The Route To Happiness

In the early 1950s while driving through a rural area north of Okmulgee, Oklahoma, I came upon a fork in the road.  Most of the houses I had passed along the country road were small and older, and not very well maintained.  In the triangle formed by where the road split to angle off in two different directions stood a small church.  The building was freshly painted and the grounds were well kept.  Shrubbery was trimmed and colorful flowers were in bloom.  It was beautiful, a real contrast to most of the other weathered houses and small barns I had passed.

In the churchyard was a large sign.  It read: “If You Want To Live In A Better Community, Help Build One.”

I was struck by the wisdom in that simple sentence.  It has come to mind many times in the years since.  Possibly, nothing in hundreds of books I have read contains more condensed wisdom.

I have come to believe the statement applies to the whole world.  What each of us does on a daily basis contributes directly to the kind of community, and thus the kind of world, we share.  Whether one lives in a huge city or a small rural community, the effect is the same.

Judging from our actions and how we conduct our lives, many of us haven’t figured out who we are or where we fit into the scheme of things.  It makes little difference whether it is in a super power or in a third-world country, the majority of people continue to behave in ways that create the same conflict, war, and poverty that have plagued humanity throughout history.

Naturally we don’t cause all this pain and sorrow intentionally.  Much of it is caused by accepting major illusions, which have the power to deceive the vast majority of people who seem unable to see the reality behind the illusions.

Nevertheless, a small percentage of people in every culture seem to know how to manage lives that provide much more health, contentment, and happiness.  My purpose in this book is to describe some of the methods for improving life as demonstrated by these more advanced people.  Over some 79 years I have learned some of these teachings.  They are not secret, but few people seem to be able to live by them.  Gradually, through application of these teachings, I have learned to see past some of the illusions to a greater reality in certain areas. 

Will these discoveries work for everyone?  They were learned from enlightened people who can always be found among us.  Each of these people demonstrates and teaches methods to help guide us in improving our lives, and they do it in ways that are designed to benefit others at the same time.  So, yes, these principles will work for anyone willing to learn them and apply them.  These people seem to have learned some of the basic cosmic laws that govern the creation of a good life. They cooperate with these laws and enjoy a better life themselves.  Each serves as an example of how to live within the framework of these laws.  But apparently most people believe that no such laws exist, or that they can beat the system, ignore the cosmic laws, and achieve happiness anyway.  This can’t be done.  It is like trying to escape the law of gravity. The consequences of violating the law of gravity are immediate and visible because gravity affects all matter.  Try stepping off a four-story building.  Or just fall off the back porch.  The lesson is quick and dramatic.

But the cosmic laws governing spiritual phenomena such as life, consciousness, thought, love, and imagination deal with invisible forces for which the consequences may be invisible or delayed.  This makes it difficult to associate a consequence with its cause.  But with the right kind of study, we can often learn to relate a situation back to the forces that created it.

Along the way, I discovered how I could change my world by changing myself.  I found ways to modify my attitudes toward others, thus causing me to act and react differently to people and events.  This includes lessons that helped me see through some major illusions to discover a more accurate reality.

For as long as I can remember, I have been interested in what causes things to work the way they do.  From the time I was very young, I would take things apart and take time to watch and follow step by step the action of simple machines such as bicycles or farm machinery.  I became good with tools and learned to repair equipment, and even designed and made some handy tools and devices myself.

One time shortly after World War II, I read an article in Reader’s Digest about a company named Eastern Personnel Service in Bridgeport, Connecticut that helped people determine the type of employment in which they were most likely to be successful.  I wrote the chambers of commerce in two larger cities in my area of North Texas and asked if their city had similar firms to help people shape their futures.