LITMIR.BIZ

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proportions, in so artistic a way, that, after watching the process hour by hour, one is almost involuntarily possessed by the notion that some more subtle aid to the vision than the achromatic lens would show the hidden artist, with his plan before him, striving with skilful manipulation to perfect his work.”

      The same great scientist, speaking of the continued life of the newt, says: “As life advances, and the young amphibian ranges the waters, the terror of his insect contemporaries, not only the nutritious particles supplied by its prey (by the addition of which to its frame, growth takes place) are laid down, each in its proper spot, and in due proportion to the rest, so as to reproduce the parent stock; but even the wonderful powers of reproducing lost parts, which are possessed by these animals, are controlled by the same governing tendency. Cut off the legs, the tail, the jaws, separately or all together, and these parts not only grow again, but the new limb is formed on the same type as those which were lost. The new jaw, or leg, is a newt’s, and never by an accident more like that of a frog.”

      In the above graphic word­picture of Huxley, we catch a glimpse of the subtle, silent manifestations of this materialization of mental images in Nature; for the same kind of processes are under way on all sides of us, on all planes of Nature’s activities, and in all of her phases of life­processes. There is constantly under way a process of growth, production, reproduction, building, repairing, replacing and general creative construction; and in each and all such forms and phases we may see the presence of a given pattern, form, type or mold—an ideal design or scheme upon which the materialization is effected. The “governing tendency” referred to by Huxley is seen to be none other than the operation of that principle of Creative Mental Form upon which all materialization depends.

      Moreover, we may see the operation of the same principle in the direction of the variation of form, faculty and function in the life forms—indeed, this principle constitutes the directing force of Evolution. Lamarck and other scientists have shown us that Evolution proceeds not only by Natural Selection, but also by the Unfoldment of Ideal Forms, or Mental Images. Thus, the new needs and requirements of the evolving life­forms are first manifested as ideal forms, or mental images, patterns, molds, or types, in the subconscious mentality of the creature; these then moving toward representation, expression and manifestation on the objective, material plane. Thus the “inner nature” gradually becomes modified by environment, and the “outer form” gradually responds to these changes.

      Illustrating this principle, we call your attention to the fact that certain schools of scientific thought hold that the long legs and long neck of the giraffe were evolved in response to the Creative Idea working through many generations of its ancestors. The ancestors found it difficult to reach the tender, juicy branches of certain trees, which were needed as food. This need and this difficulty were recognized by the subconscious mentality of the animal, and the Creative Idea began to shape and fashion the ideal form or mental image of the long legs and long neck which afterwards manifested in physical form in the descendants of the animal. In the same way were evolved and perfected the long legs and long bills of the wading, fish­catching birds. Again, thus were evolved the cruel beaks and talons of the hawks, eagles and other carnivorous, prey­capturing birds; and the claws and fangs of the carnivorous animals.

      In short, many thoughtful scientists recognize the existence and activity in Nature of a principle which tends to manifest in objective, material form that which has previously existed as a mental form or ideal image in the subconscious mentality of living creatures; the mental form or ideal image having arisen in response to a strong need, want, lack or desire of the creature—as in the illustrative cases above cited. The advance guard of the new psychology carries this principle to its logical conclusion when it asserts that the human being is able to set into operation great natural forces tending to produce similar objective results when he deliberately creates strong ideals, and then passes the same down to his subconscious mentality. Here is a hint at a mighty principle.

      Many persons are disposed to regard as more or less unreal and unsubstantial anything that is purely ideal and mental in its nature. To such we would cite the celebrated rule of Spinoza, viz.: “A thing has only so much reality as it possesses power.” Applying this rule to the ideal forms or mental images underlying material forms, you will discover that such possess a very high degree of reality and substantiality. Ideal forms and creative mental images are not merely such stuff as dreams are made of, but in reality are strong, powerful forces. In fact, many manifestations of natural forces are really efforts toward the expression of the Creative Idea. The inner form striving to manifest in the outer form often exercises a tremendous force. The inner form of a growing plant has been known to crack a heavy concrete block; and the power of growing roots, arising from the inner urge of the ideal form, has been known to tear asunder heavy foundation stones.

      John Burroughs, the great naturalist, says concerning this force of the inner form striving for outward expression: “We know that the roots of trees insert themselves into seams in the rocks, and force the rocks asunder. This force is measurable, and often is very great. Its seat seems to be in the soft milky substance called the cambium layer under the bark. These minute cells, when their force is combined, may become regular rock­splitters. One of the most remarkable exhibitions of plant force I ever saw was in a Western city where I observed a species of wild sunflower forcing its way up through the asphalt pavement. The folded and compressed leaves of the plant, like a man’s fist, had pushed against the hard but flexible concrete until it had bulged up and then split, and let the irrepressible plant through. The force exerted must have been many pounds. I think it doubtful if the strongest man could have pushed his fist through such a resisting medium. If it was not Life which exerted this force, what was it?”

      In the same way, the great giants of the forest have pushed their way up toward the skies, counteracting the pull of gravitation, and lifting weights which it would have required mighty machinery to move. The mental pattern in the giant redwood trees proceeds to the materialization of the gigantic outer form of the tree, and the “inner urge” of the ideal form calls to its aid the mighty latent forces of Nature in order to materialize that which is contained in the ideal form or mental image of the living organism of the tree. Nature seems ready to furnish such power to the inner urge, provided that such is sufficiently needed, insistently desired, and persistently demanded, and provided that it is called for in the right way. If man ever obtains the inner secret of this demand, he will have the creative powers and forces of Nature in his hands. Already he has acquired a portion of this secret, and is able to perform mighty creative work by directing his mental powers toward the physical plane. In this instruction we seek to disclose the principles of this process to you.

      The attention of certain philosophers has been attracted by this manifestation in Nature’s activities of a process closely resembling Constructive Imagination. They venture the hypothesis that the creative powers and processes of the human mind have an equivalent in Nature’s processes of growth in living forms, vegetable and animal. A little­known, though worthy, metaphysician has gone so far as to elevate to the rank of the Ultimate World Principle that which we know as the Constructive Imagination. He asserts that there is a Cosmic Constructive Imagination working in Nature, producing the myriad forms and varieties of vegetable and animal forms. He holds, further, that the same principle, in the form of the human Constructive Imagination, enables man to become a Creator on his own plane of life.

      This metaphysician holds that Constructive Imagination is the essential characteristic attribute of the Ultimate Principle of the Cosmos. He holds that this essential attribute is inherent in the very essence of all things, and in the world as a whole. He postulates its existence in the All­Thing as an immanent principle, just as in the kernel of the plant­seed there exists an immanent principle which will give to the evolving plant its form and its type of organism. This Cosmic principle, he asserts, has manifested the myriads of vegetable and animal forms which have existed, or now exist; and will so manifest those forms which shall in the future exist in the world. He holds that the first creations were quite simple, but that little by little the Cosmic Constructive Imagination increased its energy and manifested in more complex forms. He cites Darwin as testimony that in Nature there has been a slow evolution of organized forms, proceeding from the simple to the more complex, and so on.

      We are not here concerned with philosophical hypotheses,

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