Happiness as Found in Forethought Minus Fearthought. Fletcher Horace

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СКАЧАТЬ flood-gates. Even the complete, yet simple, dignity of the Lord's Prayer can be epitomized within the prayer, Father, teach Thou us Appreciation.

LOVE

      In its pure form, as Christ meant it, Love makes no distinction between creatures nor between things; its merit is in the act – or thought – and not in the object loved.

      The divine quality in man, growing out of appreciation, finds first expression in love; not the passive principle, the opposite of hate, but the growing, active principle, which is constantly flowing forth from the spiritually blessed to bathe with warmth of unselfishness the just and the unjust alike. Love begets altruism.

      As "perfect love casteth out fear," so does the eradication of fear insure the wooing of perfect love.

ALTRUISM

      Next in the scale of importance is Comte's word "altruism," which was coined to suggest the Christ-like attitude of unselfish service between fellow-men. It is, however, as before stated, now commonly understood to be the social or business application of the principle of love which needs and expects to be reciprocal. Men were asked to become altruists when they were asked to "do unto others as you would that others should do unto you." Growth towards divinity is the fruit of perfect altruism. Perfect Love begets Perfect Altruism. Christ is the Perfect Altruist.

SPONTANEOUS ALTRUISM

      Any degree of altruism is good and is sure to lead to higher degrees, but the perfect type is best kept in view by the use of the qualified form expressed by the adjective "spontaneous" – meaning voluntary, without reward, except as found in the act itself. This qualification is almost necessary to prevent the lowering of the value of the term, as "perfect" was required to express Christ-Love, in contra-distinction to worldly love.

OPTIMISM

      Optimism is forethought. Christianity, pure and undefiled, is perfect optimism. Christ is the Perfect Optimist.2

FORETHOUGHT

      "Forethought" is the logical, trustful, hopeful, Christian, and therefore stimulating, consideration of the future.

      Forethought cannot be contrasted as the opposite of fearthought for the same reason that a tree cannot be contrasted as the opposite of its shadow; one being the growing, fruit-bearing substance; and the other being the unsubstantial, unillumined simulation of the living reality.

ENVIRONMENT

      Surroundings which impress themselves upon the mind and assist to influence and form character and opinions.

SPIRITUAL CEREBRATION

      Sometimes called unconscious cerebration; intelligence not derived from experience; principally obtained during undisturbed sleep, and, seemingly, supernaturally clear to consciousness on awakening in natural manner; Spiritual Cerebration is man's best partner, if confidently listened to, heeded and followed.

NATURAL SELECTION

      Unconscious physical attraction; assisting sustenance, protection, development and reproduction; attribute of all life.

DIVINE SELECTION

      Attribute only of Man; distinguishing Man from the rest of Creation; exercised in modifying the brute law of the "survival of the fittest, or strongest," by cultivating harmonic conditions favoring growth and producing happiness; God's Higher Law of Harmony executed through Man.

HAPPINESS

      The evidence and fruit and reward of growth as involved in Altruism.

NATURE

      As commonly used, "nature" means creation apart from man. The accepted definition is "creation," and as such includes man and all created things, and also the processes of creation – generation, degeneration and regeneration – as involved in growth. The common use of the word "nature" is a convenient one, and hence let us make use of it as meaning creation other than man.

EGOCIATION

      Egociation is, Appreciation of self as a creation of God and as an instrument of Altruism– to be cultivated to its greatest possibilities in order that it may render Altruistic service in the execution of the Higher Law of Harmony.

      There are two distinct kinds of ego– self: The ego that is physically and intellectually born only, and whose tendencies are egotistically selfish, and therefore, animalesque: And the ego that enjoys Appreciation, realizes God, loves spontaneously, understands the Higher Law of Harmony and serves with enthusiasm in the execution of the Law by the exercise of Divine Selection, and thereby attains True Happiness.

      The mental equipment of the unthinking is dulled by a confusion of these two egos, and hence they cultivate egotism, believing it to be Egociation; as they cultivate fearthought, believing it to be forethought; and as they tolerate license, believing it to be an attribute of liberty.

      The desirability of separating the lower, or animal, self from the Higher Self, warrants the coining of a term, sufficiently new to attract attention and sufficiently allied to well-known words to explain itself. With this object in view I have empirically selected a combination of ego and appreciation, and in so doing, have coined the euphonious term Egociation as an antithesis of "egotism," especially useful in inculcating a general understanding of the Higher Law of Harmony and in securing recognition of the place of the Higher Self within the Law.

      In the cultivation of Egociation, man recognizes and asserts an individuality, or responsibility, as a part of the whole, the result of appreciation, opposed to personality or separateness, which is an attribute of egotism.

      Words that carry good suggestion with them are less liable to do harm by being variously understood than those that convey bad suggestion. These latter should be defined in such a manner as to clearly suggest their badness; in fact, war should be waged upon them by every possible means.

EGOTISM

      "Egotism" is separation from God. The fruit of egotism is selfishness.

SELFISHNESS

      In the list of the deterrents, selfishness holds bottom place. Self-forethought, self-carefulness, self-culture, and self-respect, are in no way related to selfishness, but are provision of strength towards useful purposes. Selfishness is the mark of animal origin. We will therefore define it as relic of animalism remaining in man.

      Selfishness is the opposite of altruism. While a suggestion of altruism is found in some animals, especially in dogs, it is not an animal characteristic. Selfishness is the predominant animal trait and therefore excuses the otherwise unkindly comparison.

FEAR

      Fear is also a relic of animalism, and a child of selfishness – a deformed child of an ill-formed parent. It is not a physical condition, but simply an expression of fearthought. We will therefore define "fear" as an expression of fearthought.

FEARTHOUGHT

      "Fearthought" is the self-imposed or self-permitted suggestion of inferiority. It is both a cause and an effect of selfishness. It is the "tap-root of evil."

      "Fearthought" was coined by the author in order, if possible by suggestion, to separate from divinely ordained forethought any element of apprehension or weakness that might be masquerading under the name of forethought in the minds of the unthinking.

WORRY

      "Worry" is fearthought in contradistinction to forethought.

ANGER

      "Anger" is the brutal and self-inflicting expression of disapproval– brutal, because it is ungodly, unchristian and unaltruistic; self-inflicting, because the ill-effect of it reacts upon the person enangered.

      There can be no "righteous anger." СКАЧАТЬ