MAN is what he believes. Belief is an unshaken thought, and when faith is balanced by intelligence, man may become a Master of Wisdom, although a fixed belief without intelligence may produce insanity ; hence, the great importance of a balanced life. It is, however, most necessary for a Pilgrim upon the spiritual path to understand the supreme importance of faith ; for until he can do so, he will make very little progress toward the goal of his desire. It is not only faith in God, faith in his teacher or faith in his fellow-men that he must hold, but the most essential of all, faith in himself; which if any man would find God must be unchangeable, and unshakeable, for unless a man can believe in himself, he cannot believe in any other being, either human or divine.

The mystery underlying this teaching is not easy to express in the language of men; it must be seen with the eyes of the soul to be comprehended and, when they are fully opened, the words of Jesus, « All things are possible to him that believeth,» become illuminated. Some realization, however, can be attained by those who understand the creative faculty of the human mind. If, for instance, man begins to doubt the voice of intuition, that speaks from the depth of his own heart, and listens instead to the voice of reason -which can only judge those things that lie upon the surface of life, but never what is hidden in the depths- then, by allowing his thoughts to remain upon the surface, he creates an army of living entities, impressed with the purpose of instilling into their creator doubt of anything which cannot be examined by the light of «cold reason,» as it is called, he therefore questions his ability to hear and interpret the voice which can only be heard when the mind is stilled, and interpreted by the light of faith.

Even after such an one has realized this teaching, and understands that reason alone can but give him knowledge of the surface of life, and knows that intuition is the voice of wisdom, it is not always easy for him to listen, because the army of living thoughts he has created cannot be annihilated in a moment of time ; they must accomplish the purpose imposed upon them by the will of their creator, and although now unable to take entire possession, will still endeavour -until their force is exhausted- to obsess his mind, whenever he has a thought of doubt in his heart.

This is frequently a source of great suffering to an earnest seeker of God, for the greater the mind, the stronger are the thought-forms it creates ; they will, however, gradually fade away if not revivified by those of a like nature, hence the necessity of a right understanding of faith, for whenever a note is struck to whicb the forms of man's creation respond, not only are they revivified, but also others of like nature will gather around until the man is enveloped in a cloud of uncertainty.

It may be likened to a number of steel filings whicb remain lifeless and inert until a magnet is held near them ; when all those, within the magnetic field, will become active, and immediately rise up and surround it in a solid mass; but directly the magnet is removed they again become lifeless. So if a man can steadily hold belief in himself, all the forms of doubt he bas created will die for lack of sustenance. «For by Faith ye stand»

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