succession through
their minds, and at the end of an hour the persons have gained nothing.
This is to them discouraging.
This
is but a natural result of trying not to think at all. Nature abhors
a vacuum, and if you make (or try to make) your mind a vacuum, the
thought images of others that fill the atmosphere about you will
rush
in to fill it, leaving you as far away from the consciousness of
the
divine presence as ever. You can prevent this by beginning your
silence
with prayer.
It
is always easier for the mind to say realizingly, "Thy will is being
done in me now," after having prayed, "Let Thy will be done in me."
It is always easier to say with realization, "God flows through
me as
life and peace and power," after having prayed, "Let Thy life flow
through
me anew while I wait."
Of
course prayer does not change God's attitude
toward us, but it is easier for the human mind to take several successive
steps with firmness and assurance than for it to take one big,
bold leap to a point of eminence and hold itself steady there.
"Open
your mind only to God"
While
you are thus concentrating your thoughts on God, in definite conversation
with the author of your being, no outside thought images can
possibly rush in to torment or distract you. Your mind, instead
of being
open toward the external, is closed to it, and open only to God,
the
source of all the good you desire.
Repeat
the words many times, not anxiously or with strained effort, not
reaching out and up and away to an outside God; but let the petition
be the quiet, earnest uplifting of the heart to a higher something
right within itself, even to "the Father in me" (Jn. 14:11).
Let it be made with the quietness and assurance of a child speaking
to his loving father.
While
waiting upon God, we should, as much as possible, relax ourselves
both
mentally and physically. To use a very homely but practical illustration,
take much the attitude of the entire being as do the fowls when
taking a sun bath in the sand. Yet there is something more than
a lax
passivity to be maintained through it all. There must be a sort
of conscious,
active taking of that which God gives freely to us.
Let
me see if I can make it plain. We first withdraw ourselves bodily
and mentally from the outside world. We "enter into thine inner
chamber,
and . . . shut thy door"
(Mt. 6:6) (the closet of our being, the very innermost part
of ourselves), by turning our thoughts within.
Just
say, "Thou abidest within me; Thou art alive there now; Thou has
all
power; Thou art now the answer to all I desire; Thou dost now radiate
Thyself from the center of my being to the circumference, and out
into the visible world as the fullness of my desire."
Then
be still, absolutely still. Relax every part of your being, and
believe that it is being done. The divine substance does flow in
at the center and out into the visible world every moment you wait;
for it is an immutable law that "every one that asketh receiveth"
(Mt. 7:8). And substance will come forth as the fulfillment
of your desire if you expect it to. "According to your faith
be it done unto you" (Mt. 9:29).
The
Power of Thanksgiving
If
you find your mind wandering, bring it right back by saying again:
"It is being done; Thou art working in me; I am receiving that which
I desire," and so forth. Do not look for signs and wonders, but
just
be still and know that the very thing you want is flowing in and
will
come forth into manifestation either at once or a little farther
on.
Go
even beyond this and speak words of thanksgiving to this innermost
Presence, that it has heard and answered, that it does now come
forth into visibility.
There
is something about the mental act of thanksgiving that seems to
carry the human mind far beyond the region of doubt into the clear
atmosphere of faith and trust, where "all things are
possible"
(Mt. 19:26).
Even
if at first you are not conscious of having
received anything from God, do not worry or cease from your thanksgiving.
Do not go back of it again to the asking, but continue giving
thanks that while you waited you did receive, and that what you
received
is now manifest; and believe me, you will soon rejoice and give
thanks,
not rigidly from a sense of duty, but because of the sure manifest
fulfillment of your desire.
The
Secret of "Active Passivity"
Do
not let waiting in the silence become a bondage to you. If you find
yourself getting into a strained attitude of mind or "heady," get
up
and go about some external work for a time. Or, if you find that
your mind
will wander, do not insist on concentrating; for the moment you
get into
a rigid mental attitude you shut off all inflow of the Divine into
your
consciousness. There must be a sort of relaxed passivity and yet
an active
taking it by faith. Shall I call it active passivity?
Of
course, as we go in spiritual understanding and desire, we very
soon come
to the place where we want more than anything else that the desires
of
infinite wisdom and love be fulfilled in us.
Our
desires are God's desires, but in a limited degree. We soon throw
aside our limitations, our circumscribed desires (as soon, at least,
as we see that more of God means more of good and joy and happiness),
and with all our hearts we cry out in the silent sitting: "Fulfill
Thy highest thought in me now!" We make ourselves as clay in
the potter's hands, willing to be molded anew, to be "transformed
into the same image" (2 Cor. 3:18), to be made after
the mind of the indwelling Christ.
When
Faith Becomes Reality
While
you thus wait, and let Him, He will work marvelous changes in you.
