The feet of man on the earth tread on a small space, but going on to where he has not trod before, he traverses a great distance easily; so his knowledge is small, but going on to what he does not already know, he comes to know what is meant by Heaven. He knows it as The Great Unity; The Great Mystery; The Great Illuminator; The Great Framer; The Great Boundlessness; The Great Truth; The Great Determiner. This makes his knowledge complete. As The Great Unity he comprehends it; as The Great Mystery, he unfolds it; as The Great Illuminator, he contemplates it; as The Great Framer, it is to him the Cause of all; as The Great Truth, he examines it; as The Great Determiner, he holds it fast.

Thus Heaven is to him all. At first he does not know it, but afterwards he comes to know it. In his inquiries, he must not set to himself any limits, and yet he cannot be without a limit. Now ascending, now descending, then slipping from the grasp, the Tao is yet a reality, unchanged now as in antiquity, and always without a defect.

When we come to the really practical side of the matter, we find two outstanding points that must be taken into consideration. First, it is essential that we have such knowledge in order that our lives and our actions throughout our lives may be perfectly and properly directed. If we are going to admit that some knowledge is not essen­tial and that we can go through life and live a practical, abundant life without some forms of knowledge, then we are going to find ourselves forced to admit that much knowledge may be cast aside and that an ignorant person, or a person just living from minute or minute and hour to hour, is as successful and practical in his way of living as the one who has mastered a great deal of knowledge.

In the second place, the special knowledge contained in our work enables us to live in better attunement with the Cosmic and in harmony with the universe. This means that our health will be more perfect, that we will be able to avoid many diseases and accidents, that we will be able to prevent effects from national and localized epidemics, and other forms of depression. It means that we will be able to overcome obstacles and correct those conditions which affect other human beings but which we do not wish to have affect us. This certainly makes the work of a very practical nature instead of theoretical.

In all of our studies about glands and their effects we have not had any exercise that was intended to be of special help in this connection. Now, however, we are going to take into consideration the thyroid gland. We are reaching a Cosmic cycle, one in which the Cosmic vibrations are going to have more and more effect upon the thyroid gland of the average, normal, healthy human being. In fact, this cycle began only a few years ago, and in checking up on the matter, I found that physicians all over America have had more ques­tions asked them about the thyroid than ever before.

This is caused by the fact that thousands upon thousands of men and women have been noticing during the past years that the thyroid gland — or the various parts that enter into the form of the thyroid gland in the neck, just where the so-called Adam’s apple is located — has become slightly enlarged. This enlargement is so small that it has little or no effect upon the health and is not an inconvenience in any way, but it is large enough to show when the head is thrown backward and the neck stretched smoothly.

During certain phases of the moon each month some of these thyroid glands appear to be slightly larger than at other times and sometimes for two or three months the slight enlargement of the gland will disappear. Some persons have been frightened about it, and others merely curious. Medical authorities tell me that this is nothing to worry about, and not until the gland becomes very large should anything be done except to have a physician examine it early in the process of development to see whether or not it is an important matter.

THE THYROID AND CYCLES — This tendency of the thyroid gland to enlarge is due to Cosmic conditions and to a Cosmic cycle that will probably last another thirty or forty years. In that time we hope that many thousands of men and women will take advantage of our work and prepare themselves for the benefit that is coming through this Cosmic period, and at the same time take advantage of the effect that the Cosmic is having upon thyroids. The exercise I am going to give you this week will not cause the thyroid gland to enlarge, nor will it cause it to reduce, for it has no effect upon the physical size of the thyroid whatsoever. But it will have something to do with the continued and proper functioning of the thyroid so that it will not become negligent in its normal functioning.

EXERCISE:

The fingertips of both hands should be brought to bear lightly upon the place on the neck where we usually say the Adam’s apple is located. Whether you have any en­largement there or not, or whether you can feel the thyroid gland in your neck between the two cords or not is immaterial. If you have a little hollow in between the two cords, let your eight finger tips (not including the thumbs) rest upon the hollow. Perhaps it will be more convenient, or easier to do, if only the forefinger and the second and third fingers of each hand are placed upon the neck. That will make six fingers altogether.

They may lightly touch each other while they are on the neck. It does not matter just how the fingers are placed on the neck so long as they actually touch it between the jaw bone and the collarbone. While the fingers are thus making their contact with the neck you should be seated in a comfortable seat, or lying down in bed.

First, take a deep breath and hold it as long as you can, and then exhale slowly. Then breathe normally for a few minutes and then once more take a deep breath and hold it as long as you can before exhaling. This should be done three times and then a rest of ten minutes should be given; after that proceed to do the breathing with the finger tips on the neck for another three times. In the interval of five or ten minutes between the two exercises the fingers may be removed from the neck, but they must be held there all the time that the deep breath is taken and held while the breath is exhaled.

If this exercise is done each morning, once at noontime, and twice in the evening before retiring — following the outlined process of breathing and finger-tip touch three times during each performance of the exercise — it will gradually cause the thyroid to function properly in accordance with Cosmic law and will be one of the most invigorating and health-stimulating exercises you have had.

 

Photo: S. Migaj/Unsplash