Vital Centers for Concentration 205 



tions to things purely physical through the stimulus 

 of his sense perceptions. 



Notice also with care that it is not the will but 

 thought which must first be employed to control 

 desire and give it an upward impulse. Until this 

 is accomplished, will is at the mercy of desire and 

 but strengthens its evil intents. The moment 

 thought, which directs and controls desire, recog- 

 nizes its own agency, refuses to be swayed by im- 

 pulses, and gains the mastery, the Will ascends to 

 its higher plane, and its reflection transmutes de- 

 sire to loftier aims; for Will and desire are the 

 higher and lower aspects of one and the same thing. 

 It is by the proper exercise of our Will that we ac- 

 complish all things on the higher planes and free 

 our souls from physical chains. 



Thus in all this overcoming we are building 

 character, shaping destiny. And the petty trials, 

 the small frictions of life are just as important if 

 allowed to do their work of discord as seemingly 

 more important matters. They demand their cor- 

 responding measures of resistance, not the resist- 

 ance of struggle, but the more effective resistance 

 of poise, ensuring the calm spirit that commands 

 reason and, therefore, can meet the annoyance with 

 wise judgment. 



Be not anxious if at first when trying to concen- 

 trate and enter the Silence a multitude of thoughts 



