Unless we have some form of mental imbalance we all want to be happy. Yet few of us are able to define happiness in terms that are applicable to all. We may say that a good meal is happiness, or a discussion with a dear friend, but these are mere fleeting shadows of true happiness; for when we are hungry again we are not happy and when we do not hear from our beloved friend for a long time we are not happy. True and lasting happiness, like Heaven, cannot be a place or a specific event; it must come from a state of being within, a state of being that does not vary far from the optimum because it is based on feelings and understanding that transcend the ordinary, that is independent of events. Temporal life is so configured that we should never count of circumstances on this earth plane to bring us happiness. This is not to say that they may not do so, only that we should not pin our happiness to such events. To do so is to be disappointed ten times for every time we are pleased. The reason for this is simple: All of us on Earth are here to work out and pay debts of past incarnations. We come into this world with a heavy debt already on our shoulders. As we travel this incarnation, we will reap much of that which was previously sown. Therefore, even though we may be "perfect angels" in this life, we probably will still live a life full of adversity due to our past indiscretions.
This shows us how much difficulty we will have finding happiness in this life if we look for it from natural events. This concept should become even clearer if we choose to let our earthly happiness be dependent on others and what happens in their life. No matter how carefully we attempt to live our life, we cannot control how our loved ones lead theirs and so, as they reap the Law's reactions to their past indebtedness, we are affected by their suffering and sorrow. Biographies of the great and good men and women of history reveal the results of the misconception again and again. If we depend on events in the lives of others for our own happiness we usually find unremitting frustration and disillusionment.
If all that we say here is true, and it does have credibility if we examine our life and the lives of those around us, where are we to find happiness? Only within our won feelings and emotions. All happiness is a state of mind. It is the result of knowing that we have done our best to come into harmony with the Divine Law. It is a free conscience, one that does not condemn us during every quiet moment. It is an inner peace that, according to Scripture, "passeth all understanding." That is, it cannot be understood by those who have not yet experienced its joys. It is a state of development that comes to all students of the Great Work who are faithful in their efforts to return their "exiled king" to his "throne" within.
The process by which this Kingdom of Heaven can be found was outlined by Dr. R. Swinburne Clymer in his 1920 book, The Way to Happiness.
The Kingdom of Heaven Is a State of Joy and Inner Contentment
"The greatest truth ever expressed in a few works, was this: ‘unless ye become as little children, ye can in no wise enter the kingdom of heaven.'
"Those who most frequently quote this saying of the Master Teacher emphasize the innocence and guilelessness native to childhood, but they often overlook one of the most pronounced characteristics of the child - it joyousness and delight in mere living. To the unspoiled mind of the child, life itself is a pure delight. It is taken for granted and accepted as self-evident that to feel happy and exultant in action, is right. This natural child trait - the joy of living, the enchantment of existence, the ever changing panorama - is accepted as its right and without the necessity of questioning; for this very reason, the greatest exemplar to men made use of the statement quoted as the foundation of his philosophy of life.
"The desire to enjoy God's worldly gifts and the delight of living are by no means evil; nor is it wrong for us to so arrange our lives as to find all the pleasure possible. Our one concern must be that personal happiness is not gained at the expense of another or to the detriment of our own well-being. Other than this, there need be no anxiety in respect to our search for peace and happiness.
"There is, of course, always the danger of seeking pleasure at the expense of one's own higher ideals; such enjoyment is temporary and fleeting, leaving in its wake only bitterness and anguish. The delight one should seek is that which brings sorrow and suffering to none, having no harmful reaction. If we seek, and find, such moments of bliss, we are innocently satisfied and happy as is the child in its innocent amusements.
In these statements, my dear mentor shows the way to derive as much innocent pleasure from temporal life as possible. By "innocent" we merely mean those joys that are not at the expense of another or to the detriment of our "angel" within(1).
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(1) The Author's comments in this chapter will appear indented.
