From youth to paradise

Preface

IN giving this book to the public it is the intention of the author that the coming generation shall have their eyes open to the true state of facts as produced from nature and not walk blindly in obscure by-paths as their fathers have done before them. All the laws of nature when analyzed are found to be perfect and open to all mankind. When we trust them we find they are true; we violate them either through ignorance or intention and we suffer the penalty; we fail to master them and the loss is complete.

In analyzing nature's laws I find nothing to base transmigration upon. Experience has taught me that man can turn into a tiger, but I find no basic fountain reversing the rule in man's development through progeniture.

Our successes are enjoyed by others, our failures we bear alone. Nature has given us a body of great physical strength, but we are told by our superiors that we are without experience and must listen to older trained minds, while we know that all should think for themselves, to build the mind up in harmony with the body. When the mind becomes strong enough to be master, the abuses of the body cease.

Some fiction has been added to these pages to induce us to cultivate our minds for the purpose of preparing them for the great struggle in the world theatre, conducted by brute force over mind. We are needed in the mental army now forming for the purpose of restoring reason, join it now, and may these pages assist you in your proficiency.

These thoughts are given with a kindly feeling to all mankind and my best wishes for a higher civilization.

H. F. Stevenson.

Contents

CHAPTER PAGE

I. Is a nation justitied in war except to

protect its people ? 1

Chapter I

IS A NATION JUSTIFIED IN WAR EX- CEPT TO PROTECT ITS PEOPLE ?

The occurrence was at midnight. In the wet trenches a gunner lay on a battlefield, waiting for the order from the command to commence the operation of his gun, it was a deadly weapon, a machine gun of the latest type which could exterminate any enemy within range. Many a man had received such orders before this and many others will receive them this night, of such is cruel war.

He shifted his position in the mud and water to better his view as the night was extremely dark.

Having satisfied himself that he could overlook the enemy's position, he adjusted his field glasses to his eyes and with the assistance of the great searchlight (behind him, could see the enemy's line. He could see a movement in the line, a movement which convinced him that the enemy was marching in the distance toward him, massed in solid formation, moving without a wabble, man to man. The gunner arose and spoke as to himself. As he laid his hand upon the gun he said to it, "art thou ready for the death slaughter, thou who has been invented by man to limit death in war, or shall I find this a fallacy? Are men yet but savage beasts howling for the blood of their kind? If this be so may I defend this attack as from an assault of wild beasts, may my eyes be clear, my hand steady and my range perfect, for it is possible that love has melted in the hearts of men and the gall ducts are wide open, throwing rancor poison through his system, turning him into a raving savage with all the bitter hate of a demon. Is there no way whereby man can be turned back into the right road for his own benefit and for others?

All the others of the gun squad lay asleep with their equipment on, resting in the wet trenches. May their rest be long, bad as it is, under the loving care of an angel who directs and guides the elevation of mankind from his lowly estate to the perfect man, and through this influence prepares them for the conflict which may decide the fate of nations. May the decision, whatever it may be, terminate for the right. He listened and heard the howl of the jackal and could see the glisten of the wings of the air scavengers as they hung over the darkened heavens. His teeth were tightly set as if to receive a blow from some mighty hand. The icy beads stood upon his face. Every muscle in his big six feet of body stood drawn to their utmost tension and as hard as Bessemer steel. The boom of the big guns the terrific fusillade of the monster projectiles, the deadly shrapnel bursting overhead, were sufficient warning of the coming events. The gunner examined his gun with great care and waited the call to make ready, would it never come, was there some mistake? Was it possible that the command had overlooked the movement of the enemy? No, he could now hear the buzz in the distance of the war autocars, loaded with the infantry, whirring like mad toward the front. Through his glass he could now see the enemy in mass formation coming on and on, every fibre of his body was tense, almost to parting. He lifted his hands and turned his eyes toward heaven and said:

