Rereading this classic was connecting with an old friend. Many years ago, I wrote out 15 Ways To Gain New Strength from this work, which I taped to my computer stand. When I replaced the book that had disappeared in one of my many moves, I was amazed to see that list as only one small part of the total. The volume itself is a treasure of many of the ideas I have read before but needed to hear again. Perhaps the same is true for you.
I strongly recommend this as a beginning primer into the metaphysical world, and I just as strongly recommend it is as a refresher read. Before I ever thought of the idea of a practical spirituality, Vernon Howard was presenting many of the necessary components.
Howard's words explain his ideas simply and clearly. I quote his words directly for most of this review. He explains:
"Man's task is to awaken to his true identity. The Kingdom of Heaven is within. Spiritual truths are discovered with an entirely new kind of thinking, quite distinct and vastly superior to the mind that buildsbridges and sells merchandise" (86).
Howard suggests the need for a better definition of "success" than a financial one:
"We demand a financial success, or a social gain, because we think it will fulfill us inwardly. It won't. It never will - as we have suspected all along. So-called success provides ego-excitement, but never self-fulfillment. It is just as impossible for an exterior result to provide inner happiness as it is for a new hat to give us a new mind" (145).
Think about this next quote. I believe the idea is relevant to many of us who find ourselves afraid of or intimidated by another:
"Why are we afraid of others? Because we want something from them. The desire can be almost anything -- companionship, approval, sex, security. The mistake is this: Not having found the true self which is free from compulsive desires, we seek gratification from people. This creates fear that we won't get what we want, or anxiety that the other person will makeus pay dearly for it" (151).
Howard provides many other ideas, but I particularly like this one:
"Try the following experiment for the next thirty minutes: Let life happen the way it wants, with no resistance and no objection. Go about as if you need not think about anything. Your first surprise will be that your usual duties go on very nicely as before. Secondly, you will catch a grand glimpse of the effortlessly flowing of Tao. You do not carry; you are carried" (133).
Then we might try this same experiment for the rest of our lives. Vernon Howard's ideas can help us do that.
Howard, Vernon. The Mystic Path to Cosmic Power. N.Y: Parker Publishing Company, 1967.
Cheryl A. Chatfield, Ph. D. is a writer, teacher and inspirational speaker. Visit http://NottInstitute.org to request a complimentary 10-page booklet discussing the Top Seven Books for 2009 To Guide Your Spiritual Quest, one of which is discussed above. Her nonprofit organization, The Nottingham Institute, promotes materials for an everyday, or practical, spirituality for those who don't find answers in organized religions. Two of her books include Do It Yourself Guide to Spirituality: Seven Simple Steps and The Lost Principles, a novel.
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