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"True happiness is a state of the inner being that indicates
growth and development. This impossible to those who believe that
our natural instincts are destructive, hence for this reason man
has not the right to have the satisfaction of ecstasy or contentment.
Under the false impression that such an inner satisfaction is
a snare and a delusion, capable of destroying the Soul, the very
fountain of cheerfulness in one's nature is either closed or so
embittered that elation for any reason whatever is impossible."
In many ways this was truer years ago when various religious sects had such a stultifying dogma as a prominent component of their faith. While this teaching is still evident in some faiths today, the general tendency is, hopefully, in the other direction. What does seem to be growing today, however, is this same state of mind for various health reasons. Mental depression seems to be an ever increasing diagnosis by the medical community. Happiness today to often appears to be based on Prozac rather than on joy and contentment. We can but wonder if this and similar drugs merely attempt to mimic the Kingdom of Heaven while actually creating in the patient a state that makes real joy and contentment nearly impossible.
"The experienced gardener realizes that the roots of plants must be unobstructed; the soil kept free from poisonous constituents. Mellow and light; the plant itself must have sunshine, warmth, and moisture if it is to make normal growth. It is identically the same with the human plant; joy and satisfaction, peace and happiness, are the sunshine, the warmth, the moisture and the incentive to its most perfect growth; without these, it becomes misshapen, weak, dwarfed, bitter and abnormal.
"Every erroneous philosophy or religion is deadening to the various faculties of the Soul. If one is taught that the natural instincts are misleading and harmful, he will shun conditions that are native to human joy; in consequence, through the crushing of that which is congenial and inborn, he becomes unnatural; pain and sorrow are the inevitable fruits of such a life; joy cannot be a part of it; gloom takes its place. He who believes that Nature is deceiving and that to follow Her behests is evil, entirely carnal, is certain to look upon existence itself as undesirable. He who cannot conceive of the desirability of life is incapable of either ecstasy or peace. Such a morbid ideal or belief is ‘the leaven that leavens the whole lump'; it leaves its poisonous effects in every part of the macrocosm; no element of the being can possibly escape its destructive influence.
"On the contrary, a wholesome, realistic philosophical or religious concept enlivens, cheers and stimulates to growth every faculty of the being. The realization that live is an exhilarating experience comes to all who are natural; who are unbound; slaves to neither abnormal conditions within themselves nor in the external world. Undesirable environments may be due to error of belief, nonconstructive habits or to a weakened physical self.
"Those racked with disease and pain cannot possibly know the highest degree of peace and contentment. Such a state is often due to a falsity of philosophy. He who accepts the doctrine that natural instincts are evil will assuredly regard Nature Herself as treacherous, consequently will certainly refuse to obey Her laws respecting health. Health, with rare exceptions, is only for those who live spontaneous, unaffected, regenerate lives in harmony with a rational philosophy of life and the Divine Law. Without a normal view of existence, the mind cannot be entirely rational. If the mental reflections and views are abnormal, it is impossible for the body to manifest health and virility. Joy in life therefore actually depends on naturalness of being, while sorrow, pain and constant disappointment are the portion of all who are unenlightened in thought and action."
In today's world it would seem that man has certainly freed himself from the inhibitions of negative philosophies. Most certainly, if our media are any barometer, he does not seem to be inhibited by anything. Yet, on a closer look we find something different. While philosophy and religion are playing a smaller and smaller role in the life of the average person, science and all that it brings is filling the vacuum left by these two. We now look to science to bring us happiness and peace. Whenever we lack these attributes we look for a pill to provide them. As with all such things, what we get in the final analysis is slavery. We become a slave to the drugs and as their effectiveness lessens with time we are placed on stronger and stronger drugs - each new one adding to our slavery. No slave has ever found the Kingdom of Heaven within. This glorious achievement is for those who have freed themselves from slavery - be that slavery to smoking, alcohol, drugs or on's internal adverse thoughts and desires.
