The Invisible Influence
By Alexander Cannon
Chapter XII
The Power That Dwarfs Intellect
A FEW more days, for that is all it seemed like, after our long journeys in the wilds of Thibet; we were now nearing the shores of dear old England.
But my friend the Sage, who lives near the Marble Arch to this very day, remarked as he noted the conventions to which we had to again conform, after our free life in the great wide world: "Miserable conventionality is a power that dwarfs intellect, and is the mother of nonentity." I replied, "Let us take the attitude and say in thought, 'My will is indomitable always! My concentration is supreme!' And don't let this be lip-service but let us make it a reality!"
Great Thoughts and Great Minds
Great thoughts are indeed evolved from the concentration of great minds; no man can be great in eloquence of thought unless he thinks as it were alone. We had learnt in our days in far-off Thibet and India, and in China, to think alone; to be alone, to find even in [161] loneliness, comfort, and great thoughts. History shows that Jesus the Christ did all His great deeds, after being alone on the mountain-tops, and in the wilderness. Take this lesson to heart: if you would be great you must think alone.
No man is the sole architect of his own fortune. Life is often made unendurable to the man of science who is born ahead of the age in which he lives. The crowd cry aloud, "Away with this fellow: wipe him off the face of this Earth!"
This story reminds us of the great teacher and scientist Jesus, who was born before His time; and of a world who wanted Him to be crucified. To the man ahead of his time, I say, "Plod on! Never despair! Look at creation with new eyes, and behold its wonders and miracles, that are more mysterious than the Arabian nights.
"Be prejudiced by no one. Believe in the mind and its potentialities; and what can be wrought by them."
The greatest mind of all ages, the master mind of Jesus Christ, did wither the fig tree by a mere command; which miracle is done to-day not infrequently in the outlying places of India and Thibet, as I have borne witness.
There is a cult which can wither trees by a command of the mind; a mere mental determining; and from that, the withering of animal life is perfected, until at last the very life of man [162] can be destroyed by a wish: any reader who doubts the authenticity of this, let him doubt no more; for it is our pure ignorance which prevents us from doing likewise. The Yogi and the Fakir can wither the tree as can the "Order of the Left Hand" or black magician, who can also wither the body of mankind: it is no myth.
Let us therefore no longer be fools, but learn to use this art, not for the bad that it can do, but for the good it can also do, which passeth all understanding: by a mere commanding word, which is greater than the sword, when uttered by that trained determining of the mind, all things are possible.
The walking on the water is a miracle which can be repeated, for did not Jesus Christ say: "The things that I do, ye shall also do; and greater things than these shall ye do, for I go unto my Father which is in Heaven." And I believe it! I can cure the blind, if only they will believe; the lame can be made to walk; the infirm can be made strong; the anguish of the mind can be turned into joy; health can overcome disease: our powers are almost unlimited if only we believe faithfully in our efforts and master our own mind first, before we attempt to master the mind of another.
It is perfectly true that there is a "path that no fowl knoweth, where the lion's whelp hath not trod, and where the eagle's eye hath not pierced"; and where the keenest of human [163] intellects hath not trod, without the Divine guidance of the Invisible Influence of the Master Mind.
Caesar and God
"Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God, the things that are of God." You will not then get into difficulties, nor lose your mental equilibrium in the acceptance of such. That there is a God no sane person can deny, and that there is a Devil, there is proof abundant.
The Lady in the Trance
To say that I am a spiritualist would not be true. Yet I have proof brought before me, in the presence of others, by people placed in the hypnotic trance state, again and again, of powers unseen fully at work; and I gasp with awe at the marvels of man's mind. A famous judge and I visited a competent and reliable medium who could not have known either of us in our disguise, nameless as we were. Nevertheless, without being asked one word, my [164] status, title, estate, authorship, relations, and some very intimate things which have occurred in my past life and associations with certain people were related; some prophetic statements made which were quite uncalled for, that have now already been proved, and which at the time my subconscious mind could have not possibly known (although my unconscious mind may know all things); I would never have believed such things could possibly have happened. Many other astounding facts were laid bare in the short space of fifty minutes by the "Lady in the Trance".