"Oh God — Hear this my nightly prayer. Thou who has established fixed and divine laws which man must obey or remain an indefinite time without the portal of Heaven, even after death until his submission. As I stand tonight away from home, may I be under thy care, and within the radius of thy power. May thy wisdom fall over me like a friendly covering mantle, and invest me with the power of correct solution of right from wrong. Tonight I stand in a country, far from my native land, fighting for a cause I believe to be for the right. The protection of civilized man. The family, father, mother and children. Jesus said: 'Suffer little children, and forbid them not to come unto me: for such is the kingdom of heaven/ Is it not a trust upon all christian mankind to protect the children in their earthly homes; to protect them with might as their natural guardians? If I am wrong, let my eyes be opened through Thy divine wisdom. I pray thee that this night I shall not violate the teachings of Jesus, who further said: 'Thou shalt do no murder/ Dear

God — I am confused and blinded. I knowest my way only through my own heart. Sometimes I feel sure and at other times I doubt, has the race of men themselves really improved in moral and intellectual capacity during the many centuries which have passed since they were savage? Is man within the element that controls him, a cruel brute, restrained only by a pack-thread of civilization and custom which bind him and which he may snap asunder at any moment, showing himself for what he actually is? Oh, no, something within me revolts at the thought. Man within has inherited a spark of thy intellect. It may be small: but it is a sufficient germ, growing into and becoming a part of the universal wisdom and uniting with many others of its kind. I do not believe in the inferiority of man. I realize the qualities in different individuals are not alike and vary at different periods of their life. I believe the germ-plasm in the individual possesses the power and develops to an upward tending to the better man. I believe the cultured savage is not a civilized man, he is a cultured savage and nothing more. If he violates Thy divine laws, he must suffer thq penalty. From this conclusion, I reason I am justified, as a civilized man to defend with all my power the homes of those who are of the 'kingdom of heaven/

"I pray Thee for Thy blessing upon all mankind, family, friends and Thy servant. Have them all guided by Thy angels, in this their earth work and when finished in this life to Thy kingdom of heaven. May I tonight possess the love taught by Jesus our Savior and may it be in control of my actions. I ask Thy blessing. Amen."

"He prayeth best that loveth best, All things, both great and small : For the dear God, who loveth us, He made and loveth all."

And when he had made an end of praying, he said to himself: you can not love your country and hate your fellow man, you can not love your own race and despise others.

Then he looked and the enemy had covered half the distance between the lines. His prayer had gained for him composure, perfect respiration, a moist skin, bright and clear eyes. Every cell in his body was high in exuberation. All intelligence throughout the man made quick response: he realized that God can make the most of body, mind and heart. This scientific method he recognized as the one mode of discerning or discovering truth.

The electric ions or electrones revolving in the heavenly ether about him responded in perfect harmony with the body of the man, even the tingling of the finger tips, making the man alert and full of energy. As the enemy crawled up, snuffing the lines like dogs on a scent, they came within range of the masked guns at the moment, the signal "to arms" sounded. Every man of the squad bounded to his feet and stood in his place by the gun, no word was uttered. The gunner's mind had become so animated, he could feel a heavenly force behind him. His thoughts were of such brilliant character, vibrating through his companions' mind as from nature, they grasped the thought itself, his bright, cheerful, elevating and confident thoughts, traveling swiftly and mingling with others of their kind lifting one as into realms akin to Heaven. Every man stood erect, ready for duty as he understood it, if in error, it was an honest mistake. The enemy moved to the obstruction of barbed wire, apparently not seeing the masked guns. The first column commenced to cut the wire, when the signal to fire was sounded.

Every gun responded as if operated by one man, although composed of more than a score of guns. The bullets of the machine guns rattled on the enemy. Shall all soldiers learn to disregard guns by experience? The first column fell in their tracks, the next stepped in their places, the buzz of the machine guns continued, column after column went down until the stacks of men made it impossible to advance under the terrific fire, the remaining units retreated. The machine gun is the master of this war. When the command came to cease firing, the gun squad was exhausted.

The gunner examined his watch; it pointed to three a. m. and he whispered to himself: "Hearken, therefore, unto the supplications of Thy servant, and of Thy people Israel, which they shall make toward this place;

hear thou from thy dwellingplace, even from heaven and when Thou hearest, forgive." "But will God in every deed dwell with men on the earth?"

With his eyes all aglow, his prostrate form fell upon the ground. His active mind worked rapidly in his struggle to solve the horror of the occurrence. This is one of the most fatal disasters and blot upon the earth. Civilized life must adjust mankind on entirely different lines and under new conditions. This world must conform and submit to the control of more divine laws. Christ is the light and in Him is no darkness. He opened the eyes of the blind; He will open the eyes of the world, may my eyes be opened, may the coin through which man looks drop from his eyes and he see God's light once more.

