I have already suggested to you that the entire question of karma is as yet imperfectly comprehended. A great Law of Cause and Effect exists, but one particular aspect of it has never been emphasized, and the knowledge of humanity on the subject of karma is very elementary. Karma has always been interpreted in terms of disaster, and consequences that are painful, of error, of penalty, and of evil happenings, both for the individual and for the group. Yet, such is the beauty of human nature, and much that is done is of such a fine quality and so selfless and so happily oriented, that the evil is frequently offset by the good. There is everywhere, little as it may be realized, an abundance of good karma of a potency (under the same Law) equal to that which is regarded as bad. Of this, small mention is ever made. This good karma brings into activity forces which may work out as healing energies in any specific case. Upon these energies for good, which have been earned and are operating, the healer can always count. This is my first point. Ponder upon it.

Karma is a determining factor, but unless a healer is an advanced initiate and so able to work effectively and intelligently on the causal levels whereon souls dwell, it is impossible for him to decide whether any specific case will yield to healing treatment or not. Therefore, the healer or practicing disciple assumes in his mind the possibility of cure (which may be possible or not) and of the patient's good karma, and proceeds to apply all possible aid. This is my second point.

My third point is to suggest to you and to all engaged in the healing art that much of the so-called disaster, involved in disease and in death (particularly the latter) is to be found in a wrong attitude toward death, and to an [350] over-estimation of the beneficence of form life. The release of a soul through disease and death is not necessarily an unhappy occurrence. A new and better attitude to the phenomenon of death is essential, is possible and near. Upon this I need not here enlarge. But I do seek to give you a new slant on the subject of sickness and of death.

As regards the lengthening of the span of life during the past century of scientific attainment, I would point out that true techniques and the possibilities of organized soul action are always parodied and falsely demonstrated on the physical plane by the earlier scientific activities which are right in motive but which are only a symbol, on the outer sphere of life, of coming and usually future soul action. The life span will eventually be shortened or lengthened at will by souls who consciously serve, and use the mechanism of the body as the instrument whereby the Plan is served. Frequently, today, lives are preserved in form - both in old age and in infancy - that could be well permitted liberation. They serve no useful purpose and cause much pain and suffering to forms which nature (left to herself) would not long use, and would extinguish. Note that word. Through our over-emphasis on the value of form [351] life, and through the universal fear of death - that great transition which we must all face - and through our uncertainty as to the fact of immortality, and also through our deep attachment to form, we arrest the natural processes and hold the life, which is struggling to be free, confined to bodies quite unfitted to the purposes of the soul. Misunderstand me not. I desire to say naught that could place a premium on suicide. But I do say, and I say with emphasis, that the Law of Karma is oft set aside when form are preserved in coherent expression which should be discarded, for they serve no useful purpose. This preservation is, in the majority of cases, enforced by the subject's group and not by the subject himself - frequently an unconscious invalid, an old person whose response apparatus of contact and response is imperfect, or a baby who is not normal. These cases constitute definite instances of an offsetting of the Law of Karma.

In conclusion, however, and in apparent but no real negation of all that I have said above, let me repeat that the healer will give of his best to the one he seeks to heal. Having no clairvoyant power in the majority of cases, and being time-conscious and under the influence of karma, he will do his utmost along the lines of his own training and in accordance with the instructions given in this treatise [352] on healing. I suggest that you grasp that the objective before any healer at this time and at this given point in the evolutionary unfoldment of the race is the need, when so asked, to aid in the bringing about of health to the body and its sustained experience in life. You need also to realize that much that is believed, accepted and taught by the metaphysicians today is based on wrong premises, such as the nature of matter, the time equation, the value of form existence, and the fear of death. Seek to eliminate these attitudes from your consciousness, and you will arrive at a truer perspective as to the healing art.

No request for real aid must ever be refused, however. A deaf ear must not be turned to trouble, either physical, mental or psychological. But I would call to your attention the fact that success in healing may not always mean release from disease and the so-called physical cure of the patient. It might simply involve, if physically successful, the postponement of the plan of the soul for the person. Success might mean the correction of wrong inner attitudes, of erroneous lines of thought, and at the same time leave the physical body as it was. It might mean the placing of the patient (through wise teaching and patience) en rapport with his soul and the consequent reorienting of the life to the eternal verities. It might consist in the proper preparation of the person for the tremendous purpose which we call Death, and thus bring about the relief of pain in this way. [353]

The whole science of healing will shift eventually and increasingly into the realm of preventive medicine and the psychological adjustment of the individual within his group, and the providing of right living conditions, correct dieting and housing for the peoples. That, however, takes much time, and whilst the race is on its way to the newer modes of living, with their resultant effects of better health and a more correct comprehension of the laws of health, all who stand in the world as magnetic centers must proceed, according to the light that is in them, to work with people, in order to help them, to heal them, and to aid them in making needed adjustments. Nothing should stop your service along this line, not even the realization of limitation and of ignorance. Do all you can to encourage and to sympathize, to point out undesirable attitudes, to end wrong ways of living, and change poor modes of psychological expression as far as you see them and to the best of your ability. Remember, nevertheless, that your best way may be far short of your future capacities, and remain ready ever to change your point of view when a higher and a better way is presented to you. Above everything else in life, give to all who seek your aid the fullest measure of love, for love releases, love adjusts and interprets, and love heals, on all three planes.