Following is the contents of Chapter 17 of The Science of Getting Rich, by Wallace D. Wattles. Through the course of the book, Wattles develops and amplifies on these statements and considers them to be the essential points that anyone practicing the art of conscious creation must master. Without further ado:

There is a thinking stuff from which all things are made, and which, in its original state, permeates, penetrates, and fills the interspaces of the universe.

A thought in this substance produces the thing that is imaged by the thought.

Man can form things in his thought, and by impressing his thought upon formless substance can cause the thing he thinks about to be created.

In order to do this, man must pass from the competitive to the creative mind; otherwise he cannot be in harmony with the Formless Intelligence, which is always creative and never competitive in spirit.

Man may come into full harmony with the Formless Substance by entertaining a lively and sincere gratitude for the blessings it bestows upon him. Gratitude unifies the mind of man with the intelligence of Substance, so that man’s thoughts are received by the Formless. Man can remain upon the creative plane only by uniting himself with the Formless Intelligence through a deep and continuous feeling of gratitude.

Man must form a clear and definite mental image of the things he wishes to have, to do, or to become; and he must hold this mental image in his thoughts, while being deeply grateful to the Supreme that all his desires are granted to him. The man who wishes to get rich must spend his leisure hours in contemplating his Vision, and in earnest thanksgiving that the reality is being given to him. Too much stress cannot be laid on the importance of frequent contemplation of the mental image, coupled with unwavering faith and devout gratitude. This is the process by which the impression is given to the Formless, and the creative forces set in motion.

The creative energy works through the established channels of natural growth, and of the industrial and social order. All that is included in his mental image will surely be brought to the man who follows the instructions given above, and whose faith does not waver. What he wants will come to him through the ways of established trade and commerce.

In order to receive his own when it shall come to him, man must be active; and this activity can only consist in more than filling his present place. He must keep in mind the Purpose to get rich through the realization of his mental image. And he must do, every day, all that can be done that day, taking care to do each act in a successful manner. He must give to every man a use value in excess of the cash value he receives, so that each transaction makes for more life; and he must so hold the Advancing Thought that the impression of increase will be communicated to all with whom he comes in contact.

The men and women who practice the foregoing instructions will certainly get rich; and the riches they receive will be in exact proportion to the definiteness of their vision, the fixity of their purpose, the steadiness of their faith, and the depth of their gratitude.

A question for you: do you grasp the true meaning of ‘infinity’ or ‘infinite’?

“The line stretches to infinity.”

“The world is full of infinite possibility.”

So what does the word mean according to the dictionary?

in·fi·nite /??nf?n?t/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[in-fuh-nit] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation –adjective

–noun

infinite. Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/infinite (accessed: October 01, 2007).

But consider this as a mind excercise: you are out in the universe, floating. In each hand you hold a line. At a point a couple of feet in front of you, the lines cross. The one in your right hand points off to the left, the one in your left hand points off to the right.

Begin to bring the lines to parallel. The lines’ point of intersection moves farther and farther away from you as you twist your hands. Will the lines become uncrossed? They will not. The point of intersection will continue to move away from you, but if the lines never end, they can never uncross.

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All this goes to show that we really don’t have the ability to conceptualize the infiniteness of God (or Infinite Intelligence, or the Universal Mind, or whatever term you choose), or the infiniteness of possibility. We cannot comprehend the meaning of “All things are possible to him that believes.” All things. Everything. But everything doesn’t exist because God is infinite. The word everything implies a limit, every thing. But there are not limits.

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Okay, I’m drained. Back to your regularly scheduled programming.

On earth, I mean. What’s your reason for being here? What is your purpose?

Do you even care?

I mean, let’s face it: for most of us, life is a series of events that happen to us, strung out over a period of years. We’re born, we struggle, we die. What’s my purpose for the day? To get through until tomorrow. One day at a time, one day to the next. Some high points, more than a few low points, but mostly just . . . surviving.

If that resembles you, and you’re tired of it, here’s a book that can help: Life on Purpose: Six Passages to an Inspired Life, by Dr. Brad Swift.

As I read the book, something that I’d heard Neale Walsch say in the movie The Secret kept popping in my mind. He said people look around for the big blackboard in the sky, upon which is written their purpose in life. If they can just find the blackboard, everything will be all right. But, he says, the blackboard doesn’t exist. So, your purpose is what you say it is.

And you have a purpose, whether you realize it or pay attention to it or not. Your purpose, the meaning of your life, is what you say it is, every morning when you get up. It’s what guides you through the day.

Is your purpose a meaningful one? What if you could change your perception of your life, revise your focus, make changes in the way you think, feel, and act, and do it in a step-by-step methodical way? What if you had a roadmap to guide you? What if you had someone sitting there in the passenger seat as a guide, showing you the way, teaching you how to slow down and actually live for something? Dr. Brad is just that–a coach that can help you rediscover your reason for being, if you want to.

Dr. Swift not only shows you how to clarify your purpose in life–the step-by-step roadmap–but also gives the “why” of what you’re doing. When you understand why something works, you can adapt and reapply that same concept in other areas of your life, in other situations. Instead of just memorizing a step, you’ve learned a technique.

The first step is to take the first step . . . and the first step is to read Dr. Swift’s book, and act upon what you read. The rest will unfold. . .

This is Stop #6 on the Book Blog Tour, a special event highlighting Dr. Brad Swift’s new book, Life on Purpose: Six Passages to an Inspired Life.

This post was not a paid review. I was furnished a complimentary copy of Dr. Swift’s book for the purpose of review.