"Self-contentment must be interwoven with all acts if life is to be entirely contented. To the individual with constructive though-action demeanor, every effort brings elation; to the mind free from remorse, each incident and circumstance is cause for investigation and resultant understanding. The wise person will find joy in labor; as long as it is constructive, it is elevating or ennobling. It was a happy individual who wrote, ‘Work is more fun than fun.'
"The hours of recreation and the rest should also be a pure delight, because the wise man will allow nothing to distract his mind or to taint his thoughts with the caprice and the and the waywardness of life. All things are because he feels they should be and though there are for him periods of sorrow, as there must be for all men, his native and wholesome mind does not interpret this a due to the unreliability of Nature. He understands that under the Divine Law, he must be willing to pay back his past Karmic debts so he refuses to brood over such periods. Nor does he allow his being to be poisoned with bitterness and morbidness. Although there may be mental suffering and heartsickness, peace in the heart is never dethroned. He has found the Kingdom of Heaven within and, therefore, knows that ‘all things are for his good.'
"Peace of mind is the constant companion of our rational being. This is a characteristic of the life that attempts to understand and follow the Divine Law. He who lives in harmony with his earthly Mother and Her laws. Retains stability of mind even through the most strenuous crisis. Losing a loved one, he is deeply wounded, but his grief does not destroy the ‘peace that passeth all understanding' and which is only possible to those who, through mental and spiritual enlightenment, have learned that life here is merely the beginning of a greater on Beyond. Often there may be sorrow and loneliness, but tranquility of the mind that knows the Law withstands every shock and pain. This serenity and repose is dethroned only through evil thoughts and resultant acts, by morbid mental influences and destructive beliefs; grief and heaviness of heart are his portion."
Scripture admonishes us to take heed when we think ye stand, lest we fall. As Dr. Clymer clearly states, it is possible for a person to lose the Kingdom of Heaven within if he allows evil thoughts and act to overwhelm his better self and give way to "morbid mental influences and destructive beliefs." While this is possible, you might will ask, "Why would anyone so advanced give in to such weakness?" This is the danger to temporal life; as long as we are in this animal body we are susceptible to the siren call of our lower or animal self. The words of the Nazarene are very apropos and still very good advice to all on the true Path: "Watch and Pray."
"To seek for all that brings joy is a natural as to desire happiness. Both may be found by him who is willing to accept a rational, normal, Divine philosophy and to live accordingly. It is the privilege of each individual to choose. Each must be the judge for himself. Free will is the inheritance of all humans. In fact, each one must select for himself, and according to his desires so will it be with him. We all have the right to command freedom of both the body and the mind and realize happiness or we may enter into bondage to one of the various forms of unnaturalness and reap the inevitable consequences of the reaction of the Divine Law.
"The undesirable conditions to which one may be in bondage present many forms. It may be disease, a morbid and inert state of mind or one of the many degrees of weakness and cowardice by which one is enslaved. He who cannot find joy, who does not know peace and happiness, is truly a slave; always present in his daily existence is the phantom of the hobgoblin that blinds him, calling attention to his weakness and slavery. He who is in bondage, no matter to what, is bereft of the childlike spirit spoken of by the man of Galilee and has lost, for the time being, the Kingdom of Heaven. The child refuses to be bound, it spurns the idea that joy and happiness can possibly be evil. It is willing to be a slave to nothing. Only adults, who have forgotten the nature of childhood, are fit subjects for slavery.
"When natural desires are suppressed, the possibility of elation and buoyancy is greatly reduced. In proportion to this suppression and in the same ratio will abnormal instincts make themselves felt and take the place of the elevating passions that are suppressed. These degrading influenced in time become so thoroughly established as to seem both desirable and natural, inducing the victim to believe they are preparing him for an existence of pleasure and happiness in a future state. Most individuals today are not quite this naive. They know that their activities are destructive but they are so deeply ingrained and so seductive that they are not able to change. This appeal of degeneracy is not new. Even Lot's wife had not the strength to continue forward when turned away from degrading habits (even though she had been told by angels of the consequences), but turned her head toward the city of degradation (was not able to give up the old ways) and was turned to a pillar of salt - annihilated.
