"Said the Blessed One: 'Verily, I say unto you, your mind is mental, but that which you perceive with your senses is also mental. There is nothing within the world or without which either is not mind or can not become mind. There is a spirituality in all existence, and the very clay upon which we tread can be changed into children of truth.' "

- Gospel of Buddha.

Man is, in a sense, related to two worlds; on one side, the world of form, a world of effect; and, on the other side, the world of the invisible, a world of cause. In reality we are living in two worlds - a world of the seen and a world of the unseen.

A word of explanation is perhaps necessary at this point. There are not two distinct and separate worlds, but two phases, I might say, of one world. We must get this distinction clear in mind of two states of consciousness in life - an inner and an outer. Some people live almost exclusively in the outer, some people live to a marked degree in the inner world. The people of our own country use concentration of mind to make their work effective in the outer world. The people in India and in some other countries use meditation to such a marked degree that they live very little in the so-called physical world.

Their desires and hopes are not placed in the physical, but rather in the unseen world. As I have explained before, it is only as we learn to live in both worlds, or in these two phases of life, and keep the mind thoroughly balanced between the two, that we become rounded out, that we become developed.

We all know then a great deal about the physical side of life, but comparatively few people know much about the psychic side of life, and only in an abnormal way, because the majority of the cases of so-called psychic development are brought about in an abnormal rather than in a normal way.

The trouble with people is that they develop this psychic side of life, without understanding the law that lies back of all development; they do not know how to use the development that comes to them and usually put it to a wrong use. Again, many people seem to think that certain phases of abnormal psychic development correspond to, or rather are in reality, spiritual gifts of a very high order, when just the reverse of this is true.

A great many people who believe in what they term the invisible world are in reality living a more materialistic life than the people who know little, if anything, about an invisible world. Even the investigators of psychic phenomena seem to lose sight of the one great side of this whole question - the spiritual development of man, and they would seek to apply exactly the same law, the same processes of reaching satisfactory conclusions that they would in any outer thing, and it is a curious fact that they are more interested in abnormal than in normal psychic development.

But everything is changed here in this realm of the psychic, and we are not going to be able to apply the same tests that have been used in the outer world. We are getting nearer to the causes of things. In the outer world we have been dealing exclusively with effects. It is always well to remember that until recently, at least, science has had to do with effects. Science seldom at any point comes in real contact with causes; that is, that every scientific fact is a fact concerning the things of the outer and not the things of the inner.

When we approach the inner side of life we must look at things from a very different point of view. In fact, if we are going to investigate the spiritual, we must do it with the spiritually enlightened mind. There is no other way.

Many people confound physical development with occultism, and it is not unnatural that this mistake should occur, as both pertain to secret and unseen things. We must learn, however, to distinguish between the two. Webster defines the word psychical: of or pertaining to the human soul, relating to the living principle in man. He defines the word development: the act of developing or disclosing that which is unknown, the gradual advancement or growth through a series of progressive changes. In other words psychical development is the unfolding to the spiritual possibilities latent within us, while occultism pertains more to a knowledge of the unseen forces external to the soul. It is possible to have a knowledge of occult things without being highly developed spiritually, but it is not possible to be highly developed psychically without possessing knowledge equal to and surpassing the knowledge of the occultist. Those who seek to attain to an understanding of occult laws without first being spiritually awakened, are playing with two-edged tools; and no possible gain can accrue to them, but rather loss from such study. Curiosity and love for things uncanny prompt some to investigate this subject, with the result that not a few become mentally unbalanced thereby. Knowledge of unseen forces comes to us naturally when we have progressed to a state where we are neither affrighted nor disturbed by the phenomena we are brought in contact with. Leaving, then, the subject of occultism, we will turn our attention to psychical development. In order to make the greatest progress in this direction, it will be found necessary to cultivate all the faculties of mind; by so doing, we will succeed in controlling the animal nature. First of all, strongly desire tranquillity and restfulness of mind, in order that truth may mirror or image itself in mind. Firmness is another quality that all should seek to possess. When mind mirrors the truth, firmness is necessary to hold it against all temptation that may appeal to us from any quarter. Forgiveness is also needful. Do not hope to attain to true knowledge of spiritual things when your mind is embittered or your heart hardened against any one who may have injured or wronged you in any way; by so doing, you bar your way to the true unfolding - forgive and ye shall be forgiven. Abstain from theft. Many people who think themselves far above stealing are baser thieves than those who steal our money. The person who slanders or speaks falsely of another is a worse thief by far than one who steals our material possessions. If you are unable to see and speak of the good in others, then do not defile your mouth by speaking evil of them, for by so doing you descend to a plane where darkness enslaves the mind.