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.I have told you the importance of small, what Icall soft spots, as possible points of enlarging ingress for inharmoniousforces.I have told you that these soft spots are products of corrosionfrom within incepted by the individual's own reactions.Now, it isobvious that such things as the larger hatreds, avarices, resentments,self-centerednesses and the like are dangerous weaknesses.But it is notso obvious that the small irritations may, if permitted to recur, oftenand unchecked, make pin points of perforation susceptible of perilousenlargement by pressure of forces inrushing toward the spot of yielding.That we have expressed before in other words."It may not, however, be so well understood that other attitudes of mind,especially if allowed to become habitual, may exercise a similarcorrosive action on the channel's integrity.In everything with which wecome in contact, in our incomplete stage of evolution, there is aminglement of perfection, of incompletion, and of the inharmonious.Wemay even fasten on one to the total exclusion of the others.There againis a matter of our choice.If we exclude the harmonious reaction, andconcentrate on the incomplete and disharmonious aspect, we therebydistill as powerful a corrosive as would the undiluted destructiveness of138 pure maleficence.But, if we will focus on the harmonious element,however small in quantitative minority; and will ignore the rest,refusing to it a natural emotional reaction; we thereby become possessedof strengthening, instead of corrosive, material.Therefore, the habit ofmind should be consciously and continuously cultivated, of selecting forreaction within one's self the constructive encouragement of the pleasantand agreeable element; and of refusing any reaction whatever, save theintellectual attention necessary to manage, to the fragmentary, thedisagreeable and the angering."4So much for our job as "channels of the divine." Later on theInvisibles--and Betty--took up our "other aspect as active expressions ofthe divine." It is not enough for us just to build ourselves aschannels--if such a thing were possible.Pleasurable fulfillment offunction demands also that we do something about use of what we havebuilt."We have talked of channels," observed Betty, "but we have not attemptedto put the flow through them.We just constructed the idea of makingourselves channels, without any particular responsibility for fillingthose channels.That was supposed to come automatically, while weremained passive and merely kept the channel open.But now we must inducea flow."Later on, when she had made further progress, she had this to say:"I see myself as I used to be, convinced of the essential tuning process,without which we are nothing; doing it more or less regularly;luxuriating in it, even.But now that picture is repellent to me: it hasno joyous dynamics.The prospect ahead is ever so much more satisfactory.Where before the picture was like a lake, now it is a flowing river.Itwould be impossible after this for me to return to the apatheticstage--except periodically for rest, or if I became conscious of nervoustensions, or for healing if ill.Now that I feel the stupendous stir of139 making a current by opening my outlets, no longer could I ABIDE theself-containment of the still-pond-no-more-moving days!""It is the greatest of all sensations," agreed the Invisible, "thisalignment with what might be called the Great Doing--this alignment ofone's self with it, not merely to FEEL, passively, the flow, but to tryout one's allotment of it, actively and enthusiastically."In fact, what IS enthusiasm but this? What is energy but this? What islove itself but this?--this removal of barriers, enabling force to flowforward and back as necessity dictates: forward to accomplishment of lawforms in matter; backward to recharge and refresh in the primal force."5This flow-through, to repeat, is our most important function in thescheme of things.Its conscious development must be our next greatadvance in evolution.But also we must be content to begin slowly andproceed carefully.Betty's experience showed this.In the beginning itdealt mostly with large generalities."I want to tell you," said she one time, "how you go about it when youare in contact with primal force out of which you are to makesomething--when you are in the reality of things, and not merely theircompleted detailed manifestations.The way I go about it is this:"I know the life force we have been talking about is all that you've gotto begin your work with.All you have is the amount you can take andarrange.I take stock of myself; sense how much current is around mewhich keeps at bay, as it were, what would be an all-engulfing substanceif I'd let it.But I'm not going to let it: I'm going to act on it.Thatis as near as I can get to the sensation, the first primitive sensationof creative force which I manufacture and maintain."It is the growth of this sensation of greater and greater radius ofsuperior force acting on the primal substance which will make it possible140 for me to establish my ideal, what I actually am capable of, what mySPECIES is in the universal plan.I said species because my ideal, mylittle atomic arrangement I am capable of making and arranging,establishes my species in the universe.And I am capable of changing itcontinually."This makes one's share in the whole universe dependent on the amount ofthe life force one is capable of generating and utilizing.One'sindividual participation in the abounding beauty of the whole Plan isdependent on the responsibility and coherence of one's own efforts.""The point is," said the Invisible, "there exists in you, indefinitelydevelopable, an engine of power capable of molding and impressing yourmaterial world according as you can give out from your inner being thiscreative force.This is not primarily the MENTALLY creative force, whichyou understand perfectly.It is the higher sense of that mentallycreative force, the vital principle of life.This I must touch on beforeI leave it: I must try to get it into words.The mentally creativeprinciple is a mere ground plan.It has, by laborious process, to haveits vital principle supplied.The true creative force, this godheadcreative force, carries its vital principle with it.It comes not fromthe agent of the soul, the intellect; it comes from the very plexus oflife, which contains everything in potentiality."6For most of us anything resembling the perfection of the creative processis hard even to imagine.We are told, but the words cannot register.Betty herself, when she first realized its possibilities, waswonder-struck."Such a big step!" she exclaimed."Never to work alone
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