"Self-renunciation, as suggested by some philosophies, is the antithesis to joy; it is the very opposite of the Kingdom of Heaven. Nevertheless, it has been firmly believed by many and freely taught as the gateway to a haven of bliss. That it is a destructive doctrine is apparent to all who will investigate and think. A little attention to Nature's methods will reveal the absurdity of it. A study of great Initiate Masters and world Saviors quickly assures us not one of them has advocated such a belief although some of their teachings have been so misinterpreted by some of their followers with little understanding of the Divine Law.
"In Nature, the only renunciation is that which is useless or destructive. Nature does not renounce activity; nor does She condemn strength and happiness. On the contrary, She herself is forever active, always contented, always ready to smile after Her storms and showers necessary to clear the atmosphere and give renewed life to all Her Creation.
"Everywhere through the domain of all Creation there is thrift and accomplishment; health and Strength are encouraged and only in the shade, where the rays of the sun cannot penetrate, do we find weakness and poison - the fungus of unnaturalness. It is only through constant creation that Mother Nature is enabled to meet the demands made upon Her; She is continually taxed to the utmost to produce enough to satisfy the needs of those dependent upon Her; consequently She is actively creating and producing. In Her domain, this iron law is constantly in operation. That which does not produce, which does not yield a surplus, must give place to that which is fertile and profitable. God is with Mother Nature, for He continually smiles, through the life-giving rays of the sun, upon Her births and He helps them to grow and wax strong. Through this ever operative Law of growth and production, Mother Nature shows her contempt and is forever preaching against the doctrine of renunciation and inertia."
The ways of Nature often seem hard to us but it is difficult to judge Her too harshly because She has a long and distinguished record of success. Too often, as a "caring" society, we would have Her more "compassionate," as we are. However, She is to wise to listen to our protestations, knowing that She must follow the Divine Law to the nth degree. If She listened to us and deviated from the path prescribed by the Father for even a fraction of a second, all Creation would quickly return to Chaos.
"Akin to the sense of exhilaration is that other Divine passion known as affection. Devotion to any thing, or any one, no matter in what intensity, brings joy and the more highly evolved the human becomes, the deeper and more sincere is his affection for those near and dear to him. Nor does the value of deep affection cease with mere pleasure and satisfaction. It produces comeliness and strength of the Soul that in time will come to all-inclusive in its scope and embrace. Although such affection cannot bestow personal advancement upon those who willfully blind themselves to false belief and error of ways, there is, in the heart of such a loving affectionate person, sympathy and charity for all. In harmony with the admonition of the Nazarene, to love our enemies, this affection is even advanced to the wayward, the ignorant, the cruel and for those who have no knowledge of the Divine Law. Charity grants each man his freedom of choice; but by no means does it sanction and endorse slavery to ignorance, error and negativeness. The Master of life will send love to all being but not be fooled by their various seductions and adverse inducements.
"Love is affection in its highest degree. Love, as we know it, begins on Earth. The passion for God must be born and cultivated in the human heart while on the earth plane and can have its roots only in our love for our fellow men. He who cannot love his fellowman, and who has little or no affection for his friends and family, is incapable of devotion to God. The heart that is filled with illusions on Earth can scarcely become free from them immediately after the transition.
"The philosophy of the New Renaissance totally rejects the concept that the innocent joys and happiness of the world are detrimental to human spirituality. It adamantly maintains that affection for the treasures of heaven is developed through, and by means of, devotion to earthly relationships. Rather than renouncing love in its various degrees, the student on the Path of the Great Work should cultivate it; whether it be for friend or family, neighbor or even enemy, it is the kindergarten of love for God. The ideal of health and strength, of grace and beauty of character, is to be encouraged, as means of developing comeliness of soul. The Ill and the suffering, the weak and despairing, cannot deeply love, nor possess the devotion to man or God necessary to complete the Great Work.
