Chapter 19 - You And Your Subconscious Mind As Partners In Action…In Relation To Faith

From a collection of epitaphs published by some whimsical person, I have always remembered this one:

Here lies dead Jim Horner,
Life's end for him was grim;
He put faith in fate,
But fate put no faith in him.

That is a bit of a tongue-twister, but it really says something very true about the lives of many persons. I don't know anything about Jim. Perhaps he put too much faith in his ability to draw a gun first. Nor do I know anything about the author of that bit of verse. But certainly he was an observant, practical philosopher. I feel that he wasn't concerned with simply supplying an epitaph for Jim; he knew that others would read the message, and perhaps he was suggesting that this fellow's brush with fate could be an object lesson for others.

As I said, I think that this macabre "poet" knew what he was talking about, except that his horse-sense observation was a bit late to do Jim any good. Many, many people walk around wearing a "living" epitaph like that one. Over the years and by the hundreds, I've seen them as members of my classes and home study courses, and this "epitaph" had to be removed before they could go on living a life of true faith.

Blind faith is misleading

I should like to change that verse a bit, to fit the living. Trying my hand at very free verse, I would put it this way:

There goes a certain good person,

To whom fortune is but a wraith; He puts blind faith into his fate,
But his fate doesn't match his faith.

Too many people blindfold themselves by their interpretation of faith. To them faith is a passive condition, with the outcome in the hands of fate, which guides them along unpredictable paths. Actually both faith and fate are "mysteries" to these people.

Then there are others who blindfold themselves by denying the value of faith in their lives. They try to wrestle with fate, single-handedly, apparently believing that a "practical, matter-of-fact" attitude gives them an upper hand.

That "living epitaph" fits both kinds of people, unfortunately so. As you now know, no one is supposed to go through life blindfolded . . , and no one can be blindfolded about faith and live a full life.

True faith opens all doors

However, there is that legion of people to whom faith is like an all-seeing eye in their lives, opening doors to a radiant interpretation of a full life. I am inclined to try my hand again at a verse describing that kind of a person, only this is not an epitaph, but rather the rule of a "blue ribbon" winner in life. About this kind of a person I would say:

Now here is a right-living person,
For whom things in life are just great;
He puts his faith into action,
And works hand-in-hand with his fate!

Whether you have been branded with that "living epitaph" or not, I encourage you to adopt this rule about faith because it fits hand-in-glove with your new creed of Me and with the three rules.

Faith and fate should be combined in a positive partnership in your life. Action is the key to that partnership, action induced by that ever-active partner of yours, the power of your subconscious.

Faith is belief in action

Faith is not intended to be a passive condition. True faith is an energized condition, based upon demonstrations of belief, of trust, of reliance. Nor is fate unconditionally an enigma, bringing a person face to face with unheralded circumstances. There is a power in your life that foreordains your lot in life, but it can be made a productive power because it is subject to your influence. But an energized faith and an influenced fate require responsibilities of the person who wants them related to his life. He cannot approach the one "blindly," nor the other "inevitably." He must keep his eyes open, and know what he is doing and know why!

". . . He puts his faith into action,
And works hand-in-hand with his fate."

How? By capitalizing on the experience of others who have proved the substantiality of faith, by demonstrating faith and by acting according to his distinctiveness as his Creator would have him act. All of this you can do through positive self-influence, backed by the power of your subconscious.

One definition of faith is: "believing without proof." I believe that this is an illogical definition. Belief by an individual is based upon trust and reliance upon something held to be true. Isn't that your interpretation of belief? If you hold something to be true, you must have had some proof of its authenticity. I hold that every circumstance worthy of your faith can offer proof of its right to be believed in and that, if you seek the truth, you will find the proof and the basis of your faith.

