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life and circum- stances shape themselves accordingly. Whatso- ever youHharbor inHiHe" inmost chambers of your heart will, sooner qx later, by the inevitable law *9 I A t t^r t* iSS (if /our )6mw*L$d life, ful thatvis. impure, sordid and selfish, is ^jh^tating with unerring precision towards mis- ^upe and c^ita&tophe "^the soul that is pure, ||pfafosh, and n^ble^is^ gravitating witlL._e_g.ual vision toWat^ rfeappiness and prosperity. ;yery soul attracts; c^js blvn7^rcd~nothfrrg can p oss ibly/cometo lfeihatdoes not belong to it.V 'o realize this~is~t"6^re?ognize the unive7salTty~6T ►ivine Law.

The incidents of every human life, which both make and mar, are drawn to it by quality and power of its own inner thought- i.y, Every soul is a complex combination of gathered experiences and thoughts, and the body is^ftyt an improvised vehicle for its manifestation.

Wjiat, therefore, your thoughts are, that is your real self; and the world around, both animate £hd inanimate, wears the aspect with which your thoughts clothe it. All that we are is the ^4e^ult of what we have thought ; it is founded on )ur thoughts ; it is made up of our thoughts." hus said Buddha, and it therefore follows that if a man is happy, it is because he dwells in happy thoughts ; if miserable, because he dwells in despondent and debTfitating thoughts.

Whether one be fearful "or TearIess","fooiisti or Y/wise, troubled or serene, within that soul lies the kuse of its own state or states, and never with- out. And now I seem to hear a chorus of voices The World a Reflex oj exclaim, "

But do you really mean to say that outward circumstances do not effect our minds? I do not say that, but I say this, and know it be an infallible ^tihawif that circicmsftazces only affect you in so far ^sjwji^llowjhem so. You are swayed by circumstances beca you have not a right understanding of the nature, use, and power of thought.

You JpSjievej^fiSi upon this little word belief harf§^all our sorrows and joys) that outward things have the power f<jQ make or mar your life ; by so doing you submit to those outward things, confess that you are their slave, and they your unconditional master ; by so doing, you invest them with ^a^jjower which they do not, of themselves, possess, and you succumb, in reality, not to the mere circum- stances, but to the gloom or gladness, the fear or hope, the strength or weakness, which yo " thought-sphere has thrown around them.

I knew two men who, at an early age, lost the hard-earned savings of years. One was *$£; deeply troubled, and gave way to chagrin, and despondency. The other, on readingfm hi^^fW morning paper that the bank in which his money TliH^ ig paper mat tne Dank in wnicn nis money was deposited had hopelessly failed, and that he had lost all, quietly and firmly remarked, "

WelljS it's gone, and trouble and worry won't bring }f back, but hard work will." He went to work with renewed vigor, and rapidly became pros- 22 ih he Path of Prosperity man, continuing to perous, while the former mourn the loss of his money, and to grumble at his " bad luck," remained the sport and tool of adverse circumstances, in reality of his own weak and slavish thoughts.

The loss of money was a curse to the one because he clothed the event with dark and dreary thoughts ; it was a blessing to the other, because he threw around it thoughts of strength, of hope, and renewed endeavor. If circumstances had the power to bless or harm, they would bless and harm all men alike, but the fact that the same circumstance will be alike good and bad to different souls proves that the good or bad is not in the circumstance, but only in the mind of him that encounters it.J When you begin to realize this you will begin to control your thoughts, to regulate and discipline your mind, and to rebuild the inward temple of your soul, eliminating all useless and superfluous material, and incorporating into your being thoughts alone of joy and serenity, of strength and life, of compassion and love, of beauty and immortality ; and as you do this you will become joyful and serene, strong and healthy, compas- sionate and loving, and beautiful with the beauty of immortality.

And as we clothe events with the drapery of our own thoughts, so likewise do we clothe the objects of the visible world around us, and where The World a Reflex of Mental States 23 one sees harmony and beauty, another sees revolting ugliness.