March 31

At some time during every day, I find it good to observe a period of absolute quiet, for there is healing power in silence. To find this power, do not talk; do not do anything; throw the mind into neutral; keep the body still; maintain complete silence. This is the practice of creative quiet.

March 30

Make no mistake about it: any kind of dishonesty cripples, and the first thing you lose is freedom. One has to lie to cover up and soon becomes entangled in lies. An entangled person cannot be free. The honest person is the free person.

March 29

Talk, actually speak, to the health forces within yourself. Summon them to your aid. Every day, strongly encourage God’s health forces; restimulate them to creative action within your total being. Standing straight and tall, say: “I affirm the presence within me of God’s recreative forces. I hereby yield myself in confidence to their health-giving effects. I affirm that the life force is renewing me now. I thank God, the Creator, but also the Re-Creator, now making me new.”

March 28

Be yourself. Being a slave to conformity is one of the most fundamental of all dishonesties. When we reject our specialness, water down our God-given individuality and uniqueness, we begin to lose our freedom. The conformist is in no way a free man. He has to follow the herd. We need more “characters” among us, who do not weakly conform to standardized ways of behaving, people not afraid to be “different.” Men and women who accomplish the most in this world are almost always “characters” in the sense that they are not afraid to be themselves regardless of what fashion or the “in” attitude dictates.

March 27

Most of us have no adequate conception of our inherent powers and abilities. At heart, we underestimate ourselves. We do not really believe in ourselves and for that reason remain weak, ineffectual, even impotent, when we could be strong, dominant, victorious. An old cobbler in Edinburgh was in the habit of beginning each day with the prayer, “O Lord, give me a high opinion of myself.” Not a bad idea!

March 26

We human beings often engage in the tragic process of mentally building up difficulties to overwhelming size and thus become afraid of them. We convince ourselves that we are defeated before we start and build a case for not trying. This is the time to release the sleeping giant within you. Then you become the great person you have it in you to be. You win victories instead of suffering defeats.

March 25

Every human being needs to have a quiet center within his mind. You don’t need to worry about confusion if you have inner quietness from which to handle it. And you can achieve this. You can learn to have a bit of God’s great silence in your mind and heart.

March 24

If you want a desirable quality in your life, let me remind you to use the “as if” principle—act as if you already have it. As you act and persevere in acting, so you tend to become. Try it—it’s powerful and it works. lf one acts as if God were with him, if he talks to God as if God were listening to him, in due course, he becomes very sure of God. You then know that God is with you always as He said He would be. And you know He is listening to your prayers.

March 23

Standing by my mother’s tombstone, I saw it for what it was—a place where only mortal remains lay. Her mortal body was only a coat laid aside because the wearer needed it no longer. But she, that gloriously lovely spirit, was not there. I walked out of the cemetery and rarely return—for she is not there. She is with her loved ones for always. “Why seek ye the living among the dead?” (Luke 24:5). You can depend upon the reliability of Christ. He would not let us believe and hold convictions so sacred unless they were true.

March 22

An incredible goodness is operating in your behalf. Confidently receive God’s abundant blessings. Think abundance, prosperity, and the best of everything. Expect great things to happen. God wants to give you every good thing. Do not hinder His generosity by disbelief.

March 21

At long last, every one of us draws to himself exactly what he is, if you want to know what life is going to bring you, all you need to do is to analyze yourself.

March 20/21 Spring

During late March Spring is supposed to appear at least tentatively. Officially, March 21 is the first day of spring, but it just could be that, on this date, the great March Winds are blowing and sighing around the house and snow is in the air. Actually, long experience indicates that spring comes when it comes and only then.

Crocuses are usually up by late Match. On our place, we have planted them around the base of our huge and ancient maples as well as along the driveways. They are optimistic, as flowers go, for they will push up from the ground in what seems a most inauspicious climate, and, if the cold is as sometimes occurs, more January-like, they hand their heads disconsolately. But, at the first opportunity, they are sprightly again and add great charm to springtime over the several weeks that they are in bloom.

I Then along come hyacinths, jonquils, and daffodils. I like them because they are not only optimistic that spring has really come hut they also reveal an indomitability humans might well emulate.

One spring, all was bright and beautiful. The balmy air, so definitely associated with springlike days, was softly engaging. The flowers exuded the confidence that finally they had it made. Spring was here at last, But, during an April night, someone must have gotten the calendar mixed up. There was a throwback to the wild and gusty winds of March. Then the snow began falling thick and fast. Big winter flakes they were and, when chilly morning came, a real winter snow lay six inches deep upon the ground, including the flower beds. The hyacinths stood pretty straight, considering the weight of the snow, but the jonquils and daffodils bent over as if it was all too much for them.

But, having lived through many a springtime in our part of the country, we were not too much concerned. And, sure enough, the next day came a warm wind, the snow melted and, behold, the flowers perked up, took a wondering look around, then stood tall and straight and went about their business of blooming and being beautiful. All of which was a reminder of the rebound quality built into nature. l wonder if it is not also built into human nature. Perhaps one function of flowers and trees is to remind us that we, too, have a comeback quality.

I've seen trees devastated by winter storms—branches broken and hurled to the ground, tops apparently ruined. Then comes spring with God’s healing touch; a multitude of leaves hides the hurt and, after a couple of springtimes, it is hard to find the damage, so great is a tree’s repair power. Similarly, people are hurt. Some never recover but perhaps most do for they, like the trees, have an astounding ability to repair their hurts. They do, after all, have the

same Healer.

