Ten Steps to Fulfillment---Step #8 The Fourth Mystical Law: The Secret of Serenity---The Law

"It is a movement and a rest," was the cryptic answer given by Jesus to the follower who asked, "What is a sign of the Father in you?"

We examined this answer in Step 6 when we studied the Law of Cycles. Now we examine another phase of it in its mystical application to the Law of Rest. It will tell us how to gain the secret of serenity and further fulfill the Self.

It tells us first that there are alternate cycles of activity and non-activity (minimal physical activity). We must distinguish between unseen activity on the inner planes of life and the observable activity that occurs in an objectified way on the outer planes. Principally, it is through your association with this inner activity that you aquire the serenity which is the subject of this Step 8, for this quality is necessary if you are to become a whole person rather than remain a fraction. A fraction is only part of a person.

The two ways in which you lose serenity by becoming fractionalized are:

1. through time....by allowing your consciousness to function

productively only during your waking hours and neglecting

the nearly one-third of your 24 hour day spent in sleep.

2. through being...by expressing only through your normal

consciousness and neglecting the subconscious and

superconscious levels of your mind, neglecting the lines

of supersensory communication between your normal

consciousness and the higher dimensions of life,

including the Infinite Being.

What Serenity will do for you

1. increase personal efficiency,

2. decrease errors,

3. give inner emphasis to all your efforts,

4. improve your intuitive expressions.

Serenity is defined as calmness of mind, composure, an unclouded state. A troubled mind negates all these benefits.

12 ways to acquire Serenity

1. Creative sleep; Sleep is planting time for the super-

conscious Self

2. Breath; Deep breathing and abdominal breathing (as

opposed to chest breathing) exercises established

serenity in the physical body and allowed higher elements of the Self to function.

3. Affirmation; An affirmation is a method of aligning your

mind with Cosmic Mind and with Cosmic Forces.

4. Faith; Faith is simply a positive attitude about something. Faith is understanding. Faith is acceptance of

of what you understand. Faith, therefore,

harmonizes subconscious, conscious and supra-

conscious segments of your mind and thus enables

you to function as a unified being.

5. Self-Control; One who does not lose one's center endures.

If you would not "lose your center" you must

practice self-control.

6. Autosuggestion; To practice autosuggestion is to keep

repeating an idea to yourself until it

becomes thoroughly ingrained in all the

elements of your Self as well as your

normal consciousness.

7. Right Knowledge; If in the practice of life, you will use

your faculty of discrimination (either the

discrimination of logic or intuition, and

there are both kinds) you will begin to

acquire that helpful kind of knowledge

that can only be described as "right

knowledge".

8. Meditation --- Prayer; It is in this state of spiritual reverie

and conscious attunement with

God, that meditation and prayer

become effective and act as direct

aids to fulfilling your Self.

9. Inspirational Reading; Reading reinforces your

consciousness with the ideas that help

you most. It impresses those ideas

more firmly upon your subconscious

which then acts in harmony with them.

10. Art and Decoration; Colors, decorations, even furnishings

and articles of clothing, all cause a

visual impact upon your

consciousness and thus influence

your inner nature.

11. Thought Patterns; Anyone can see the value of an

optimistic, harmonious thought

pattern.But creating it and

maintaining it is another matter. It

requires will power & determination.

12. Isolation; To find our relationship with the One, we must

sometimes isolate ourselves from the many.

Through periods of isolation from the everyday

world we momentarily sever the ties that tend

to pull us toward the mundane level and give

greater opportunity to the ties that lift us

toward higher levels.

Occasional isolation from mundane affairs,

periods of complete rest from everyday activity,

will reorient your consciousness to the Self and

and its intuitive impulses.

Happiness is Serenity

Do not think of things but rather states of being. The state of consciousness, then, is the determining factor rather than outward objects themselves.

For even more details on achieving serenity and fuller information on all the ten steps, visit us at astara.org and get your own book of the Ten Steps to Self-Fulfillment by Robert Chaney from our store.

* BE HAPPY --- BE SERENE *