Part 4

There is no doubt in my mind that pure Christianity, and pure Buddhism, and the Mental Sciences, and all Religions, fundamentally teach what has been a discovery to me; but none of them have presented it in the light of a simple and easy process of absolute elimination. All of the religions seemed to me to hinge principally on some other life, with the usual features of punishment and reward, and with incidental satisfaction or fear in this life. But as life reveals itself to me in my present condition of mind, this world, these fellow men, the blush of Spring, the blossom of Summer, the flame of Autumn, the sparkle of Winter, and the violet-softened refulgence of every waking moment yield a never failing succession of delights.

At one time I wondered if elimination of the passions would not lead to indifference and sloth. In my experience the contrary is the result. I feel such an increased desire to do something useful that it seems as if I were a boy again and the energy for play had returned. I could fight as readily as, (and better) than ever, if there were occasion for it. It does not make one a coward. It can't, since fear is one of the things eliminated.

That fear is gotten rid of with worry is proven in many ways. I notice the absence of timidity in the presence of any audience I am called on to face, whereas I had never before conquered a tendency to partial paralysis on such occasions. Timidity resulting from a shock has been cured also. When I was a boy I was standing under a tree which was struck by lightning and received a shock, from the effects of which I never knew exemption until I had dissolved partnership with worry. Since then lightning, and thunder, and storm clouds, with wind-swept torrents of rain have been encountered under conditions which formerly would have caused great depression and discomfort, without experiencing a trace of either. Surprise is also greatly modified, and one is less liable to become startled by unexpected sights or noises. Temperaments may differ, but Emancipation strengthens all.

It has been suggested to me, in argument, that in Nature there is sunshine and shadow, and that every height must have a corresponding depression, and that immunity from the black or shadowy passions is an unnatural condition. This is not true. In the process of growth and evolution, conditions that once were natural, are changed to other conditions equally natural. Weeds are pulled up by the roots to clear the fields for the growing grain. Why should not mental weeds be pulled up by the roots also, and the mind cleared for growth?

My experience teaches me that the natural evolution of the emancipated mind is dominant calm, varied by seasons of exaltation, but never of depression. It is a healthful succession of energy and rest, all blessed with loving appreciation, which finds expression in ever-present gratitude.

One morning recently I heard myself audibly thank the clock for striking the time for me, and each awakening is as if on a much desired holiday, no matter what the conditions of the weather or the comforts of life at hand.

Contentment and happiness and gratitude and Heaven are generally accepted as synonymous terms; but Emancipation embraces them all, and in it only can they all be found.

As far as I am individually concerned I am not bothering myself at present as to what the result of this emancipated condition may be. I have no doubt that the perfect health aimed at by Christian Science may be one of the possibilities, for I note a marked improvement in the way my stomach does its duty in assimilating the food I give it to handle, and I am sure it works better to the sound of a song than under the friction of a frown. Neither am I wasting any of this precious time formulating an idea of a future existence or a future Heaven. The Heaven that I have found within myself is as attractive as any that has been promised or that I can imagine; and I am willing to let the growth lead where it will, as long as anger and worry and their brood have no part in misguiding it; but I feel the value of Mental Emancipation to be so great that I long to spread the news of the discovery of an easy and immediate means of attaining it.

The practical benefit of the emancipated mind to the individual, and of the emancipated individual to the community, can not be over-estimated. In every walk in life Emancipation is invaluable to the worker, and the most potent aid to success. The emancipated peanut vender will have more customers than his worm-eaten neighbor. The emancipated merchant will find that trade will pass the door of his calamity-howling rival and come to him. The emancipated writer will find writing an easy and pleasant task as compared with that of his moody confrere, and that if he has occasion to dip his pen in vinegar he can wield it better under the influence of judicial calm than he can between the gulps of rebellious indigestion. To woman Emancipation means everything. Any other condition to her is like an ill fitting garment, and every lapse from it is like adding a blotch to her complexion which succeeding smiles can never entirely efface. Each expression of a shadowy passion leaves a scar. The Emancipation of woman would mean the Emancipation of the race. The adoption of the germ cure will be woman's means to that end, and Emancipation will be her Heaven and man's Heaven at the same time.

The influence of emancipated individuals in a community could be made so great that if there were only one in ten, and they should organize in clubs for the purpose, they would attract or rule the rest for good, and something better than the social Utopia pictured by Edward Bellamy in "Looking Backward" would follow as a natural sequence, and save us from the threatened battle between capital and labor, which otherwise seems inevitable. The horrors of such a conflict cannot be imagined; and, unless the germ cure is sought to avert it, it is sure to come.

The germ cure of the evil passions in the individual, followed by the germ cure of social clumsiness in the body politic, form the only hope of Emancipation from the evils which beset the social structure. For these there is no real necessity. There is already such a surplus of mechanical energy, such a surplus of creature comforts, and such a surplus of luxuries on our planet, that a moderately sensible distribution of them, would render every inhabitant comfortable and happy. Among the Emancipated the desire to make a generous distribution of these surplus stores would be as natural as is the habit of recognizing "the rule of the road" among us all to-day. So also, the vast amount of surplus energy born of Emancipation would find a natural outlet in the arts.

