Excerpts from
"The Message of a Master: A Classic Tale of Wealth, Wisdom, & the Secret of Success " by John McDonald Order in Adobe PDF eBook or printed form for $5.95 (+ printing charge) or click here to order from Amazon.com for $8.95 Book Description
"The Message of a Master: The Message of a Master clearly shows us how we can harness the forces within to achieve health, vitality and prosperity. This is the story of a miraculous change that takes place in a man after he meets a true master of life. He learns, and shares with us, secret teachings that allow him to develop his powers so that he can accomplish anything he desires TO THE READER: The
following
pages are the result of a series of notes collected and set down in the
form of a story and a system of practice, which accounts for the style
of arrangement. The sequential order as originally received has been
carefully adhered to so that its value to the reader might not be
lessened. It sets forth no creed or dogma, but teaches in a clear,
understandable, simple way, step by step, a practical, workable
procedures based upon Divine Law, for the mastery of environment and
conditions.
Surely, there is an unexplainable “something” within its pages which carries a wonderful power for helpfulness and which saturates the reader with a dynamic realization and conviction of what it teaches. This is not a volume to be hurriedly or superficially read. It must be studied in order to gain the priceless wisdom which it contains. Therefore it is strongly urged that, after having been read through once or twice, it be given the slow, deep, deliberate study which has proved to be the profitable way with a work of this kind. Read it as though it were a message directed to none but yourself. Try to reason out each proposition to your own satisfaction and to get the spirit back of the words. Then apply its teachings to fit your own individual nature and understanding. During your perusal of these pages should any ideas occur to you concerning your work or ambitions, it is well to lay the book aside for a few moments and meditate upon them. Many profitable ideas have come to readers in this way. PART ONE - The Search I am master of my own destiny, and I can make my life anything I wish it to be. CHAPTER 1
Presuming
that there are many who are
just as skeptical concerning things
bordering on the extraordinary as I
have been practically all of my life,
I offer the following story and
system of practice to each reader for what it is worth, with the
suggestion that he take it or leave it, just as he sees fit.
It
was Saturday afternoon and I had
returned from a late lunch. The help had
left for the day and I was alone. My business
had dropped off considerably of late and while conditions were
not alarming, yet they were sufficient to cause me some concern.
Then again, I had recently indulged in some real estate speculation
which had not proved successful. Taking
it all in all, it was not a
very cheerful outlook. In fact the most serious
problem of my business career was up for solution.
Sitting
there in
deep thought in an effort to discover a way out, I was aroused by
the telephone bell. Placing the receiver to my ear I was
startled at hearing the familiar
voice of my old friend, David B____. It
required no great stretch of the imagination to believe it a
voice from the dead, for less
than a month before he had left for
Europe on the urgent advice of
his physician to take an ocean
voyage, preferably, but get away
somewhere, in the hope that a change
would effect an improvement in his condition, which was a serious
breakdown, due to worry over conditions which, strangely,
were similar to what I was now experiencing.
As he
spoke, his
voice carried such striking power and feeling that I was reminded of my
last impression of Dave as we sorrowfully parted with
him, a miserable shadow of his
former self, and we questioned as to whether we would
ever see him again. But here he was
back again, and surely some great
change had taken place in him. Remarking that a miracle
must have happened, he assured me that I had guessed about right,
adding, “Tom, I know that you are puzzled over my early
return and I also know that you never expected to see me again.
But I’m back and I’m the luckiest man in the world, for I
learned something that I never knew existed. Tom, nothing is impossible
with me any more, for I can do anything. I am master
of my own destiny and I can make my life
anything that I wish it to be.
“Oh, don’t
think
I’m crazy. Wait until you hear
my story.” Feigning a laugh to cover my serious curiosity,
I remarked that he must have stumbled
over some newfangled religion. To
which he replied, “On the contrary, it concerns
no religion of any kind or of anybody. You see, I met
a Master. A wonderful man who has so developed his
powers that he can do anything,
and he taught me a secret that no price could ever
buy. You know that I lost my health and I lost my wealth. Well, I have
regained my health and I will have the wealth in no time. Oh, it’s a
strange story.” Of course I became excited to see him at once and when
to his inquiry about the club I replied that there were no changes, he
hung up after saying, “Meet me there at 9:00
tonight and I will unfold a
series of the most remarkable and
fortunate happenings that could fall
to the lot of any man.”
