Nicol C. Campbell
My Path of Truth
The School of Truth
Johannesburg, 2nd ed., 1954.
[22] How often have you not heard these words: "Be not weary in well doing, for in due time you will reap, if you faint not." I think one gets a good deal of cold comfort from this assurance, particularly when you feel that you have been working sincerely with God, trying to live in tune with Him by thinking right, and speaking, feeling and acting a-right as well.
If I came to you, weary, sick, poverty-stricken and hungry and you quoted the above to me, I know that I would ask you, "Be not weary in well-doing about what? Will God pay my bills? Will He give me inner freedom and happiness, sustain me and fill my body with radiant divine health? As far as I know, I have done my part faithfully. I have been living in tune with this God of good, but I do not propose doing so any longer, for all around me I see people who apparently have no spiritual beliefs, who do not lead the kind of life the student of Truth is called upon to follow, and they flourish, I am going to emulate them."
You, if you believed in the God about whom you were teaching, would probably answer: "The choice is entirely in your hands, AND you can have as much success and prosperity as you desire without believing [23] in this Presence we call God. You do not have to 'be not weary in well doing' by living in tune with Truth. The material things you want can be produced, not merely theoretically but, we know by practical experience, in any quantity, by the power of imaging, concentration and play-acting. You can produce as much wealth as you can possibly use, and as much luxury as your soul desires quite apart from believing in God, or His Power. If you are prepared to have only worldly goods that do not bring with them happiness, freedom, contentment or peace, it is for you to decide."
I, personally, would never stop any student of Truth from going his own particular way; I would not even, by a thought, try to coerce one of my own loved ones into treading my path. I would adopt the attitude that the best way for anyone to learn is by and through experience, and I would say to all who sought after material manifestations only, (which are in their essence the Substance of God, expressed on this particular plane of consciousness), "Go ahead!" I know, of course, from my own practical experience and from that of thousands who have found the Presence of God as fulfilment, that there is no physical thing in the world that can give you happiness; but if you want that, with peace and love added, then it is the path of Truth that you will have to take, for it is this particular consciousness, that of His Immanence, that you have to build up. Your poverty, misery, disease and lack of any nature are the results of your own acceptance of these things as realities, so that you now see them in expression.
At one period I tried the material way myself. I so [24] trained my mind and emotions to attune themselves to what I wanted manifested in my life that nothing could deflect me from it; when I wanted some particular thing I so focused my whole being--spirit, mind, soul, and body--on its achievement, that there was not anything that could steer me away from it. I was not concerned about health or happiness or any of the qualities that bring peace if I was working for some physical thing. I simply had to know whether it was possible to produce good in my life without believing in God, whether I could have fulfilment, as so many people, judging from external appearances, seem to have, without also having Him. And whatever I wanted I obtained. If I wanted a new car, I got one, if I wanted a larger home, this came my way, if I wanted more money, I received it, even if I needed a new suit of clothes, I knew that I could produce, by the power of concentration, the wherewithal that would procure it.
Naturally, it is my business as a teacher of Truth to prove the various approaches to God, to Life, to the Solution, but, after I had demonstrated these things, I asked myself what I had got? What had it brought me? Momentarily, of course, there was a tangible result and I was elated over my own mental creation, there was the achievement of success, but nothing had been produced in the way of spiritual welfare, and the experience left me empty and flat.
Was there then a better way; one that would not only bring forth things but would bring them accompanied by fulfilment? and I remembered that if I would [25] 'seek first the Kingdom of God'--of Truth, Love and Beauty--all these things would be added.
I was not concerned because people, who did not believe in Him, had ample to meet all their needs, or because, if unhappiness visited their homes, it was compensated for by the luxury in which they lived, but I was concerned, and deeply, that many, who sincerely tried to serve Him, dwelt in misery, insecurity, and poverty. I asked myself why this should be? Why these people should not be shining examples of His Perfection, why they did not advertise Him as He really is, a beneficent Father, the Power of Love that desires to express only good in and through every individual in the world.
And the thought came to me, 'Can it be because of their unbelief?' They believe (yes, I know they do) a little but they do not KNOW. The Kingdom of Heaven is not here and now for them, they hope that It exists, that they will find It on some other plane of consciousness, when their souls have discarded these terrestrial bodies, but there is no certainty, no conviction, and that frame of mind is of no use to anyone.
It is of no value to me to have, for example, health and not to know wherein lies the assurance of my happiness and supply, and it is useless for me to have a modicum of happiness and supply and no health wherewith to enjoy these things.
I want the consciousness of God. I want to be sure that I can develop the consciousness of His Presence, that will produce in my life, not some arid mental creation of superficial worth, but the fulfilment therein [26] of His perfect will for me and the whole of the all-encompassing good that this represents. I have told you before that you will never know His will unless you take up the stand, and refuse to be moved from it, that His will for all mankind is their highest good with no sorrow added. I have proved this.
I did so by adopting the opposite attitude. I made no material claims at all. I set out from the standpoint that, if it is true that the nature of God is to provide abundantly, and I am indeed a temple of this loving Provider, Who is someone or something that is All-knowledge, All-power and All-presence, and, if He owns the whole universe and all the Substance in it, let me ask for nothing. Let me just go about my daily duties and know that His will is entirely good where I am concerned.