You will have a strange new consciousness of serenity and quiet,
a feeling that something has been done, that some new power to overcome
has come to you. You will be able to say, "I and the Father are
one" (Jn. 10:30), with a new meaning, a new sense of
reality and awe that will
make you feel very still.
Oh!
how one conscious touch of the Oversoul
makes all life seem different! All the hard things become easy;
the
troublesome things no longer have power to worry; the rasping people
and
things of the world lose all power to annoy. Why? Because, for a
time,
we see as He sees. We do not have to deny evil; we know in that
moment
that it is nothing at all. We no longer rigidly affirm the good
from
sense of duty, but with delight and spontaneity, because we cannot
help
it. It is revealed to us as good. Faith has become reality.
Clear
revelation - the word made alive as Truth to the consciousness -
must come to every man who continues to wait upon God.
But
remember, there are two conditions imposed. You are to wait upon
God, not simply to run in and out, but to abide, to dwell "in
the secret place
of the Most High"
(Ps. 91:1).
Of
course I do not mean that you are to give all the time to sitting
alone
in meditation and silence, but that your mind shall be continually
in
an attitude of waiting upon God, not an attitude of clamoring for
things,
but of listening for the Father's voice and expecting a manifestation
of the Father to your consciousness.
The
second indispensable condition to finding the secret place and abiding
in it is "my expectation is from him": "My soul, wait
thou in silence for God only; for my expectation is from him."
(Ps. 62:5)
Is
your expectation from Him, or is it from books, or teachers, or
friends,
or meetings, or societies?
"The
King of Israel, even Jehovah is in the midst of thee" (Zeph.
3:15). Think of it; In the midst of you--at the center of your
being, this moment while you read these words. Say it, say it, think
it, dwell on it, whoever you are, wherever you are! In the midst
of you! Then what need
for all this running around? What need for all this strained outreaching
after Him?
"Jehovah
thy God is in the midst of thee (not God in the midst of another,
but in the midst of you, standing right where you are); a mighty
one
who will save; he will rejoice over thee with singing"
(Zeph. 3:17).
You
are His love. It is you that He will rejoice in with singing if
you will
turn away from people to Him within you. His singing and joy will
so
fill you that your life will be a great thanksgiving.
The
Christ Within
Your
Lord is not my Lord, nor is my Lord your Lord. Your Lord is the
Christ within your own being. My Lord is the Christ within my own
being.
There
is one Spirit, one Father of all, in us all, but there are different
manifestations or individualities. Your Lord is He who will deliver
you out of all your troubles. Your Lord has no other business but
to manifest Himself to you and through you, and so make you mighty
with
His own mightiness made visible; whole with His health; perfect
by showing
forth the Christ perfection.
Let
all your expectation be from your Lord. Let your communion bewith
Him. Wait upon the inner abiding Christ often, just as you would
wait upon any visible teacher. When you are sick "wait thou in
silence for
God only"
(Ps. 62:5) as the Most High, rather than upon healers.
When
you lack wisdom in small or large matters, "wait thou in silence
for
God only,"
and see what marvelous wisdom for action will be given you. When
desiring to speak the word that will deliver another from the bondage
of sickness or sin or sorrow, "wait thou in silence for God only,"
and exactly the right word will be given you, and power will go
with
it, for it will be alive with the power of Spirit.
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Emilie
Cady (1848-1941) is the author of 3 wonderful books you can
order now through Amazon.com
(20% to 30% off the price) by clicking on their titles.
The
most famous is Lessons
in Truth (available also in audio
cassette format), from which this article is taken. It has
sold more than 1.5 million copies worldwide. The others, God
a Present Help and How I Used Truth, are collected in
Complete
Works of H. Emilie Cady.
The author
Emilie
H. Cady
H.
Emilie Cady was a true holistic pioneer. Both a turn-of-the-century
homeopathic practitioner and metaphysician, she treated her patients
medically and spiritually.
The
unique spiritual approach she taught was simple, clear, and rooted
in her own experience. Cady teaches that your life can be transformed
by the power of your thoughts, words, and beliefs. She
encourages you to find your truth as it is written in your own
heart and then apply these truths in every area of your life.
Cady
studied with Emma Curtis Hopkins, renowned `New Thought
teacher of all teachers,` but remained spiritually independent.
She was a contemporary of Emmet Fox, the popular New Thought
writer, Charles and Myrtle Fillmore, co-founders of the
Unity movement, Ernest Holmes, founder of the Church
of Religious Science, and other great minds of the New Thought
movement.
Emilie
Cady was inspired by Biblical teachings and influenced by the
ideas of Ralph Waldo Emerson. Her complete works are a
clear, concise representation of New Thought philosophy and metaphysical
Christianity.
Cady's writings appeared in Unity Magazine and Progress
Magazine, and continue to instruct and inspire seekers of
spiritual truth.
You
can find the online version of Lessons in Truth by clicking
here
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