The Prosperity & Wealth Bible. Kahlil Gibran
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“I” part of them, but a little consideration will show them that the body is but a material covering, or machine through which and by means of which the “I” is able to manifest itself. A little thought will show that one may be vividly conscious of the “I Am” part of himself while totally oblivious of the presence of the physical body. This being so, it follows that the “I” is independent of the body, and that the latter falls into the “Me” classification. The physical body may exist after the “I” has left it — the dead body is not the “I.” The physical body is composed of countless particles which are changing places every moment of our lives — our body of today is entirely different from our body of a year ago.
Then comes the second principle of the “Me” — the Vital Energy, or what many call Life. This is seen to be independent of the body, which it energizes, but it, too, is transitory and changeable, and readily may be seen to be but a something used to animate and energize the body — an instrument of the “I,” and therefore a principle of the “Me”. What, then, is left to the “I” to examine and determine its nature? The answer that comes naturally to the lips is, “The Mind, by which I know the truth of what you have just said.” But, stop a moment, you have said, speaking of the mind, “by which I know” — have you not, in saying this, acknowledged the mind to be a something through which the “I” acts? Think a moment — is the mind you? You are aware that your mental states change — your emotions vary — your feelings differ from time to time — your very ideas and thoughts are inconsistent and are subject to outside influences, or else are molded and governed by that which you call “I”, or your Real Self. Then there must be something behind Mental States, Ideas, Feelings, Thoughts, etc., which is superior to them and which “knows” them just as one knows a thing apart from itself but which it uses. You say “I” feel; “I” think; “I” believe; “I” know; “I” will; etc., etc. Now which is the Real Self? The Mental States just mentioned or the “I” which is the subject or Real Cause of the mental phenomena? It is not the Mind that knows, but the “I” which uses the Mind in order to know. This may seem a little abstruse to you if you have never been made a study of the subject, but think it over a little and the idea will clearly define itself in your mind.
We are not telling you these things merely to give you an idea of metaphysics, philosophy, or psychology — there are many books that go into these matters at length and in detail — so it is not for that reason. The real reason is that with a realization of the “I” or Real Self, comes a sense of Power that will manifest through you and make you strong. The awakening to a realization of the “I”, in its clearness and vividness, will cause you to feel a sense of Being and Power that you have never before known. Before you can express Individuality, you must realize that you are an Individual. And you must be aware of this “I” within you before you can realize that you are an Individual.
The “Me” side of you is what is called Personality, to the outer appearance of yourself. Your Personality is made up of countless characteristics, traits, habits, thoughts, expressions and motions — it is a bunch of peculiarities and personal traits that you have been thinking was the real “I” all this time. But it is not. Do you know what the idea of Personality arose from? Let us tell you. Turn to the pages of any good dictionary, and you will see that the word originated from the Latin word “Persona”, meaning “a mask used by actors in ancient times”, and which the word in turn was derived from two other words, “sonare,” meaning to “sound,” and “per,” meaning “through,” the two words combined meaning “to sound through” — the idea being that the voice of the actor sounded through the mask of the assumed personality or character. Webster gives the following as one of the meanings of “Person,” even to this day: “A character or part, as in a play; an assumed character.” So then, Personality means the part you are playing in the Great Play of Life, on the Stage of the Universe. The real Individual concealed behind the mask of Personality is you — the Real Self — the “I” — that part of you which you are conscious when you say “I am,” which is your assertion of existence and latent power. “Individual” means something that cannot be divided or subtracted from — something that cannot be injured or hurt by outside forces — something real. And you are an Individual — a Real Self — an “I” — Something endowed with Life, Mind, and Power, to use, as you will. A poet named Orr wrote:
Lord of a thousand worlds am I,
And I reign since time began;
And night and day, in cyclic sway,
Shall pass while their deeds I scan.
Yet time shall cease ere I find release,
For I am the soul of Man.
Lesson 3 — Spiritedness
To many of you, the title of this lesson — Spiritedness — may seem to have some connection with “spirits,” “disembodied entities,” or else the “soul” or some higher part of it, to which the name Spirit is often applied. But, in this case, we use the word in a different sense, and yet in a sense approved by many advanced teachers and investigators of the occult and spiritual. One of the meanings of the word “spirit” as given by Webster is as follows: “Energy, vivacity, ardor, enthusiasm, courage,” etc., while the same authority defines the word “spirited” as: “Animated; full of life and vigor, lively,” etc. These definitions will give you a hint of the sense in which we are now using the term, but there is still more to it.
To us the word Spirit expresses the idea of the real essential nature of the Universal Power, and which is also manifested in man as the center of his being — his essential strength and power, from whence proceeds all that renders him an Individual. Spiritedness does not mean the quality of being ethereal, “goody-goody,” spiritual, otherworldly, or anything of that sort.
It means the state of being “animated,” meaning, “possessed of life and vigor” — so that the state is really that of being filled with Power and Life. And that Power and Life comes from the very center of one’s being — the “I am” region or plane of mind and consciousness.
Spiritedness is manifested in different degrees among different men — and even among the animals. It is an elementary, fundamental, primitive quality and expression of Life, and does not depend upon culture, refinement or education — its development seems to depend upon such instinctive or intuitional recognition of the Something Within — the Power of the Individual which is derived from that Universal Power of which we are all expressions. And even some of the animals seem to possess it.
A recent writer on the “Taming of Animals” expresses instinctive realization of Spiritedness among some of the higher animals as follows: “Put two male baboons in the same cage, and they will open their mouths, show all their teeth, and ‘blow’ at each other. But one of them, even though he may possess the uglier dentition, will blow with a difference, with an inward shakiness that marks him as the underdog at once. No test of battle is needed at all. It is the same with the big cats. Put two, or four, or a dozen lions together, and they also, probably without a single contest, will soon discover which one of them possesses the mettle of the master. Thereafter he takes the choice of the meat; if he chooses, the rest shall not even begin to eat until he has finished; he goes first to the fresh pan of water. In short he is ‘king of the cage. ‘Now, then, when a tamer goes into a den with a big cat that has taken a notion to act ‘funny,’ his attitude is almost exactly that of the ‘king beast’ above mentioned would be toward a subject rash and ill-advised enough to challenge his kingship.”
You will notice in the above quotation, that the writer states clearly that it is not always the baboon with the fiercest tusks that is the master, neither does the “king lion” necessarily assert his dominion by winning a physical fight — it is something far more subtle than the physical — it is the manifestation of some soul quality of the animal. And so it is with men, it is not always the biggest and strongest physically who rule — the ruler becomes so by reason of the mysterious soul quality which we call Spiritedness, and which men often call “nerve,” or “mettle,” or “sand.” When two individuals come into contact