I sat there unmoved for some minutes like a man in a dream, so
completely absorbed had I become in
the remarkable recital. Upon recovering myself I became
possessed of the feeling that I had suddenly grown too big for the
office. That I had outgrown that little place. I must get outside and
expand in the fresh air. Feverish with excitement, I put on my hat and
stepped out. Feeling that there was something wonderful
for me in his story, I was
seized with an uncontrollable desire to hear it at once. I
turned in the direction of his office, but recalling that
he was no longer there, was forced to
wait until evening. The remainder
of that day was spent in restlessly
pacing the streets and I was
greatly relieved when the hour to go to the
club arrived. Having resolved to get Dave away where we would not be disturbed, I entered and stepped quickly to the desk, only to be informed that he had telephoned some time before to tell me that he had been called away and would be back the following evening. Trying to conceal my disappointment and feelings, I turned quickly and was greeted by three friends who had seen him, and each was excitedly trying to tell me of the wonders that had taken place. Miserable and disconsolate, I broke away from them without uttering a word, walked out into the night and home. Too agitated for sleep, the greater part of the night was passed in restless confusion. Assailed by the most illogical thoughts, I decided that the whole thing was a myth, conjured up in a mind weakened as the result of affliction. How utterly ridiculous to allow myself to become upset by such a fairy tale. But no, somehow the thing would not down, but kept forcing itself upon me, until in desperation I tried to console myself with the assurance that I would at any cost learn the truth or falsity of the whole matter the next day. CHAPTER 2 Following instructions which I had left at the club to be delivered to him immediately upon his return, Dave picked me up at my home in a new, high-priced car, and we drove out to a highway cafe. There, in a private dining-room, undisturbed by the presence of others, I had opportunity to study my old friend. Surely some miraculous change had taken place in him. His countenance glowed with health and vitality and his calm, poised bearing inspired wonderful admiration and confidence. But while I felt perfectly at ease in his company, I also felt the force of some presence in him that I could neither understand or describe. Whatever it was, it had the effect of putting one at ease and yet had the tendency to command respect for something one did not understand. While I felt greatly relieved after the excitement of the previous day, yet I found difficulty in concealing the emotions that surged up within me, for I felt satisfied and convinced that he had something that I sorely needed and I had the strangest fear lest something might occur even then to prevent my getting it. He
broke a momentary silence that seemed
hours to me by asking, “Tom, do I look any
different than the day I left?” I
had to admit that he was both
a revelation and a mystery to
me. He continued, “It was in a theatre in London that I met the
man, or the Master, as he is called, that I am deeply grateful for the
privilege of calling my friend. Tom, you didn’t know that I
left here determined to end it all. I had made such a mess of my
affairs. But I feared to live and I feared to die. I couldn’t
rest. To keep moving was my only relief. I guess I was what the world
would call a hopeless case.
“As
I look back upon that evening in London, how
well I now realize that my utter despondency
and the intense longing to find something
to relieve me drew me and my dear friend together. I had decided upon a
regular orchestra seat, but discovered that for some unexplainable
reason I had ordered a box and found myself seated
beside my friend. Extraordinary
happenings, such as this, occur
frequently to many of us and are
explained away, because of our ignorance, as
merely coincidences. But I know differently now.
“I could feel that my uneasiness attracted his attention. The wonderful radiance of his countenance assured me that he was an unusual personage and I felt an instinctive urge to open my heart to him. The remark, ‘I am sorely troubled,’ uttered by a character upon the stage started our acquaintance. I replied ‘so am I,’ in just a whisper, but my friend heard it and turning to me he asked, ‘are you troubled?’ I nodded my head in response and you may believe me or not, but almost immediately I was at ease. Something seemed to tell me that I had the good fortune of being in the presence of one of those great spiritual people of whom I had read quite a bit in earlier years. “I felt convinced that I had met my deliverer, and at the close of the performance was overjoyed at his invitation to accompany him to a nearby cafe. I noticed that the attention of those in the cafe was drawn toward him as we entered and that the management was noticeably respectful and courteous toward him. Having convinced myself that this man possessed some sort of magical power, I determined to ask him all the questions that I could think of and with his permission make notes of his answers. “Learning that he was taking a steamer for New York the next day, I asked if I might accompany him, to which he assented. At the conclusion of our talk I observed that he merely wrote his initials on the bill and as we stepped outside to call a cab. I questioned him regarding this and he admitted that he was not known there, as this was his first visit to the place, but he assured me that they would be paid, adding, ‘I did this to show you that man in his right domain controls every situation.’ I was still puzzled, but carried the subject no further, hoping that it would all be made plain to me later. “That
night,
as I lay in a doze, the events of the
evening kept passing through my mind and at times I found difficulty in
realizing that my good fortune was real, rather than the illusion of a
dream. That night I had the first peaceful sleep in
months.”
A Classic Tale of Wealth, Wisdom, & the Secret of Success " by John McDonald Order in Adobe PDF eBook or printed form for $5.95 (+ printing charge) or click here to order from Amazon.com for $8.95 |