In suggesting the possibility of a Social Paradise or Community Heaven, it is presupposed that education along the lines of both intellectual and manual training will have become universal, and that every one shall render service to his fellows according to his strength; also that idleness, when one should work, and deception in trade, will have come to be classed as crimes, and not as evidences of "shrewdness."

It has been my good fortune to travel to and fro over the earth's surface for thirty years, years of experience passed among the people of many different nations. I have made quick comparisons of the habits and customs of them all; and I have observed how easily some do things that others perform clumsily. The standard measure of my comparison has always been Japan. I could not help observing there less crime, better appreciation of art and nature, more physical dexterity and skill, fewer notes out of harmony, and more general happiness, gentleness, and consideration for fellows and animals; less (almost no) religious or sectional prejudice; a universal patriotism and respect for authority (as good children are respectful of the authority of beloved parents); a love of life, but no fear of death; and many other qualities that have commanded the respect of the world under the bright light of recent events.

Brave, gentle, artistic, lovable little Japan, which, thirty odd years ago, was nursing in quiet seclusion a beautiful flower of artistic civilization, has been rudely but providentially forced into the community of nations to teach the rest of the world a great lesson in the art of true living. By the exercise of judicious but resistless courage she has laid the Oriental Colossus who attacked her at her feet; and if the bulldog and buzzard nations of the West, do not unite their forces to obstruct her inclination, she will lift her fallen foe from a condition of slavery to barbarous aliens to a condition of tranquillity and happiness. She will do this through the introduction of reforms in government and administration which she has gathered from the best experience of all the world. What a missionary Japan is! A missionary of the art of true living. A missionary of harmony. The contact of Japan with the other nations made the World's Congress of Religions possible; and what this means to the advancement of man on the road to harmony and happiness, was recently stated by Prof. Max Muller, when he prophesied that this event would come to be appreciated as the greatest civilizing influence of the Nineteenth century.

May the example of Japan set the boors of the world to thinking, cause them to take their fore feet out of the trough, look up to the sun and the light of dawning civilization, accept the simple teachings of Christ and Buddha and common sense, and start a Heaven here on earth. Steam and electricity have brought the extremes of our earth together; the telescope has let us into the secrets of the neighboring worlds, and logic and common sense may find in the possibility of Emancipation a means of bringing Heaven to us in this life.

A DISCUSSION

WHICH FOLLOWED THE READING OF THE FOREGOING PAPER

"Can anger and worry be entirely eliminated from the human mind?"

"Yes; they are simply bad habits of the mind, parasites, unnatural, and therefore uncivilized conditions, nursed by false ideas of pride or necessity; and their elimination is a purely mental process within the control of every intelligent person who has sufficient self-respect to recognize within himself the reflection of the Divine Image."

"In what does the germ cure of mental ills differ from the Christian method of repression through answer to prayer?"

"Christ clearly advocated the germ cure. He did not say 'Try to do unto others as you would have others do unto you,' but 'Do unto others,' etc. 'Be ye perfect as your Father in Heaven is perfect.' In all of his teachings do and be were the commands. Most of the creeds, however, endow man with a weakness which is self-condemning. The prayers are offered perfunctorily, and sometimes without belief in their efficacy, while the passions are nursed privately in full belief that they are essential attributes of fallen man."

"May not the elimination of anger and worry take away some of the stimulation to effort that is necessary to human progress?"

"Assuredly not. The absence of anger and worry is an evidence of strength and not of weakness. So-called righteous anger is a weakness in the presence of judicial calm. Without anger and worry one is stronger to ward off a blow, administer a correction, or protect a principle. The emancipated mind is as eager for effort as a child is for play. Freed from anger and worry one can shovel more dirt, plough more furrows, perform every duty better, and with less fatigue, than if under their influence."

"Are there examples in every-day life, among every-day people, that prove the possibility of superiority over anger and worry?"

"Yes. Habitually profane men do not swear in the presence of ladies. Vicious men are gentle when among those whom they respect. The passions are subservient to the will under conditions that reverence or fashion prescribe. If they are subservient under any conditions they can be controlled under all conditions. Nothing for instance, could make you angry while we are talking on this subject, because you would feel ashamed to show slavery to a condemned and unmanly weakness."

"If it is possible to get rid of the depressing passions, and they are so unprofitable, why has not mankind become emancipated long before this?"

"This question can best be answered by asking others. Why were a personal devil and witches and filmy ghosts considered possibilities as late as the beginning of this century? Why was human slavery believed to be a divine institution by the majority of the world's inhabitants as late as fifty years ago? Why are the divine right of kings, and the assumption that the sovereign can do no wrong, possibilities of the present? Why is it possible that a Supreme Court of the United States can be divided on questions of political significance, and the points of difference of opinion be in harmony with the previous political affiliations of the justices? Politics represent the selfish in human contact as at present managed, while justice is supposed to be spotlessly unselfish; yet the former unblushingly invades the sanctuary of the latter, because selfishness is held to be a necessity."

"Is not the condition of Emancipation selfish? Is it not selfish not to worry for one's friend, even if self-worry is eliminated?"