"Were half the power that fills the world

with terror,

Were half the wealth bestowed on camps

and courts

There were no need of arsenals or forts."

Chapter II. The Soldier's Dream

At this moment he seemed to see coming toward him, crossing the bloody battlefield, his earthly father. Impossible; a man who had passed the four-score and six mile stone of his life. It could be no other. As he walked with his staff, and with his calm face, his son knew him and spoke to him.

"How came you at this scene of horror?"

"My son, I am on a long journey and I desire your company. Come go with me to the far away land."

"Father, while I have always obeyed your commands, I can not forsake the colors; they must be protected for the enemy may return at any moment, and every man will be needed."

"My son, many a man has been compelled to lay down his arms and leave his work to be finished by others; when he is called to undertake greater work. Come, my son, join me in this great undertaking. You may yet return to finish your work."

"But, my father, I am without money or means of support for a long journey. I will perish upon the way."

"No, my son. No purse nor script will be needed on this journey; no hunger; no starvation; we will feed upon the mind. This is the food of eternal life. Come, let us be away."

The gunner rose and followed the man of science, long master of the human body and chemistry; profound student of animal and vegetable life. For a man of his age, he walked with elasticity, as one with a determined purpose.

The son waited for something to be spoken by his father. He expected something to be said of the undertaking, but not a word was spoken.

Presently he said, "Father, you, for a long time, have made a study of the science of the world. I, in my work, have found many things I do not understand as to our duty to God and to man. I recall many things you taught me in my youth and have since followed your writings for light. I recall some things said by you in a public address many years ago. These impressions come to me afresh from reading a recent report published. The address was delivered September 16, 1858. In part I recall you said:

"The earth is given to man as a place of abode and the first great necessity that presses itself is to provide food and protection against the vicissitudes of the climate. There is no natural provision made anywhere for man's subsistance without labor. In the most favored climate, it is necessary for man to gather the fruit that constitutes his food. And nowhere is he secure without some sort of shelter or dwelling as a means of protection. Raiment is also indispensible. Food, raiment and shelter are essentials, making imperious demands that must be supplied."

"I have given you every herbbearing seed which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree in which is the fruit of the tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And every beast of the earth, and every fowl of the air, and to everything that creepeth upon the earth wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat; and it was so. This paradisical state has been changed by the fiat of the Almighty and the stern denunciation is uttered from Heaven. "Cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; thorns and thistles shall it also bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread." Such are the written decrees of Him who changeth not.

"The unwritten law of nature is equally plain and equally imperious. Man is required to go forth daily and labor to supply his physical wants; and it is no small portion of his time that is thus required, but he must plod on and continually. Thorns and thistles are the products of the earth. Without labor man is the most destitute of all living beings. The beasts of the field find ready sustenance in the native herbs of the broad pastures spread out before them; their drink is the running brook. Nature has provided sufficient garment to protect them against the inclemencies of the seasons. They are filled and find sufficient shelter beneath the trees of the forest. The feathered tribes find ready food in the myriads of insects that creep upon the earth or float upon the atmosphere; the most dainty and varied food is ever spread out before them. They are clothed with a feathery garment, not only an ample protection, but of hues the most varied and beautiful. Thus provided for, well may song of thanksgiving be uttered from every bush and shrub by the whole warbler race. Even the finny tribes that inhabit the waters, in the ample provision made them, may bask in their native element or sport themselves on the broad surface of the ocean, unconscious of want.

"Man alone is unprovided for. The most needy creature of the whole. He looks out upon the universe with wonder and delight as he beholds the beauties of all created things. Delighted and joyous he might remain, if he were not suddenly aroused by the inward gnawings of hunger, to a sense of his unprovided condition. He is here admonished of the decree of heaven, the unalterable law of nature, 'in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread/

"Although man is thus placed below all created beings in the provision for his natural wants, in the gift of reason he is placed high above them all. This rich gift is given to man alone in a high degree. Thus he is enabled to see and properly appreciate his wants, and make provision for them. The promptings of unsupplied wants arouses first the great mental power of man and he soon conceives the idea of domesticating the wild beast of the forest and appropriating them to the supply of those wants upon which his existence depends. Herds are soon collected — and here labor commences. The first occupation of man is that of a shepherd — a tender of flocks. As these increase, pastures are sought and folds erected. Labor thus begun, intellectual light increases at every step, and, as flocks increase, new modes for their sustenance are soon devised in the cultivation of forage plants.

