Your Faith is Your Fortune
| Chapter 27 |
A FORMULA FOR VICTORY
Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you. – Joshua 1:3
The majority of people are familiar with the story of Joshua capturing the city of Jericho.
What they do not know is that this story is the perfect formula for Victory, under any circumstances and against all odds.
It is recorded that Joshua was armed only with the knowledge that every place that the sole of his foot should tread upon would be given to him; that he desired to capture or tread upon the city of Jericho but found the walls separating him from the city impassable.
It seemed physically impossible for Joshua to get beyond these massive walls and stand upon the city of Jericho. Yet, he was driven by the knowledge of the promise that, regardless of the barriers and obstacles separating him from his desires, if he could but stand upon the city, it would be given to him.
The Book of Joshua further records that instead of fighting this giant problem of the wall, Joshua employed the services of the harlot, Rahab, and sent her as a spy into the city. As Rahab entered her house, which stood in the midst of the city, Joshua – who was securely barred by the impassable walls of Jericho – blew on his trumpet seven times. At the seventh blast, the walls crumbled and Joshua entered the city victoriously.
To the uninitiated, this story is senseless.
To the one who sees it as a psychological drama, rather than as a historical record, it is most revealing.
If we would follow the example of Joshua, our victory would be similarly simple.
Joshua symbolizes to you, the reader, your present state; the city of Jericho symbolizes your desire, or defined objective.
The walls of Jericho symbolize the obstacles between you and the realization of your objectives. The foot symbolizes the understanding; placing the sole of the foot upon a definite place indicates fixing a definite psychological state.
Rahab, the spy, is your ability to travel secretly or psychologically to any place in space. Consciousness knows no frontier. No one can stop you from dwelling psychologically at any point, or in any state in time or space.
Regardless of the physical barriers separating you from your objective, you can, without effort or help of anyone, annihilate time, space and barriers.
Thus, you can dwell, psychologically, in the desired state. So, although you may not be able to tread physically upon a state or city, you can always tread psychologically upon any desired state. By treading psychologically, I mean that you can now, this moment, close your eyes and after visualizing or imagining a place or state other than your present one, actually FEEL that you are now in such a place or state. You can feel this condition to be so real that upon opening your eyes you are amazed to find that you are not physically there.
A harlot, as you know, gives to all men that which they ask of her. Rahab, the harlot, symbolizes your infinite capacity to psychologically assume any desirable state without questioning whether or not you are physically or morally fit to do so.
You can today capture the modern city of Jericho or your defined objective if you will psychologically re-enact this story of Joshua; but to capture the city and realize your desires, you must carefully follow the formula of victory as laid down in this book of Joshua.
This is the application of this victorious formula as a modem mystic reveals it today:
First: define your objective (not the manner of obtaining it) – but your objective, pure and simple; know exactly what it is you desire so that you have a clear mental picture of it.
Secondly: take your attention away from the obstacles which separate you from your objective and place your thought on the objective itself.
Thirdly: close your eyes and FEEL that you are already in the city or state that you would capture. Remain within this psychological state until you get a conscious reaction of complete satisfaction in this victory. Then, by simply opening your eyes, return to your former conscious state.
This secret journey into the desired state, with its subsequent psychological reaction of complete satisfaction, is all that is necessary to bring about total victory.
This victorious psychical state will embody itself despite all opposition. It has the plan and power of self-expression.
From this point forward, follow the example of Joshua, who, after psychologically dwelling in the desired state until he received a complete conscious reaction of victory, did nothing more to bring about this victory than to blow seven times on his trumpet.
The seventh blast symbolizes the seventh day, a time of stillness or rest, the interval between the subjective and objective states, a period of pregnancy or joyful expectancy.
This stillness is not the stillness of the body but rather the stillness of the mind – a perfect passivity, which is not indolence but a living stillness born of trust in this immutable law of consciousness.
Those not familiar with this law or formula for victory, in attempting to still their minds, succeed only in acquiring a quiet tension, which is nothing more than compressed anxiety.
But you, who know this law, will find that after capturing the psychological state which would be yours if you were already victoriously and actually entrenched in that city, will move forward towards the physical realization of your desires.
You will do this without doubt or fear, in a state of mind fixed in the knowledge of a pre-arranged victory.
You will not be afraid of the enemy, because the outcome has been determined by the psychological state that preceded the physical offensive; and all the forces of heaven and earth cannot stop the victorious fulfillment of that state.
Stand still in the psychological state defined as your objective until you feel the thrill of Victory.
Then, with confidence born of the knowledge of this law, watch the physical realization of your objective.
... Set your self, stand still and watch the salvation of the Law with you...