We know by instinct that it is essential to our growth that we should construct in one way or another. After a time, through this effort, comes the development of intellect, by which man has power to think and reason. The physical should always be subordinate to the intellectual; for to the degree that man is intemperate in the indulgence of his passions, his mental force is reduced.

Man knows that as he perseveres he succeeds. He knows also that, as he thinks clearly, concisely, and logically, he accomplishes his undertakings. Now, the mentally strong man will bring his force to bear on one thing at a time, not on many things at once. Thus will he become truly constructive.

Besides the virtues of concentration, moderation, and perseverance, there are certain moral and ethical questions that affect the problem of life, and only as man considers them in their true relations can he hope to generate the highest power. He knows that aside from all thought of spiritual development, his mind is at peace only when he feels and acts justly toward others. He is endowed with a sense of justice, and only as he expresses it is his mind strengthened; for if he cultivates the habit of injustice, inharmony enters his mind and thus weakens his mental capabilities. Or, again, upon this plane of being he may be in danger, by an extreme cultivation of his mental faculties, to look upon his mind with its powers of thinking, reasoning and forming judgments as the highest attribute of his being. It is at this period in his life that he formulates creeds and becomes dogmatic in his religion. The thought of "justice" is a predominating one - but that justice is not always tempered with mercy. The most cruel things the world has ever known have not come from the man on the physical plane, but from the intellectually developed man, whose life was barren of love for humanity. Men who thought they were doing the will of God have perpetrated crimes, in the name of religious creeds, too fearful to contemplate. The intellectual plane of development is the great plane of unrest, of ceaseless activities. More mental and physical disturbances occur on this plane than on either the physical or spiritual planes. On this plane man's desires become multiplied and the mind is never satisfied. Each gratified desire brings another want to take its place. The accumulation of knowledge does not bring contentment; in fact, it becomes rather a burden. We may acquire all possible knowledge of the outer life and yet be deficient in wisdom, for wisdom and knowledge are not the same; but when they are combined the individual puts the knowledge he has to practical use. It is only through the right use of our knowledge that we become strong. When we utilize our possessions in the right way, greater possessions are acquired; thus do we learn the true secret of power. Many people think that if they half starve themselves, or if they live on certain kinds of food, or if they do or abstain from doing certain other things, they will bring about conditions that will tend to develop spirituality. But if one is right within he will do everything right without; that is to say, a man that is pure in heart will be clean and whole in body.

We need power on the physical plane; we need power on the intellectual plane, but most of all we need power on the spiritual plane, for when we consciously enter the realm of spirit, our old life-methods are entirely supplanted by the new. It is the spirit within us that contains the transforming power; the outer is but the instrument of the inner entity. Let us cease the useless effort to relate ourselves to the outer world - to people we think can aid us, or to things that we feel have benefited us - and let us seek that which shall bring the real abundance of life. Everything of value is within the realm of spirit, and we can get therefrom whatever we wish. We must get mental and physical health in the right way - through the recognition and development of our soul qualities. The man who fully realizes that he is living and moving in God can never express disease, because he has passed from under the "law of sin and death" (the law we ourselves have made), and has now come under the law of the spirit of life, which gives freedom from all negative conditions and makes for health and power.

He has come to see the light that has been shining in the darkness: the light that is to enlighten every man that cometh into the world - that light which is a spark of the divine Presence in the life of man, which must eventually become a living flame. From the very center of being, the soul attributes of faith, hope and love are pushing outward, demanding recognition. These qualities can not be imaged in the mind; yet, beautifying and uplifting, they lend tone and color to every thought picture, until earthly things stand revealed in heavenly glory. This is the coming of the kingdom of God on earth - the transmutation of the self-will into the divine will, where man realizes his at-one-ment with God.

From the altitude of the spiritual plane, everything is seen in a new light; old things have passed away, and, behold! all things have become new. The law of evolution has ceased to act, and the soul has become a law unto itself. The soul stands revealed as the image and likeness of its Creator; not a physical image, not a mental conception, but a spiritual consciousness endowed with divine faculties that shape reason, control thought, and perfect the physical organism. "For if the spirit of Him who raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by the spirit which dwelleth in you."

It is only from this plane that man perceives the unity of life; that he realizes that all life is one; and that he ceases to resist what is termed the "evil" of life and sets his face stedfastly toward the accomplishment of every undertaking through the power of good. He has risen above the turmoil and strife, so that while seeing them he is not affected by them; not that the heart has lost sympathy for the sorrow and distress existing on the other planes, but that a new consciousness has come which discloses the fact that all things work together for good. Sorrow and pain seem very real while one is passing through them: they are signals of distress showing a lack of adjustment, but they are not real or permanent conditions in the life of man. "The suffering of the present time is not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us."