March 20

After a heated struggle in the U.S. House of Representatives over an important bill, an older congressman, Madden, approached a junior representative whose support of the bill had obviously been gained by questionable means.

“Son,” he asked, “why did you vote as you did?” “I had to,” the young man answered. “I was under very great pressure.” The older man put his hand on his younger colleague’s shoulder. “But boy," he asked, “Where are your inner braces?” Faith can brace us against pressure.

March 19

The average person uses only a small fraction of his potential abilities. Some authorities estimate that this is somewhere around ten percent of capacity. One reason is that we do not devote enough attention and time to deliberate, systematic development of our personalities. And another is that we frustrate ourselves with self-imposed limitations. Try to reach your full potential.

March 18

There is only one person with whom to compete and that is yourself. Keep aiming to surpass your own best performance and ever strive to reach higher levels. lf you are always measuring yourself against some other person, resentment and antipathy are bound to develop within your mind. Then tension mounts, you are thrown off your timing, and poorer performance results. Remember Thomas Edison’s challenge: “There is a better way. Find it.”

March 17

We love those who make us believe in ourselves. “This above all,” Shakespeare wrote, “to thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man.”

March 16

The biblical advice “Do not let the sun go down on your anger” is psychologically sound. Anger can accumulate to the exploding point and must be emptied out every night. Drain off the anger content that may be seething in your mind by forgiving everybody. And practice the art of forgetting.

March 15

The writer William A. Ward formulated a plan for successful achievement, He called it the “8 P Plan” and it goes like this: Plan Purposefully, Prepare Prayerfully, Proceed Positively, Pursue Persistently.

March 14

People often kill their happiness and their success in life by their tongues. They explode, say a mean thing, write a sharp letter, and the evil is done. And sadly, the real victim is not the other person but oneself.

March 13

A formula for self-improvement is to first decide specifically what particular characteristic you desire to possess and then hold that image firmly in consciousness. Second, develop that image by acting as if you actually possessed the desired characteristic. Third, believe and repeatedly affirm you’re in the process of self-creating and the quality you wish to develop.

March 12

A business executive had three boxes on his desk labeled INCOMING, OUTGOING and UNDECIDED. The latter usually contained the most papers. Then he added a fourth box which he labeled WITH GOD ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE. When faced with a particularly tough problem he would prepare a memo and toss it into this box.

Then he would go on to other matters, believing that in the proper time he would receive God’s guidance. The six-word affirmation on the box positivized the man’s attitude and kept reminding him that possibilities existed. Even though a decision was not clear, this thinking challenged him to discern and finally realize those possibilities.

March 11

Don’t talk trouble. It only activates more of it. Talk life up, not down. Talking tends to create or destroy, for it puts the immense power of thought to work along the lines indicated by the talk. Always remember Ralph Waldo Emerson’s warning that a word is alive. By repeated use, it can either build or tear down.

March 10

“Why can’t we have a world that’s peaceful and quiet?” a man asked. I told him about an old Irish friend who said there was a tradition in northern Ireland that, when there is trouble on the earth, it means there’s movement in heaven. And this wise old man told me, “I always rejoice when there’s lots of conflict and upset on the earth, because I know that out of this turmoil a movement in heaven will bring something good.”

March 9

The sense of God’s presence steadies us, gives us an anchor in the storm, and provides a reservoir of personal power. If you live with God as a friend, He will become so real that He will be your sturdy companion day and night. Then, even when the going is difficult, your heart can be happy within, for you have Him with you.

March 8

Your greatest ability is the power to choose. By the power of choice, you can make your life creative or you can destroy it. Every day we make many choices. Some are seemingly small, but no choice is altogether insignificant, for upon the most seemingly unimportant choice may ultimately depend the outcome of your life. History, they say, often turns on small hinges. That is also true of people’s lives.

March 7

Almighty God freely bestows the good things in this world in proportion to a person’s mental readiness to receive. An individual coming to the divine storehouse with a teaspoon, thinking “lack,” will receive only a teaspoonful.

Another more positive and believing person coming forward confidently with a gallon container will receive a gallon of life’s blessing. We can only receive that which we expect according to our faith. So think big.

March 6

Churchgoing can be exciting. A westerner once told me, after a Sunday service, “I came out of church so thrilled, I felt I could throw a lasso around the moon.”

March 5

There is one way to avoid criticism: Never do anything, never amount to anything. Never get your head above the crowd so that the jealous will notice and attack you. Criticism is a sign that your personality has some force.

March 4

Learn what you can from the beating you have taken. Then move confidently on to the next opportunity. Accept defeat supinely and you’re through. Come back at it with all you’ve got and you’ve got plenty. You will win with the never settle for defeat attitude.

March 3

A man said that for years he had been extremely nervous but had finally “practiced” his way out of that condition. The word practiced makes sense, for it is certain that no real attainment comes without practice.

March 2

Harry Truman once said, “If you’re afraid of getting burned, better stay out of the kitchen.” If you are going to fight for principles and convictions, you can hardly avoid a rough time now and then. Never weaken or back down—as all of us feel like doing at times. If we yield to that temptation, life may be easier but it certainly will be less interesting.

March 1

Every month is a new beginning. So is every new day. Perhaps that is why God brings down the curtain of night—to blot out the day that is gone. All of your yesterdays ended last night. It makes no difference how long you’ve been alive, they’re all ended. This day is absolutely new. You’ve never lived it before. What an opportunity!