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(A
Special Lecture given by Dr. Joseph Murphy at the Wilshire Ebell
Theatre, Los Angeles, California - 1971)
[click
here for Part 1)
The
purpose of this book is to show man how he can satisfy the true desires
of his heart without taking advantage of others. Every man comes
into the world to lead the abundant life: "I am come that
they might have life and have it more abundantly." (John
10:10) This is a mental and spiritual universe, and what man wants
can be claimed, appropriated, and accepted mentally. Man must open
his mind and heart to the realization that God who gave him the desire
will also reveal to him the perfect way for its manifestation. Man
must believe in his heart, accept the reality of his idea or desire in
his mind, be thankful for it, and in spite of appearances, conditions,
or circumstances he must know that the Living Spirit Almighty will
respond, creating his goal of health, happiness, peace, and fulfillment
of his dreams in Divine Law and Order. Man's sense of oneness with
a God of love who is his heavenly Father will banish all sense of guilt
and shame.
In ancient times people sacrificed
their bullocks, lambs, goats, and doves to propitiate what they
superstitiously believed were the gods of wrath. When storms came,
crops were ruined, or a great drought prevailed, the people believed the
gods were angry. Their jungle priest had to give the people an
answer; if he did not give the people what they believed to be a
plausible answer, they killed him; therefore, the jungle priests gave
answers which satisfied the superstitious imaginings of these people.
In bygone ages, man realized that he was
subject to forces over which he seemed to have no control. The sun
gave him heat, but it also scorched the earth. The fire burned
him, thunder terrified him, the water flooded his lands, and his cattle
were drowned. His idea of external power was his primitive and
fundamental belief of God. He conceived for these elements or
forces of nature love or aversion, and fear and hope gave rise to the
first idea of religion. Primitive man, in his infantile reasoning
with himself, perceived that when another man, stronger than he, was
about to injure him, he was able to bribe him or offer him certain gifts
and in other ways abase himself, thereby mollifying the other's
attitude. From this crude reasoning, he proceeded to supplicate
the intelligence of the winds, the stars, and the waters, hoping that
they would hear him and answer his prayers. He proceeded to make
offerings and sacrifices to the gods of the wind and the rain.
The first men conceived the universe to
be filled with innumerable gods. Their ideas of God were divided
according to the sensations of pleasure and pain, and derived solely
from the forces of nature. They divided the gods and genii into
beneficent and malignant powers - hence, the universality of these two
ideas in all systems of religions.
From this brief review of the origin and
cause of guilt, we will go into specific instances of guilt.
Some months ago a mother visited me with
her boy who was eight years old. He micturated every night.
I asked him why. The boy responded: "I want to drown my
mother." Actually, he was drowning his mother in resentment.
In his religious training, he had learned that it is wrong to hate or
resent anyone, and he felt a deep sense of guilt. He complained
about his mother, saying that when she was angry she would upbraid him:
"You little brat, you are a sinner. You are a naughty boy.
God is going to punish you. You are going to suffer for
this." Then the little boy added, "She never says
anything to my brother."
I had the mother change her attitude, and
she ceased criticizing her son. She told him that she loved him,
cared for him, and that he was absolutely equal in her eyes with his
brother. The mother learned a simple truth that children grow in
the image and likeness of the dominant mental atmosphere of the home.
She prayed frequently as follows:
"John is God's son. He is loving, kind, and cooperative.
He is growing in wisdom, understanding, and harmony, and I radiate love,
peace, joy, and good will to him. I picture him as radiant,
joyous, and happy. God's love fills his mind and body. He
sleeps in peace every night and wakes in joy. God loves him and
cares for him. He is healed, made whole and perfect."
A complete healing followed in a week's
time. Her prayers were felt subconsciously by her son, and he
responded accordingly.
A 16-year-old boy came to see me.
He was in trouble with the police, his teachers, the neighbors, and he
resented his parents. His father was cruel and tyrannical, and
occasionally beat his mother. The boy was reacting by becoming
hostile, belligerent, and resentful. His rage toward his father
was suppressed and became a festering sore. I explained to him
that the reason he was opposed to authority was because he was
psychologically fighting a father image. His teachers and local
policemen were symbols of authority. I succeeded in getting the
father and son together. They aired their hostility and anger
toward each other, and they realized that they were both wrong.
Father, mother, and son gathered together each night and prayed
sincerely for each other's peace, harmony, joy, and understanding.
As they continued radiating love, peace, and good will to each other,
the entire pattern of the home life changed, and the young boy is now
getting along marvelously well in high school. Prayer changes
things. <end>
Next
week ... part three of this marvelous lecture. How simple life
becomes when we focus on the love, peace, happiness, and harmony that is
within each and every one of us.
And
So It Is!
Letting
Love Use Me In Its Own Good Way,
Rev.
Bates
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