William Walker Atkinson Quotes Page 2

“Lao-Tze, whose great work, the 'Tao-Teh-King', is a classic, taught Reincarnation to his inner circle of students and adherents, at least so many authorities claim.”

“Just as soon as a man makes up his mind that he wants to do something in life he changes from going with the tide to conscious activity.”

“The Universe pays every man in his own coin.

If you smile, it smiles with you in return. If you frown, you will be frowned at. If you sing, you will be invited in gay company. If you think, you will be entertained by thinkers.

If you love the world and earnestly seek for the good therein you will be surrounded by loving friends, and nature will pour into your lap the treasures of the earth.”

“1) Sit erect, in an easy posture, being sure to hold the chest, neck and head as nearly in a straight line as possible, with shoulders slightly thrown back and hands resting easily on the lap.

In this position the weight of the body is largely supported by the ribs and the position may be easily maintained. The Yogi has found that one cannot get the best effect of rhythmic breathing with the chest drawn in and the abdomen protruding.

2) Inhale slowly a Complete Breath, counting six pulse units.

3) Retain, counting three pulse units.

4) Exhale slowly through the nostrils, counting six pulse units.

5) Count three pulse beats between breaths.

6) Repeat a number of times, but avoid fatiguing yourself at the start.

7) When you are ready to close the exercise, practice cleansing breath, which will rest you and cleanse the lungs.”

“A favorite Oriental method is to snuff a little water up the nostrils allowing it to run down the passage into the throat, from thence it may be ejected through the mouth.

Some Hindu yogis immerse the face in a bowl of water, and by a sort of suction draw in quite a quantity of water, but this latter method requires considerable practice, and the first mentioned method is equally efficacious, and much more easily performed.”

“A writer has stated that if the air cells of the lungs were spread out over an unbroken surface, they would cover an area of fourteen thousand square feet.”

“Another good plan is to open the window and breathe freely, closing one nostril with the finger or thumb, sniffing up the air through the open nostril.

Then repeat the process on the other nostril. Repeat several times, changing nostrils. This method will usually clear the nostrils of obstructions.”

“Breath is life.”

“From the first faint breath of the infant to the last gasp of the dying man, it is one long story of continued breathing. Life is but a series of breaths.”

“He knows that by rhythmical breathing one may bring himself into harmonious vibration with nature, and aid in the unfoldment of his latent powers.

He knows that by controlled breathing he may not only cure disease in himself and others, but also practically do away with fear and worry and the baser emotions.”

“High Breathing is probably the worst form of breathing known to man and requires the greatest expenditure of energy with the smallest amount of benefit.

It is an energy-wasting, poor-returns plan. It is quite common among the Western races, many women being addicted to It, and even singers, clergymen, lawyers and others, who should know better, using it ignorantly.”

“No animal, excepting man, sleeps with the mouth open or breathes through the mouth, and in fact it is believed that it is only civilized man who so perverts nature's functions, as the savage and barbarian races almost invariably breathe correctly.

It is probable that this unnatural habit among civilized men has been acquired through unnatural methods of living, enervating luxuries and excessive warmth.”

“Nothing is permanent in the world of forms, and yet the great Reality is unchangeable.

Forms are but appearances — they come, they go, but the Reality is eternal and unchangeable.”

“The atoms of the human body are in constant vibration. Unceasing changes are occurring.

In a few months there is almost a complete change in the matter composing the body, and scarcely a single atom now composing your body will be found in It a few months hence. Vibration, constant vibration.

Change, constant change.”

“The breathing mechanism of Man is so constructed that he may breathe either through the mouth or nasal tubes, but it is a matter of vital importance to him which method he follows, as one brings health and strength and the other disease and weakness.”

“The man who breathes through the mouth at night, always awakens with a parched feeling in the mouth and a dryness in the throat.

He is violating one of nature’s laws, and is sowing the seeds of disease.”

“The percentage of civilized men who breathe correctly is quite small, and the result is shown in contracted chests and stooping shoulders, and the terrible increase in diseases of the respiratory organs, including that dread monster, Consumption, 'the white scourge'.

Eminent authorities have stated that one generation of correct breathers would regenerate the race, and disease would be so rare as to be looked upon as a curiosity.

Whether looked at from the standpoint of the Oriental or Occidental, the connection between correct breathing and health is readily seen and explained.”