Faith in your god

Let us wade right into that most common application of faith, religious faith, and apply that premise here. An abridged definition of religion is that it is an earthly plan of recognition of a Supreme Being and the worship of Him as the ultimate Father of mankind. Now, if there were no churches, per se, in the world, would people have a "plan" of recognition of a Supreme Being? I believe that we would have such a plan, because man is a reasoning animal, and there is so much proof in the world of a supernatural Intelligence. Consider some of this proof.

"Man cannot make man, only God can make a man." True or false? True! Even though man and woman are the necessary partners in the conception and birth of a child, they do not "give life" to the union of cells, nor can they endow the child with its basic intelligence, nor infuse it with the spirit that makes it a human being. As physical agents in a birth, they must rely on life, and intelligence and spirit coming to the child from "somewhere else" or from "someone else." Is it not true, therefore, that this "something" exists, since its manifestation is so constant?

Man is related to a creative plan

"Man is a self-sufficient animal." True or false? False! As definite as we are in asserting in this book of yours that you can shape your life, we do so only because we can rely upon a basic plan that is beyond our influence. A common name for this plan is "Nature." This includes the natural creativeness of the world itself, the acts of growth and replenishment. You could have no "plan of life" if it were not for the productive earth, the seasons, the cycle of the sun. Consistency in that plan makes consistency possible in your plan, and, yet, the former is in no sense man-made. We cannot conceive of such consistency without the existence of some kind of a governing intelligence. We know we are not entirely self-sufficient. We have faith in the Supreme Intelligence that provides Nature's plan.

Man's faith in man

Besides birth and nature, another proof of the existence of a Supreme Being lies in the inherent "brotherhood" of man. No, I am not being irrational. You and I have already agreed that "man" often abuses or disavows this "brotherhood" concept, but you now know how to establish your relationship to such conditions. You possess the basic urges that demand satisfaction in life. So does everyone else. These urges can only be satisfied through companionship with others, in one form or another. The desire for companionship is inborn. To the extent that everyone was "made alike," has found his greatest prosperity and accomplishment through community living. This desire is not man-made. It is given to him because he needs it. Here is another proof of some guiding Intelligence. And to that extent, we put faith in His "brotherhood" plan every day of our lives.

Obviously man has found that faith in the Supreme Being is fostered by corporate effort. The many churches and doctrines in the world are unions of people who believe in a Supreme Plan. The words and methods of such plans vary, but I know of no religious union that asks anyone to accept a faith "blindly." Every person is encouraged to seek "proof" as an individual, and he is encouraged to demonstrate his faith and to live his faith. Every person who has done this has "felt" the partnership of his God in his life, but it first required action on his part.

Therein lies the value of any object of faith in your life. Every bit of evidence of the value and power of faith indicates that it must be a deep-rooted condition, with the "roots" in the subconscious mind. To be of real value in your life, faith must be an influence that is always on tap. The only means you have of creating an ever-present inner influence is through the conditioning of your subconscious. And, of course, you now know that deliberate action is the key to positive subconscious influence.

Keep faith with yourself

You have already laid the foundation for dynamic faith in your life, through your first efforts in the practice steps. Primarily, you have demonstrated faith in yourself, and faith in the future. You did this by deliberate planned action. From now on, faith in yourself and the future will grow in value and power, because your subconscious will remind you of the proved realness of faith in these actions. You can go on proving it, for all of your days. You did not go about it "blindly," and it was not "blind faith." And certainly you did not disavow its potential power by harboring doubt about the outcome.

Faith induces optimism

There is great significance in this phase of faith in your life. Faith is really the basic ingredient in the preparatory steps in any positive action. Faith establishes an influence that is based upon optimism and the anticipation of positive outcomes. It establishes a basic belief in an action. Frankly, this influence of dynamic faith is at the core of the predetermination of good outcomes. And therein lies establishment of the right relationship with fate. If fate is to be considered a predetermined definition of your lot in life, then through this practice of dynamic faith, you are working hand-in-hand with your fate.

