Paramahansa Yoganananda

https://youtu.be/NZRlO-Dz-zA

Using the Power of Spirit to Create Health, Prosperity, and Happiness

Introduction

• Is there a power that can reveal hidden veins of riches and uncover treasures of which I never dreamt? Is there a force that I can call upon to give health, happiness, and spiritual enlightenment? The saints and sages of India teach that there is such a power. They have demonstrated the efficacy of truth principles that will work for me, too, if I give them a fair trial
• My success in life does not altogether depend on ability and training; it also depends on my determination to grasp opportunities that are presented to me. Opportunities in life come by creation, not by chance. I, myself, either now or in the past (including the past of former lives), have created all opportunities that arise in my path. Since I have earned them, use them to the best advantage
• If I use all available outward means, as well as my natural abilities, to overcome every obstacle in my path, I will thus develop the powers that God gave me, unlimited powers that flow from the innermost forces of my being. I possess the power of thought and the power of will. Utilize to the uttermost these divine gifts

Thought

• I control my destiny
  • Mind is the creator of everything. I should therefore guide it to create only good. If I cling to a certain thought with dynamic will power, it finally assumes a tangible outward form. When I am able to employ my will always for constructive purposes, I become the controller of my destiny
• The power of thought
  • I demonstrate success or failure according to my habitual trend of thought. In me which is the stronger, success thoughts or failure thoughts? If my mind is ordinarily in a negative state, an occasional positive thought is not sufficient to attract success. But if I think rightly, I will find my goal even though I seem to be enveloped in darkness
• Fear exhausts life energy
  • Fear exhausts life energy; it is one of the greatest enemies of dynamic will power. Fear causes the life force that ordinarily flows steadily through the nerves to be squeezed out, and the nerves themselves to become as though paralyzed; the vitality of the whole body is lowered. Fear doesn't help me to get away from the object of fear; it only weakens my will power. Fear causes the brain to send an inhibiting message to all bodily organs
• Failures should arouse determination
  • Even failures should act as stimulants to my will power and to my material and spiritual growth. When I have failed in any project it is helpful to analyze every factor in the situation in order to eliminate all chances in the future that I might repeat the same errors
• The need for self-analysis
  • Another secret of progress is self-analysis. Introspection is a mirror in which to see recesses of my mind that otherwise would remain hidden from me. Diagnose my failures and sort out my good and bad tendencies. Analyze what I am, what I wish to become, and what shortcomings are impeding me
  • Whenever I have a thought of indecision, fear, doubt, or scarcity, I must write it down and identify what is causing this thought to arise. For the majority of the time, the thought arises due to past experience which has molded my identity

Will

• Will is the dynamo
  • Along with positive thinking, I should use will power and continuous activity in order to be successful. Every outward manifestation is the result of will, but this power is not always used consciously. There is mechanical will as well as conscious will. The dynamo of all my powers is volition, or will power. Without volition, I cannot walk, talk, work, think, or feel. Therefore, will power is the spring of all my actions]
  • In order not to use this energy, I would have to be completely inactive both mentally and physically. Even when I move my hand, I am using will power. It is impossible to live without using this force
• The creative power of initiative
  • What is initiative? It is a creative faculty within me, a spark of the Infinite Creator. It may give me the power to create something no one else has ever created. It urges me to do things in new ways. The accomplishments of a person of initiative may be as spectacular as a shooting star. Apparently creating something from nothing, he demonstrates that the seemingly impossible may become possible by one's employment of the great inventive power of the Spirit
• Habits of thought control one's life
  • Weaken a bad habit by avoiding everything that occasioned it or stimulated it, without concentrating upon it in my zeal to avoid it. Then divert my mind to some good habit and steadily cultivate it until it becomes a dependable part of me
• The way of meditation
  • By the power of concentration and meditation I can direct the inexhaustible power of my mind to accomplish what I desire and to guard every door against failure. All successful men and women devote much time to deep concentration. They are able to dive deeply within their minds and to find the pearls of right solutions for the problems that confront them. If I learn how to withdraw my attention from all objects of distraction and to place it upon one object of concentration, I too will know how to attract at will whatever I need
• Power of divine will
  • Divine will has no boundaries; it works through laws known and unknown, natural and seemingly miraculous. It can change the course of destiny, wake the dead, cast mountains into the sea, and create new solar systems
  • Man, as an image of God, possesses within him that all-accomplishing power of will. To discover through right meditation how to be in harmony with the Divine Will is man's highest obligation

Abundance

• Success is measured by happiness
  • Consider whether fulfillment of the goal I have chosen will constitute success. What is success? If I possess health and wealth, but have trouble with everybody (including myself), mine is not a successful life. Existence becomes futile if I cannot find happiness. When wealth is lost, I have lost a little; when health is lost, I have lost something of more consequence; but when peace of mind is lost, I have lost the highest treasure
  • Success should therefore be measured by the yardstick of happiness; by my ability to remain in peaceful harmony with the cosmic laws
• See the image of God in all men
  • Many people excuse their own faults but judge other person's harshly. I should reverse this attitude by excusing others' shortcomings and by harshly examining my own
• Put God's power behind my efforts
  • Release for constructive purposes the power I already have, and more will come. Move on my path with unflinching determination, using all the attributes of success. Tune myself with the creative power of spirit. I will be in contact with the infinite intelligence that is able to guide me and to solve all problems. Power from the dynamic source of my being will flow uninterruptedly so that I will be able to perform creatively in any sphere of activity
• From the ocean of abundance
  • Just as all power lies in his will, so all spiritual and material gifts flow from his boundless abundance. In order to receive his gifts, I must eradicate from my mind all thoughts of limitation and poverty. Universal mind is perfect and knows no lack; to reach that never-failing supply I must maintain a consciousness of abundance. Even when I do not know where the next dollar is coming from, I should refuse to be apprehensive