“The Yogi practices exercises by which he attains control of his body, and is enabled to send to any organ or part an increased flow of vital force or 'prana', thereby strengthening and invigorating the part or organ.

He knows all that his Western scientific brother knows about the physiological effect of correct breathing, but he also knows that the air contains more than oxygen and hydrogen and nitrogen, and that something more is accomplished than the mere oxygenating of the blood.

He knows something about 'prana', of which his Western brother is ignorant, and he is fully aware of the nature and manner of handling that great principle of energy, and is fully informed as to its effect upon the human body and mind.

He knows that by rhythmical breathing one may bring himself into harmonious vibration with nature, and aid in the unfoldment of his latent powers.

He knows that by controlled breathing he may not only cure disease in himself and others, but also practically do away with fear and worry and the baser emotions.”

“The Yogi's ideal is a body strong in all its parts, under the control of a masterful and developed Will, animated by high ideals.”

“A careful examination will show that what we call 'Chance' is merely an expression relating to obscure causes; causes that we cannot perceive; causes that we cannot understand.

The word Chance is derived from a word meaning 'to fall' (as the falling of dice), the idea being that the fall of the dice (and many other happenings) are merely a 'happening' unrelated to any cause. And this is the sense in which the term is generally employed.

But when the matter is closely examined, it is seen that there is no chance whatsoever about the fall of the dice. Each time a die falls, and displays a certain number, it obeys a law as infallible as that which governs the revolution of the planets around the sun.

Back of the fall of the die are causes, or chains of causes, running back further than the mind can follow. The position of the die in the box; the amount of muscular energy expended in the throw; the condition of the table, etc., etc., all are causes, the effect of which may be seen.

But back of these seen causes there are chains of unseen preceding causes, all of which had a bearing upon the number of the die which fell uppermost.”

“All are on the Path, whose end is THE ALL. All progress is a Returning Home. All is Upward and Onward, in spite of all seemingly contradictory appearances. Such is the message of the Illumined.”

“By establishing the Mental Nature of the Universe, easily explains all of the varied mental and psychic phenomena that occupy such a large portion of the public attention, and which, without such explanation, are non-understandable and defy scientific treatment.”

“Death is not real, even in the Relative sense — it is but Birth to a new life — and You shall go on, and on, and on, to higher and still higher planes of life, for aeons upon aeons of time.

The Universe is your home, and you shall explore its farthest recesses before the end of Time.”

“Do not feel insecure or afraid — we are all held firmly in the Infinite Mind of The All, and there is naught to hurt us or for us to fear.

There is no Power outside of The All to affect us. So we may rest calm and secure. There is a world of comfort and security in this realization when once attained.

Then 'calm and peaceful do we sleep, rocked in the Cradle of the Deep' — resting safely on the bosom of the Ocean of Infinite Mind, which is The All. In The All, indeed, do we live and move and have our being.”

“Do not make the mistake of supposing that the little world you see around you – the Earth, which is a mere grain of dust in the Universe – is the Universe itself.

There are millions upon millions of such worlds, and greater. And there are millions of millions of such Universes in existence within the Infinite Mind of the All.

And even in our own little solar system there are regions and planes of life far higher than ours, and beings compared to which we earth-bound mortals are as the slimy life-forms that dwell on the ocean's bed when compared to Man.”

“Everything flows out and in; everything has its tides; all things rise and fall.

The pendulum-swing manifests in everything; the measure of the swing to the right, is the measure of the swing to the left; rhythm compensates.”

“Everything happens according to Law; that nothing ever 'merely happens'; that there is no such thing as Chance; that while there are various planes of Cause and Effect, the higher dominating the lower planes, still nothing ever entirely escapes the Law.”

“He who grasps the truth of the Mental Nature of the Universe is well advanced on The Path to Mastery.”

“How few original thoughts or original actions are performed by the average person? Are not the majority of persons mere shadows and echoes of others having stronger wills or minds than themselves?

The trouble is that the average person dwells almost altogether in his 'Me' consciousness, and does not realize that he has such a thing as an 'I'.

He is polarized in his Feminine Principle of Mind, and the Masculine Principle, in which is lodged the Will, is allowed to remain inactive and not employed.”

“If you are possessed of Fear, do not waste time trying to 'kill out' Fear, but instead cultivate the quality of Courage, and the Fear will disappear.”