"To cultivate the useful, the useless must be rejected, and working as well as thinking, is fairly begun. The ability to supply all natural wants is beginning to be understood. The unsatisfied appetite prompts to the seeking of other supplies, and it is soon found in the seed-bearing plant. 'I have given you every herbbearing seed/ A rich supply here offers itself but not without labor. Thorns and thistles continue to grow and must be extirpated from among the seed-bearing plants. The hands must perform the duty and the decree is ever present 'in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread.'

"The necessity to labor is very plainly seen in the neglect to perform it. Nations living without work are destitute and degraded. Instances enough are at hand in the aboriginees of the continents. This degradation depends upon the want of a proper system of labor. In Africa, where flowers and fruits grow spontaneously, and an ever abiding spring remains, man without labor, is still a savage, degraded and miserable. Man without labor, is not only deprived of necessaries to supply physical wants, but is alike deprived of the necessaries for intellectual improvement. Labor is indispensable to intellectual growth, as well as to the supply of physical wants."

I know some things and I know that I know them. I know that I exist. I know that you exist. I know I have a body. I know this body must be supplied with the proper food or it will perish. I know from actual experience I must toil to supply these wants. I know that my thoughts grow and multiply as I attempt to solve these problems of life. What is this mind and what is the connection with the body and how far reaching is its functions?

"My son, reason is not individual; it is universal among men and absolute and consequently infallible; every serious conviction must cover a concealed faith in thought, in reason and in God.

"The Mind, like the diamond in its original state, is rude and unpolished; but as the effect of the chisel on the external coat soon presents to view the latent beauties of the diamond, so education discovers the latent virtues of the mind, to display the summit of human knowledge."

By education and the school of experience, the mind is prepared throughout the brain and the cells in the body, to reason and master the functions and powers given by the Creator. A study of the mind is calculated to impress upon you a firm belief in the being and existence of a God. The drill of the mind develops the memory, no matter how simple the lesson it must retain for future use. When an idea which we have once had is used again, there is simply a reproduction of the same nervous currents over the same nerves and the same intelligent cells, with the additional feeling that they have produced the same results before. This reproduction fastens upon the subconscious faculties and becomes knowledge. We see it in the child learning to walk. He tries it again and again until he has gained the knowledge. He uses the same rule in talking. When the subconscious faculties of the child grasp the lesson which he has learned by the sweat of his face he has earned his bread.

The mind is so constructed and directed through the wonderful system and mechanism of the nerves and cells of the body acting- upon the cells of the brain, combined, they become a powerful sending and receiving station through the mental currents produced in the intellect of man over the instrument so wisely given by the Creator. These mental currents or thoughts are delivered in two ways; through the voice and upon the electrones in the air about us. These electrones applicable and supplied for sending the thought messages are the most sensitive in nature yet discovered by man. They are much more refined than the electrones used for sending a wireless mesage; to give a crude comparison, the difference is greater than the mechanism of the finest watch is over the sundial. We all have seen men with such highly developed mental currents that it was unnecessary for one word to be spoken in order for him to lift our own mental powers into a higher field of thought.

