The Secret of the Ages

The Secret of the AgesNow we are entering a new agethe Mental Agewhen every man can be his own master, when poverty and circumstance no longer hold power and the lowliest creature in the land can win a place side by side with the highest. To those who do not know the resources of mind these will sound like rash statements; but science proves beyond question that in the well springs of every man's mind are unplumbed depthsundiscovered deposits of energy, wisdom and ability.

Now we are entering a new ageÑthe Mental AgeÑwhen every man can be his own master, when poverty and circumstance no longer hold power and the lowliest creature in the land can win a place side by side with the highest.

To those who do not know the resources of mind these will sound like rash statements; but science proves beyond question that in the well springs of every man's mind are unplumbed depthsÑundiscovered deposits of energy, wisdom and ability. Sound these depthsÑbring these treasures to the surfaceÑand you gain an astounding wealth of new power.

From the rude catamaran of the savages to the giant liners of today, carrying their thousands from continent to continent, is but a step in the development of Mind. From the lowly cave man, cowering in his burrow in fear of lightning or fire or water, to the engineer of today, making servants of all the forces of Nature, is but a measure of difference in mental development.

Man, without reasoning mind, would be as the monkeys areÑprey of any creature fast enough and strong enough to pull him to pieces. At the mercy of wind and weather. A poor, timid creature, living for the moment only, fearful of every shadow.

Through his superior mind, he learned to make fire to keep himself warm; weapons with which to defend himself from the savage creatures round about; habitations to protect himself from the elements. Through mind he conquered the forces of Nature. Through mind he has made machinery do the work of millions of horses and billions of hands. What he will do next, no man knows, for man is just beginning to awaken to his own powers. He is just getting an inkling of the unfathomed riches buried deep in his own mind. Like the gold seekers of Õ49, he has panned the surface gravel for the gold swept down by the streams. Now he is starting to dig deeper to the pure vein beneath.

We bemoan the loss of our forests. We worry over our dwindling resources of coal and oil. We decry the waste in our factories. But the greatest waste of all, we pay no attention toÑthe waste of our own potential mind power. Professor Wm. James, the world-famous Harvard psychologist, estimated that the average man uses only 10% of his mental power. He has unlimited powerÑyet he uses but a tithe of it. Unlimited wealth all about himÑand he doesn't know how to take hold of it. With God-like powers slumbering within him, he is content to continue in his daily grindÑeating, sleeping, workingÑplodding through an existence little...