Every person has an ideal, the realisation of which would, in such person's opinion, constitute that perfect happiness which is the usual understanding of the Kingdom of Heaven. Now, an ideal comes (1) from the particular organic structure of every mind and (2) from the condition of that spirit which lives within the structure. In other words, the ideal is modified by circumstances, is in their image and their likeness. It is material or spiritual, little or large, in proportion to the construction of mind, and it represents the status of the spirit. In either case it is the first thing to analyse, when in search of individual conceptions of the Kingdom of Heaven, or perfect personal happiness. Such happiness is, I think, always held to consist in an equal development of spiritual parts and physical organs, in the supply of every want without friction and the gratification of every desire without exorbitant expense or excessive industry. The realisation of such an ideal is at present impossible on the face of the earth. The fundamental principles of love and wisdom within us make a perpetual demand upon the universe and upon each individual possessor. Out of their wondrous depths springs that onward drawing ideal which is happiness in attainment, but in frustration the source of unrest, dissatisfaction and that feeling of incompleteness which flashes painfully through self-conscious mind.
It is indisputable that happiness would result from the harmonious interaction of all faculties.1 This is what all the world is after. The secret consists in removing unnecessary friction in one's own pathway and from that of others. Whoso does this is on the shortest, safest road to the Kingdom of Heaven. The fact that this world cannot bring the complete realisation of any one of our interior ideals and that an ideal only partially fulfilled can never satisfy the spirit causes our nature to demand life after death for the purposes of growth. Man is made upon imperishable principles, each of which is the harmonial voice of God, speaking through all parts of the tree of life, moving its leaves in the winds of circumstance and vibrating them in the currents of terrestrial affairs. Each of these principles is a word from heaven, from God's own central Spirit. The spiritualist is a believer in eternal life. Every voice from heaven proclaims eternal ideality and opportunity for actualisation. It is the upwelling revelation of truth from within that no ideal, however perfectly realised, can satisfy the whole spirit; and the consequent dissatisfaction, unrest and yearning foreshadow the future which is in store to receive and welcome us.
There is no primogeniture in this harmonial doctrine. Every man and woman inherits equal wealth and power from the innermost. The shortest road to the Kingdom of Heaven may be defined otherwise as the mastery of our proper persons.2 A man can come from the darkest place
in this social Egypt and find the Promised Land. He can stand on his own feet, a proprietor of those great truths which no material gold can purchase, and so doing he will be the representative and promise of what is possible in the ultimate of every human life. It is as easy to begin now as at any future time, begin to make the best of what is ours, to shorten the road to human happiness. These sayings are not fictions. I know that a true Harmonial Philosopher—a real, spiritual, living soul— can rise up to higher life in the midst of his present circumstances, whatsoever they are and howsoever they seem, in the friction of the daily round, to combine actively against him. Neither his bodily diseases, his habitual passions, his great wealth, his extreme poverty, nor even his ignorance can utterly deprive him of heaven and the holy angels. He can become the candidate for an eternal voyage, because his spiritual ship is freighted with every means of happiness and progression.1
And now as regards what is known in orthodox circles as the expected advent of Christ's kingdom, let it be said that by the words Son of Man we understand Divine Love, and by the terms Heavenly Kingdom we attain a conception of Divine Harmony. We believe that the Son of Man has come in every person who is spiritually born out of envy and hate into Divine Love— being love which is pure and selfless, seeing and seeking only the good and happiness of its object. We believe also that the Heavenly Kingdom comes in every man's
soul when he outgrows strife and passion, when he ascends to the high tableland of peace, charity and wisdom. It is the office of every true Reformer, every spiritualist, to hasten the day of such peace and righteousness.1