"He natural ties of home and community are harbingers of good. Through loyalty and integrity in human relationships, service and helpfulness in every department of human interests, the Soul becomes strong and comely, powerful and qualified to meet the demands of a higher plane. Consequently, man should diligently seek those connections on Earth that fit him to enjoy the realities of existence on every plane. Happiness comes through the poser to serve, to help, those whom we love and all others who actually nave need of us. Thus, health itself is a condition of keen joy, because it enables us to be of service; for the same reason, strength is a pleasant possession. Without health and strength, the highest elation is impossible, nor can the sublime passion - love, be at its purest.
"He who is unable to feel ecstasy and happiness on the earthly plane is not far advanced in the scale of spirituality, and cannot actually know God. Health, strength, exultation and devotion are all a part of the Divine nature. They are essential to the creative ability and God is, now and always, first and foremost, a Creator. Weakness, misery and wretchedness, impatience and inertness, are a part of death and are by their very nature destructive to body and soul. They interfere with creative ability and hold man to the plane of nonproductiveness or, at best, to the birth of failures. For the individual attempting the Great Work, weakness must give way to the elements of power and skill; it is an evil because unfruitful. He who believes that he must renounce the world to gain spirituality is a victim to negativity - death. Joy, health and happiness are the basic elements of true spirituality; incentives to usefulness and kindness to others; to service, devotion and loyalty; natural traits of the productive, fruitful life, the Royal Road to Health and Happiness.
"To obtain the needed health and strength, to gain possession of all that will help him to create joy and happiness, peace and contentment, man must seek; he must put forth effort. First he must free the mind of all undesirable thought and desires; then he must fight and struggle to secure his place in the world of men, while at all times never forgetting his duty to his fellowman. This ideal standard of life calls for activity, industry, usefulness and service. It demands satisfaction in the effort; this is seeking the Kingdom of Heaven. Mere introspection, meditation, reflection and the contemplation of lofty truths is not sufficient to progress in the Great Work; an active, positive, joyful, passionate, devotional life of usefulness among men is demanded.
"Unalloyed joy in the heart is an indication of having at least found the way to the Kingdom of Heaven. Happiness, true happiness, is in itself a state of Heaven. The peace that results from doing right is a taste of paradise. To continue on the Path of life that brings gladness is to have found harmony. The Kingdom of Heaven is nothing more or less than peace and satisfaction of mind and Soul, including, while on Earth, physical well-being.
"Blind faith alone cannot free one from sorrow or disappointment. We may have all possible confidence in a negative doctrine and yet be suffering mentally and physically. This certainly is far from the state of bliss and happiness that Heaven is supposed to be. Faith without works, that is, without following the Path, is dead. The true student of the Great Work will have faith and show many good works therefrom. It is this marriage of faith and works that results in Salvation (Soul Illumination); that creates freedom from all that is undesirable.
"If we claim to have trust in God and expect that He will give us happiness, but refuse to meet the conditions necessary for that blessedness and elation, we shall reap naught but disappointment. In like manner, if we believe that our faith in God will keep us well or cure us from disease but make no effort to follow the Laws of health, we will reap only weakness and debility. Our faith, no matter how strong, is blind and dead and brings forth no fruits. The mere credence in a dogma that assures us that we shall be happy in a future state, but is not sufficiently vital to urge us to actively make an effort to attain it here and now, will never qualify us for its attainment, now or in the future.
"Since true joyousness is the result of living in harmony with the Divine Law and Salvation (Soul Illumination) is the result of an active, positive faith manifesting in works, there is no foundation whatever for the doctrine of renunciation of the world and inactivity in the affairs of men. Nor must anyone harbor the deluded Idea that in living such a life of meditation and prayer, happiness and a feeling of well-being will be conferred upon one by a just God once this body of flesh is cast aside. If man refuses to so live as to find tranquility and blissful elation here and now, how is it possible for him to know them on any other plane or in any other sphere? Nothing comes from nothing. Each school grade prepares the child for the next. If he does not learn his lessons in one grade he must repeat them over and over again until they are learned. So is it in our lives. We cannot expect to have the skills to enter the next step up unless we learn them here on this earthly plane.