Every cell in the human body has a mind of its own; its activity is controlled by the health of the body. The cellulary mind is closely linked by a perfect nerve system with the brain. In fact, it is so close that the action of the man is thereby directed to the mental or the animal, due to the development of the physical or reasoning cells. The Biblical statement is literally correct, "as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he." We are all creatures of our own mental creating. My son, thoughts are things, most powerful. This is the reason I explain them to you. Unless we understand this fact, we are at the mercy of a mighty force, of whose nature we know very little, and whose very existence many of us deny (as we have all discoveries) until we investigate them. From this I conclude that if we understand the nature and laws governing this powerful force, we can master it and render it our instrument and assistant. All cells not clarified by the labor of man in his life work under the divine laws, will exhibit a material difference in the specific gravity or relative importance in the growth under the law between the clarified and unclarified upon his future life, more marked even than the difference between the civilized man and the savage. From this I conelude, that the first step in polishing the mind is by healthy labor, both physical and mental. This we learn from the Bible, as well as by observation. All advanced educators now realize there must be a balancing between mind and body. If nature, through climatic conditions, supplies food to man for his sustenance and he becomes an idler, his mind remains undeveloped or deteriorates. The divine law requires diligent labor to develop intelligence. The idler, whether rich or poor, becomes a burden, a care upon mankind with master minds, who are battling for the elevation of humanity so they may be fitted for the kingdom of heaven. The law is a fixed law and provides that man must place himself within its rules to receive its benefits. Labor or application is the first step in the development of the mind. The idle nature demands something. He is too dumb and can not realize the trouble. He takes to sports. This does not satisfy. Then to alcohol, morphine, cocaine or opium. The idle class have been largely responsible directly or indirectly, in all ages, for the poisoning of the human mind.

Every thought created by our minds is a force of greater or lesser intensity varying in strength according to the power behind it when delivered. If the thought comes from a highly civilized man, we are lifted into a higher zone in the mental world, but on the other hand if it comes from a cultivated or uncultivated savage with force, we feel the virus enter and flow through our entire system, when nothing but a heroic effort on our part will extract it. I mean by the cultivated savage, a man who lives with civilized people but never becomes civilized; he conceals it from his fellows but never stops the practice.

The uncivilized man is a savage. We live in the hope that he will embrace civilization some day. Joining the savage with the civilized man in an effort to bring about a higher civilization will stop the poisoning of the human mind and will give rapid momentum to the uplifting and elevating of all mankind as one mass. I call your attention to the cultivated savage, the hidden cur masked behind good people, for the reason a mistake is in the public mind; does civilization uphold and make it possible for the uncivilized man to rob, cheat and deceive his f ellowman? No. This is a mistake. The laws are right, but the law can not force you to investigate before you part with your property to the cultivated savage. The fault is our own. If we would only stop to think, the warning will be given us. Our own eager desire for gain may overcome or dull our faculties, then we are unable to judge.

One of the strong evidences that thoughts are things. Take the patent office in any civilized country, for instance, who stimulate their people to development by invention. For civilized man long has realized, the race that exhibits the greatest inventive genius, that is the divine nature to better conditions, which is innate in every man will develop when he knows the reward will come to those he loves. A close observation of the information gathered through the above channels will demonstrate that many persons are working on the same subject, although widely separated from each other, with no publicity of any kind; but they will obtain practically the same results. Another example. The result of a great battle is known to keen minds long before the news channels proclaim the facts. When the news does come, it is only a confirmation by the official report. This mighty force is open to all, as much as the learning of the alphabet and will not take much more time.

Chapter III. Impressed With Effulgence Of Love

Love is the turning of darkness into light in the human mind. It is joy, rapture, radiance, generosity, the very sole of good fellowship, the very essence of life itself. It is the thing that acts direct upon the mind, the reasoning power of mankind; the thing that makes the human being like the image of God. The mother, sister and wife show the very highest development of love, controlling and directing their mental powers as seen in this life. The man often terms this intuition, and thus excuses his own def ective knowledge. The very essence of her mind is love, which we see exhibited in her through her offspring and which the child returns with such a fondness that it could only be given in the presence of angels. Nature seems to provide in the heart of the honest mother, a direct connection with the higher influence and a higher state of development of love exhibited through the mother's love for the child. She seems to realize in the children, "for of such is the kingdom of heaven." The mother, wife and sisters are the makers and keepers of a minature heaven itself — a happy home for man to repose in after his labors of love for those near and dear to him, which lifts him into a sphere akin to heaven. The child at birth comes into the world with pure nature's love, which would remain so if not changed by the law of contact or absorbtion. We unintentionally teach him fear in early infancy, instead of showing him how to solve the lessons of life in the school of experience. Youth can be directed through the law of reason, if given at an early period of life. All adults recall lessons given them by their parents at a very early time in their life, a lasting impression, a mother's advice, a heavenly command. If we violate these divine lessons that are fixed in our intelligence, in fact our very being, we overrule the law of intelligent love and take in its place nothing for the better; it can not be acquired. More likely we take in its place fear, envy, jealousy or hate.