Habits and Materialism

What do you understand of habits? What meaning has the word 'habit' for you?

Habits can be nothing, neither good nor bad, excepting in the pure abstract, for habits, and it is amazing how we use words. Habits signify things we wear, clothes we put on ourselves, ways which we take unto ourselves, which give to us a force, a blend, in character and appearance. Habits, are but clothing of our thoughts.

Let us take good habits and bad habits, and see how they differ.

A good habit is what?

A good habit is one that clothes us with a semblance of decency, or, if using the word in its abstract meaning, one that makes us appear to our own mind, and to the minds which we influence, as possessing habits of good meaning and intention, and a bad habit is never seen by ourselves in its fullness.

Your bad habits are seen by friends, by those in contact with you, and by those whose thoughts create further bad habits in you, because they do not like you.

Bad or good habits are but rags of clothing for the mind, but like clothing they have a use. What is the use of clothing?

Because mankind in his physical perfection has degenerated, he must cover his shivering body with clothes, and women cover their bodies not because they should, but to comfort their minds, because if you gave to a modern woman, a plain homespun piece of woollen cloth in which to robe herself, she would feel cold, but if you gave to her something flimsy and thin, with pretty colours and becoming shape, she would be warm.

Habits are the same things, whether they are body clothing or mind clothing.

Let us examine the common habits of man and woman. It is the common habit of women, I will leave you to form your own opinions as to its goodness, or otherwise, to spend a considerable part of their time discussing the affairs of other people. This is habit, because the habit has become a fixation in the mind of female peoples, it has come to be expected as an attribute of womanhood, but this is truly false, a false habit. Something the mind of a woman wears, in which, she finds license, because she is woman her mind seeks. It takes part in affairs which are no concern of hers. There are habits which are much worse than this.

Men have many habits, which in the eyes of women are vile. It is no secret to women, of the habit of men, to admire symmetry of form in the female, and if eyes strip the clothing from the body of a woman, so that in thought, the man creates the vision of the nude, it is excused for it is a habit.

There are other things which we call habits. We may smoke, this according to whether you are a smoker, or a non-smoker, is a good or bad habit. It is not a habit. It creates habit if uncontrolled, but is not a habit. What is it then? It is a seeking to escape the mind. It is a drug purposely and wilfully injected into our bodies, whereby our finite brains, which communicate with our finite minds, might be drugged to the outward emotions of the world, and our sensitiveness to the mind force of creation might be stilled as much as possible.

This is not a habit, this is viciousness unto yourselves and the purpose of my talk is to differentiate between habits, which are mere clothing to satisfy your vanities, clothing for your mind to excuse the things it does, and those things you call habits which are harmful to your minds.

The whole purpose of my coming to you is to make you understand if it is reasonably possible, how to use, for good, the powers of your own mind. If your mind adopts habits, or customs, which blunt the perception of your faculties, do you need me to tell you that you are unfaithful to yourself?

The habit or custom which interferes with the correct usage of the power of thought is a betrayal of yourself. As you know, we do not even ask you to give up your habits, whether you call them good, bad, harmful or harmless. We endeavour -to show you reason and truth, and to show you how the truth and reason, if you would be perfect, must be applied.

Now for material things

The greatest snare and delusion known to our world is material.

All things are possible to you. These words as they fall upon the ears of each of you, will pass through the channel of your finite mind, and as they pass the materialness within that mind, they will measure them in terms, each one different from the other.

According to one's understanding, to throw off that finite filter, which is your personal possession, and absorb within your hearts, yes, within your hearts, for there you are all equal, there you own no material, there you have no custom, there you are free from habits, there, and only there, can you each understand the truth which has been given to you.

Material things

The greatest burden that the soul of man can bear is the possession of wealth. There is not one man, woman, or being that has been Godlike and perfect in conception, not one being who has used the mighty forces of the God-mind in the proper way, who has possessed great wealth.

Look at our burden. Mankind, according to his mind, must be possessed of material things, and the angels weep. It chains him forever to the treadmill of wealth and materialism, seeking for possession upon possession, forgotten and lost the power to build with his own mind.

The desire for the possession of material things rots the soul of man, because it is unnatural and foreign to his mind. If you are pure in the conception of your thoughts, what place can materialism find? For if you were perfect in conception in your minds, the understanding of your ability to serve continuously, by creating for others peace and beauty would so fill your mind, that the futility of materialism would fly from you.

If you love the whole of creation in its entirety – man, woman, beast, trees, flowers, stars, moon, all of creation, and desire in your hearts, faithfully, to serve the purpose of Good, and that purpose hidden from you is the eventual reward of man. If you love all mankind, and all Created things. How could you love materialism?

Out of the detail which has already been given to you, and in these next three weeks following, will be given to you, if your God-minds are awake then many questions will arise. The depth of your question will show the progress made. It will show the desire within your own hearts to know God and to fulfil the task you have. In three weeks you will have knowledge given to a few, given only to you because of the urgency and the need for you, Children of Light, to keep the light filling your earth. The reason for this is in the teachings I have given; you will find the light comes from the power of thought, God-thought.

The force of the Mind of God is power, and if that force is used in good, it can create light, and from that Light can be constructed good. The power is there for all minds, and the forces of error are drawing deep, and they neither weave light nor build matter, for the dark ray destroys only.

Man’s folly has released this force, in every corner of your world the forces of darkness are on the march. Search out the last fifty years in your own country and see how the forces of error have taken hold of you. The climax is coming rapidly.

The black ray can only destroy, and this is not symbolic. I do not deal in symbols. Visions and such things are for the children and the low initiated. All of you have not clear understanding, but all of you I hope will understand by the end of your lectures. I deal with facts.

The forces of error can only destroy. The forces of light only can build.

If you read that which has been written in past weeks, you will see how I have built up this picture for you. How light creates matter, and how the mind force of God supports the whole of his creation, and the mind force of God gives off light, but if light is turned to darkness what then? What is to replace the atoms which disintegrate, what is to form your atoms, what is to replenish the gases you breathe?

This is strong meat for your stomachs, but where you can convince one out of six, or one out of a hundred, where one alone will take up the cause of his brother man, and with love and compassion fight to keep the light on earth, if but one alone does this we shall succeed.

That if one succeeds in holding the light in truth, knowledge and understanding, and the others will refrain from feeling downcast, even if in themselves they fail, the purpose of God will be served.

If two hold the light then, of course, the magnitude of success is doubled.

If three it is trebled, if four quadrupled, and if all hold the light, then indeed we shall see miracles.

But it is only in your hearts that you, yourselves, will know, and because here we must give you truth, as the Master said. He wished you to ask questions, and he would measure your desires by the requests and answers.

The measure of your success is the truth in your hearts.