I decided that I would no longer meditate, visualise, or concentrate, but that I would not fail to give of myself in loving service. Since I was the tenant of a storehouse (temple) of Substance, I would spend my time in passing on to others whatever I wanted in life for myself. I would give to all and sundry the very thing I desired to have, then by so doing, I might find that the secret of demonstration was bound up with the practice known as 'give and it shall be given unto you'--a giving of God through oneself--so that in rendering service one opened the floodgates of his own consciousness, his own spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical self, so that the divine Power could flow through the individual to other people, and back to complete the circuit.
I felt I could only arrive at the Truth by experimentation. [27] I knew that I did not need to concern myself about my breathing. I inhale and exhale naturally. If I try consciously to do this, I lose the rhythm, I destroy the balance. It is the same if I listen to my heart; I become so taken up with listening that I lose the beat, and my heart begins either to palpitate or to slow down. God is natural, so that in this temple there is a natural Force that is All-love, All-knowledge and All-power. It is automatic for God to provide in a prolific way, and, since I am His instrument, I will let this be done through me, by myself seeking opportunities to render service. Not only will I give to all who call upon me, but I will also 'not be weary in well doing, that in due time I may reap if I faint not'.
And what shall be this 'due time'? Is it not God's time NOW? Is He not present in every single spot in the universe? Is not the future already the present, because the future determines my present actions, and my present actions guarantee my future results, so the present, the past and the future are all one, and everything is already done?
I need but to give and take freely. My hands shall be His hands, open to all who call upon me, and if I do not possess as tangible substance that which is asked of me, what does it matter? I shall still give it in His name. I give you health, by His Power it is made manifest; I give you happiness, by His Love it is expressed; I give you substance, by His Omnipresence it becomes reality through you. Can I then not say: "God, my word is Your Word. There is only one Life, one Love, one Power, so my voice is Your Voice and You are speaking [28] this Word through me, and I have faith that it is done."
I know that, for practical purposes, the good has to become a consciousness in you, and as you receive the consciousness of health it shall manifest through you. Likewise, when you achieve the awareness of happiness, it too shall become a part of your lives, or as you receive an inner knowledge of an idea connected with your need, and you are led to exploit it, the result will be that supply is brought into your lives.
As my investigations progressed, I found that every human being is really a sower, who, if he sows sparingly, reaps scantily. The one who gives as a duty, following only a mental prompting, receives not, for he has spread his seed either on stony ground or among weeds, and there is no return, but for him who scatters from the heart--giving himself with the gift--there is a rich harvest of good.
I discovered that the more happiness I passed on to others, the more came back to me, through my fellowmen, from God. This is the secret of 'getting': give, and it shall be given unto you. I perceived that, as I gave health, so did my own health increase, I was more vigorous, could do twice my former amount of work without depletion, and nothing was a burden to me.
You can obtain all you long for by dispersing kindness and love. If you can really desire all good for one who has harmed you, if you can give to him from your heart--and I know how difficult it is--that good, increased tenfold, will come back to you.
Because I know how important is this giving and forgiving, I practice it assiduously myself. It happens [29] sometimes that I fall short, I make a cutting statement, hurt someone in some way, but I quickly feel ashamed and immediately ask his forgiveness. I pray for him, and send out love to him, freedom, and understanding.
Why waste your time on the hard way, the one of concentration that rules out any spiritual approach to God, and claims--not without reason--that man can, while having not one atom of faith in Him, by determined and unremitting effort compel life to give him whatever material thing he craves. You will achieve your object, but it is an empty satisfaction, as I know only too well. There may be those among you who sometimes envy persons coming to my office, who have wealth, success, and social position, but these are hollow things of themselves, and those that possess them alone are far poorer, in spirit and happiness, than you, and my pity is much greater for them than it is for you, living, as you do, on a smaller and simpler scale.
Each one of you is a temple of the living God, a storehouse of unlimited Substance, ready to express in any form that you may desire. You are entitled to these material things, and, if you do not seek them first, they will become to you, not empty shells but God's blessings, lavishly bestowed. The house that you receive will not be a mere structure of brick and stone, it will be a home, enshrining love; your motor-car will not be just a means of transportation, it will be a thing of comfort, joy, and beauty. You will find the concrete expressions of spiritual prototypes becoming manifest in your lives and yours will be the blessings of God, that make rich, and to which no sorrow is ever added.
[30] This is the consummation that I desire for all of you and for tens of thousands of other students of Truth. I want you to know of God as a living Reality, Who, before you call, answers and bestows upon you your souls' desire, and His peace that passeth understanding.
Every single seed you sow, of love, harmony, happiness, and supply, shall germinate and sprout, and produce for you--as well as for those for whom it was planted--fulfilment to share and to spare, therefore be not weary in well-doing, have faith in God, the kind of faith that recognises that His Substance is all-inclusive Perfection, Which, when you seek It with all your hearts, being It and giving It, shall be in you, to you, and for you your highest good in all things.
In your minds shall be understanding; in your bodies, health, wholeness and vitality; in your lives, happiness and peace; and in your affairs, justice, opulence and success.
Is not that what you want; is it not what all mankind is seeking? It is YOURS, in a heaped up, pressed down, shaken together, and running over measure, if you faint not, for such is the BOUNTY OF YOUR GOD.
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