There are still other forms of stealing of which we must beware - the getting of illicit gain, perhaps money or worldly possessions without giving an equivalent in return; the taking of exorbitant interest, thus profiting by others' necessities. Purity of thought is another qualification to the one who would become spiritually unfolded. Allow the mind to dwell on all that is pure and beautiful; word and deed will then respond to this renewed mental condition. Control your passions; do not let them control you. Many find this more difficult than all else, but repeated failures should only make us desire more ardently to attain to true self-control. Veracity is another necessary quality. There are many ways of lying; some people look upon certain forms of lying as an accomplishment, and it is needless to enumerate, or try to enumerate, the various ways and methods of lying. Freedom from hatred and wrath becomes absolutely necessary before we can attain to soul knowledge. When we are angry or hate others, our minds are like the sea lasht by the tempest - no rest, no peace; tossed to and fro. Oh, that we might realize the necessity of calming this storm-tossed sea, allowing the still small voice in all gentleness, yet in all firmness, to speak the words, "Peace be still." Greatest of all is the knowledge acquired through the intuitive faculties. Do not be deceived by thinking that all knowledge must come through the intellect. The court of last resort is the intuitive side of your being. People who have cultivated only the intellectual way may disagree with this statement, but their arguments are of no avail to those who have developed the intuitive part of their being. It is not a question of belief to the persons thus unfolded, but one of knowledge; they know whereof they speak.

In order, therefore, to unfold intuitively, we must practise self-control. We may think it to be an every-day virtue; but the fact is, few people have any idea what self-control means. It means far more than the mere control of our words and passions; it means more than denying ourselves earthly pleasures; it means to control our every thought. Self-control evolves concentration of mind, and through it only can true concentration be acquired.

This is the law, in no other way can we become psychically developed, altho it is true that certain kinds of abnormal development can be acquired in other ways.

It is possible to learn concentration of mind by looking intently at a black spot on the wall; it may be possible to develop clairvoyance by mirror-gazing, but the concentration and clairvoyance thus acquired are only counterfeits of the real. No true lasting progress can come through the development of our hidden powers, when, by so doing, we shut out the light of spirituality in the soul. There is also more or less danger to the one so engaged. We must understand the uses of the different powers we develop; otherwise we shall not know the true use to make of them, and how can we know the use of powers which we have abnormally developed. It is always well to bear in mind that the greater the knowledge or power we possess, the greater evil it becomes to ourselves and others when put to a wrong or perverted use. The greatest good, when perverted, becomes the greatest evil. True spiritual power may seem more difficult to acquire than some other things, but, when once acquired, it will never leave you; it will ever prove a source of strength and peace, while the false development, in the end, will surely prove a source of unrest and weakness. A pure and unselfish life will do more to fit you to become possest of spiritual powers than all the study of magic, occultism, of clairvoyance could ever do.

Many people believe that in mediumship there is something of a spiritual nature. There is nothing spiritual about it. It is simply hypnotism transferred to another plane where the medium's mind becomes subject to the mind of another. Because the person who impresses the mind of the medium has passed out of this body into the invisible, that does not make that person a spiritual being. If a man goes out of this world a liar he must remain a liar until through his own effort he becomes truthful.

Whatever we have in mind when we go out of this world we take with us. A great many people believe that when they pass out of this world they are going to a beautiful heaven, and if they have this heaven in their consciousness when they pass out their dreams will be realized, but if they have it not, and should find themselves in a beautiful heaven, they would be out of place and in no way adjusted to it. It is necessary to take this into consideration.

Mesmerism has been called the key to occult sciences, but beware of the key; have nothing to do with it. God never intended that one soul should control another. Freedom is written in every law of nature; only through freedom of will can man hope to attain to higher planes of existence. Again, there is the violation of the law of God when one soul relinquishes its right to think and act to any other soul. This violation of law has been going on for hundreds of years. Ministers have thought for people, they have worked out for people the way of salvation; that is, these people thought that ministers were doing this, but they never did. They have only to work out their own salvation. If they are doing that they are doing all that God requires of them. Every man must work out his own salvation. While an enlightened man may throw light on the way of life, each one must walk that way for himself.

Whatever thwarts or interferes with individual liberty retards soul growth. Man's freedom of will consists, not in obeying the dictates of the lower mind, the selfish desires, but in the perfect obedience to the law of God which is written into his own being. The renunciation of selfishness is ever followed by spiritual growth. It is through divesting the mind of its purely personal self, attaching no importance to personal feelings and things, and seeking to realize the higher selfhood, that true individuality is attained, which will continue to last when this purely personal self has vanished away. A belief in personality chokes out all that is true and noble, and in its place spring up thorns and briers.