by James Allen

“ No one else can give up sin for you; you must give it up yourself. The greatest teacher can do no more than walk the way of Truth for himself, and point it out to you; you yourself must walk it for yourself. You can obtain freedom and peace alone by your own efforts, by yielding up that which binds the soul, and which is destructive of peace. The angels of divine peace and joy are always at hand, and if you do not see them, and hear them, and dwell with them, it is because you shut yourself out from them, and prefer the company of the spirits of evil within you. ”

“ In the external universe there is ceaseless turmoil, change, and unrest; at the heart of all things there is undisturbed repose; in this deep silence dwelleth the Eternal Man partakes of this duality, and both the surface change and disquietude, and the deep-seated eternal abode of Peace, are contained within him. ”

“ You can commence to purify yourself, and by so doing can arrive at peace, or you can refuse to purify yourself, and so remain with suffering. Step aside, then; come out of the fret and the fever of life; away from the scorching heat of self, and enter the inward resting-place where the cooling airs of peace will calm, renew, and restore you. Come out of the storms of sin and anguish. Why be troubled and tempest-tossed when the haven of Peace of God is yours! Give up all self-seeking; give up self, and lo! the Peace of God is yours! Subdue the animal within you ”

“ Art thou purged by the fires of sorrow? hath ruth The fiends of opinion cast out Of thy human heart? Is thy soul so fair That no false thought can ever harbor there? O thou who wouldst teach men of Love! ”

“ Come away, for awhile, from external things, from the pleasures of the senses, from the arguments of the intellect, from the noise and the excitements of the world, and withdraw yourself into the inmost chamber of your heart, and there, free from the sacrilegious intrusion of all selfish desires, you will find a deep silence, a holy calm, a blissful repose, and if you will rest awhile in that holy place, and will meditate there, the faultless eye of Truth will open within you, and you will see things as they really are. ”

“ All your sins and sorrows, your fears and anxieties are your own, and you can cling to them or you can give them up. Of your own accord you cling to your unrest; of your own accord you can come to abiding peace. ”

“ Heaven's gate is very narrow and minute, It cannot be perceived by foolish men Blinded by vain illusions of the world; E'en the clear-sighted who discern the way, And seek to enter, find the portal barred, And hard to be unlocked. ”

“ Bring every thought, every impulse, every desire into perfect obedience to the divine power resident within you. There is no other way to peace but this, and if you refuse to walk it, your much praying and your strict adherence to ritual will be fruitless and unavailing, and neither gods nor angels can help you. ”