Surely these facts make the inquiring mind think seriously: all this is only too real, and is evidence more abundant than one sometimes likes to think of, of an invisible influence ever around and about us, which may be either for good or for evil.
Everywhere is mind, and mind is everywhere. We are surely part of a greater mind which can never die, and knows all things, past, present and future: even Christ prophesied many things, even His own death and that of His friends. Our future is not all unknown; unless we apply this to our narrow limited conscious mind: all that we can say is, that we are not conscious or aware of what the future may bring forth; but there is much evidence to prove that a Universal Mind exists, that knows all things; and hence we, being part of the greater mind, can by trained scientific [165] means, tap, as it were, this great Universal Mind, which also knows us all, what we were, what we are, and what we will be.
We live in a great age, and the day is not far distant when some of us will be able to reveal to mankind wonders which have never as yet been told or beholden; and the true meaning of the Soul of Man, and the secret of life itself.
The Invisible Influence
We have travelled far and wide, both geographically speaking and in the world of science; and we have learnt much which is worthy of our attention.
One great truth comes home to us in the study of our travels, which is, that there is an invisible influence pervading our very life, and that cannot be locked out by any means at our disposal. That invisible influence can be for good or for evil. The great lesson that we have learnt is that there is a real God and a real Devil: each is ceaselessly fighting for the supreme possession of our unconscious mind, our Soul which will survive in the life after death. Daily are we aware of each influence; daily are we aware of the harm that the Devil would do to us; yet hourly we are also aware of the protection of the Everlasting Arms which protect us from all harm, if only we believe in a true and living God who cares for us; and not as the Devil "plays up" with his crafty, [166] cunning ways, until he has gained his own ends, after which he will relentlessly forsake his most chosen friend when he so desires.
Good thoughts, kind thoughts, clean ideas, love; never saying an unkind word against another; never for a moment hating any man; and at all times having complete control over one's passions: this state of mind alone can lead us to God and the higher life. It again emphasizes the terrible truth of the proof of the hereafter, that as our unconscious mind is now, with its library of good or bad material within its walls, so it remains in the world to come, making for us a very real Heaven or a very real Hell, in accordance with our own choosing by the efforts of our own will.
Great Truths
This science of hypnotism and telepathy opens the door to the innermost secrets of the mind of man. With it come comforting thoughts and guidance. Take heed, for the moment, and listen!
The hypnotized person remains en rapport, in mental communication, with the hypnotizer; because he goes to sleep while thinking of him, and this does not differ from what frequently happens in ordinary sleep. A mother who goes to sleep close to the cradle of her child does not cease to watch over him during her sleep, but whilst she hears not the loud claps of thunder [168] terrible truth is manifested when one understands scientifically what acceptance of suggestion really means, because the Soul, the Unconscious Mind, must exist, and will do so, in the state of belief in which it lived whilst on Mother Earth, in the Life that is after Death, exactly in accordance with what it has really made its own, in the normal state of consciousness.
Therefore, our Destiny in an Eternal Heaven, or an Eternal Hell (the Kingdom of Heaven or Hell that is within us), is in our own hands; to be made in accordance with the mind of God, or the mind of the Devil. Pause for a moment and think of this great truth, and what it means to you!
There is indeed a dual personality in each one of us: we are each a potential Dr. Jekyll or a Mr. Hyde. We cannot be both. We are either Dr. Jekyll or Mr. Hyde! Dr. Jekyll stands for all that is good and noble. Mr. Hyde represents all that is bad and ignoble.
In our own double personality, let the infamous Mr. Hyde be killed in order that the illustrious and good Dr. Jekyll may live and prosper; so that good may conquer evil; health conquer disease; and at last, life itself conquer death.
The End
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