"Learn from the child! It finds joy and happiness in every breath it inhales, in all its play; pleasure in its food and drink; contentment in its work and beauty in all that belongs to life.
"‘Unless ye become as little children, ye can in no wise enter the kingdom of heaven.'
"Accept as the philosophy of Life, a natural, nevertheless, Divine religion based on the Divine Law and the Great Work. Live the commandment of activity, of creative ability, of constant service and the kingdom of joy, which is the Kingdom of Heaven, shall be your inheritance, here and hereafter.
Some Practical Suggestions
Some of our students have commented that the writings of the older arcane teachers are "heavy on the theory and light on practical advice." For these, we have compiled a few practical suggestions for the establishment of the Kingdom of Heaven in the heart of every spiritual seeker.
1. Learn to truly "judge not." this is the real "open sesame" to all peace and contentment. We adversely judge other individuals because they do not manage their lives a we would have them do. Since other humans are usually far more intent on pleasing themselves then us, whose who judge are frequently in a state of perennial distress over the actions of those they judge. There is only one way to stop this discontentment and that is to stop interfering in the lives of others by judging them. They, like we, will be judged by the Divine Law. It is the only entity than can judge and not get upset. Remember the words the Nazarene spoke when one of his disciples complained about another, "If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? Follow thou me."___John 21:22. In other words, Jesus told Peter to mind his own business and take care of his own growth and development rather than worrying about the affairs of the other disciple.
2. Get into the habit of not looking back. Those who are always looking back usually have little to look forward to. "But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead."___Matthew 8:22. We should attempt to learn from our mistakes, but then set the incident aside.
3. Beware of "educated guilt," that is, guilt forced upon us by others. Learn not to be concerned or feel guilt about things that are not actually our responsibility. We are inherently responsible only for ourselves. We do not have responsibilities for others unless we first contract to do so.
4. Don not be afraid to follow your dreams. There are none so pitiful as those who spend a life not doing what they dreamed of doing. While in the Soul World waiting to incarnate, each of us was filled with plans to implement during our next sojourn to Earth. The Kingdom of Heaven cannot be fully achieved until we complete those plans.
5. Every one of us brought special talents into this life from past lives and, as discussed above, we can best find our inner peace by developing these talents to the utmost in this incarnation. Read the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14) to discover just how important this matter is.
6. Keep learning. Have a project that challenges you always at hand. As you can do this, the hours pass like minutes and the minutes like seconds. When the mind is not constantly challenged, the direct opposite is true.
7. Do not hold grudges. Life is too short to waste a moment, much less years, harboring a virulent grudge. Learn to set aside trivial preferences. All those we meet in life have a part to play in our development, and those least enjoy often teach us the most-needed lessons.
8. Never expect or compel others to believe and live as you do. After all, when did God come down and choose you as the arbiter of all that is good, true and pure?
9. Never worry about things that cannot be changed or corrected. If they can be corrected, do so. The vast majority of things we worry about never happen. Learn to accept these odds. Learn to expect success, not failure.
10. Fill your days with beauty. Listen to the music of the spheres as transmitted to us be the gods through such composers as Mozart, Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, Schubert, etc. Fill your walls with prints of the great masters such as Michelangelo, Da Vinci, Renoir, Rembrandt, etc. The works of these ambassadors of God will enrich your ears and eyes and through these organs influence your Immortal Soul. Nor should you ever forget the God-created beauty of Nature Herself. Nature's best works are still the envy of all true artists. It is literally impossible to remain mean and vulgar when the Soul is continually immersed in the beauty of both man's and Nature's creations.
As you are able to implement these suggestions in your life, you will have found the true Path to Health and Happiness.