670 THE PRINCIPLES OF SELF-CREATION
evolutionary processes, and, for this reason, you should not be dis-
appointed if, at first reading, you do not fully understand it. Most
of us disbelieve that which we cannot understand, and it is with
my knowledge of this human tendency that I caution you against
dosing your mind if you do not at first grasp everything that is in
this lesson.
For thousands of years men made ships of wood, and of nothing
else. They used wood because they believed it was the only substance
that would float. But that was because they had not yet advanced far
enough in their thinking process to understand the truth that steel
will float and that it is far superior to wood for the building of ships.
They did not know that anything could float that was lighter than the
amount of water it displaced, and until they learned of this great truth
they went on making ships of wood.
Until early in this century, most people thought only birds could
fly. Now we know that humans can not only equal the flying of the
birds but we can exceed it. We did not know, until quite recently, that
the air is more alive and more sensitive than anything on the earth.
We did not know that the spoken word would travel with the speed of
lightning, without the aid of wires. How could we know this when our
minds had not been sufficiently unfolded to enable them to grasp it?
The purpose of this lesson is to aid you in unfolding and expand-
ing your mind so that you will be able to think with accuracy. This
will open to you a door that leads to all the power you will need in
completing your temple of success.
All through the preceding lessons we have dealt with principles
that anyone could easily grasp and apply, and they have been presented
so as to lead to success as measured by material wealth. I was aware the
majority of students would be disappointed if I showed them a road-
way to success that leads other than through the doorways of business,
finance, and industry. To most people the word success and the word
money are synonymous-they want success that is spelled SucceSS.