Where, then, in your life is the establishment of dynamic faith needed, and thereby a good working relationship with faith? You have already established it in relation to yourself, and to your immediate future. What about the future a year from now, ten years from now? What about your God? What about other people, with whom you live, or work, or play? What about your marriage partner, your family, your children? What about your country, and democracy? What about that important matter of health, and the enjoyment of life? And what about "rightness," and your belief in your basic purpose in life? Do you need to establish or strengthen your faith in any of these factors in your life? If you do, do it! Do it by making your faith dynamic. Do this by applying your creed of "do, positively" and through the use of the "three rules."

Make faith a basic influence

Define every thing you want to believe in, everything and everybody in which you have the need or desire for perfection. Define where you need to establish faith in any relationship and where you need to strengthen it. Say: "These are the things in which I want to have faith. Then make the faith dynamic by applying subconscious self-influence.

I vividly remember a husband and wife, participants in one of my home study courses, who came face to face with the fact that faith had been a misunderstood, passive factor in their lives. They said that they believed in most of the desirable things that other good people did. Yet most of the "proof" that appeared to manifest itself in their lives was negative proof, until it seemed that their faith was all wrong. The well-educated husband had never risen above the subordinate level in his work. The conscientious wife had never achieved a feeling of fulfillment. They were quite willing to say that, despite then-faith, fate was against them.

When, through the searching personal analysis that is part of the course, we showed them that they had been just sitting back hoping that faith would work for them, they took "deep breath/' and made some active demonstrations of their faith. From then on, they were living in a different world. Both husband and wife have found fulfillment since then, through living their faith.

Dynamic faith for you

Briefly, then, faith must be dynamic to have any value in your life. Determine where your beliefs that are dependent on faith must be centered. Deliberately go into action in support of those beliefs, and put your subconscious power to work on them. Bring dynamic faith into your life in order to put fate on your side. Brand yourself with that rule of the person who interprets life radiantly. Make that rule read:

"Here am I, a right-living person,
For whom things in life are just great;
I have put my faith into action,
And work hand-in-hand with my fate!"

In Sum

In preparing for positive action, faith is the basic ingredient.
Strengthen your faith. Make it dynamic.
This you will do through action and, thus, through
your subconscious and self-influence.
 
Result Getting Projects

Everything that you have done so far in your experi- ence with positive self-influence has prepared the way for dynamic faith in your life. Your move is to put "belief in action" into your life. Get into action through these projects.

1. Eliminate doubt as a factor of fear, or mistrust, skepticism or insincerity. Where any of these elements of doubt exist in your life, put them under the spotlight of truth. You can have faith in nothing and nobody when doubt is a factor. Like a crusader, seek the facts about any situation or any relationship. Seek until you find the genuineness that is there, the elements of integrity. If, in any case, you find that these elements are not there, you know that faith would be misplaced, and that removes doubt. Most often you will find the core of integrity, that is true. Concentrate your understanding on the positive element that you can believe in and act upon! Eliminate doubt by seeking the truth!

2. Establish an attitude of optimism in the things and people in which and in whom you are placing your faith. Optimism acts like a great "preservative" of faith. It will keep your faith alive in the face of assaults by negative "outside influences." Optimism is a subconscious influence that puts the brightest coloring on faith. Maintain optimism by keeping the truth in constant focus and your subconscious will prompt you to put your beliefs into action at the proper time.

3. Let faith be a dynamic factor by anticipating good out comes as you put your beliefs into action. Are you concerned about fate in your life? Then have faith in your fate by anticipating your fate positively! As optimism puts the right "coloring" on your faith, anticipation puts "flavor" into it. It puts life into your faith, because you anticipate nothing but the best from your "beliefs in action."

Eliminate doubt; replace it with truth.
Be optimistic about the truth.
Anticipate positive outcomes from your dynamic faith.

Plot the application of faith this way, and subconscious self-influence will make it real in relation to your creator, your future, your family life, your purpose in life and in all relationships with people and conditions.

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