Creative Personality; A Companion-Book for the Study and Growth of the Self

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1917 edition. Excerpt: ... Habits for Perfection of Life. CHAPTER VI. LAWS OF GROWTH. THE human self grows in one or the other of two general directions; either toward best estate or toward the worst estate; either toward fulness of harmoniously individualized personal being, or toward fulness of disharmoniously individualized personal being. These words are deliberately selected. Best human estate is fulness of harmoniously individualized personal being. The worst possible human condition is disharmoniously individualized personal being. Both estates express the nature of things according to universal laws. That is to say, the Fundamental Reality works through the individual in certain ways which we interpret as laws, and it is this Reality that expresses in one or the other of the two estates named. The criterion by which we may know whether we are growing "or the right way or the wrong way" is found in happiness. Observe: the criterion is not pleasure, which is superficial and ephemeral. The criterion is happiness, which is deep and abiding. Any degree of growth toward fulness of harmoniously individualized personal being involves a corresponding degree of happiness. Any degree of growth in the opposite direction involves a degree of unhappiness. Some forms of pleasure make for happiness, and some forms make for unhappiness. The criterion here, then, is again happiness. The Fundamental Reality unfolds in individual growth whatever the tetter's direction. Reality expresses in all human conditions. But happiness represents the highest possible individual development, hence the most conservative unfoldment of Reality. The reasons for the fact that Reality unfolds toward the worst estate in the individual are two: First, Reality "creates" the individual according...