TO OBTAIN the greatest value from the following Lesson, it is necessary to apply it to the child’s own life, and to every problem and incident whereby it can be used as an illustration.

For example, should the child complain about unpleasant things or conditions, show it by referring to the Lesson that such things are but mirrors created by and reflecting its own thoughts. If it thinks vile, repulsive, or wicked things, liken it to the “veil” in the story and help it to “lift” this veil of appearances and see the real underneath.

Since the child will readily understand this, and in turn may point out such things that you, yourself, may be looking through a similar veil, or that your own mind is cluttered with un-Godlike thoughts, you must welcome and abide by the child’s rebuke.

If this is conscientiously and sincerely done by both the parent and the child, each helping the other, rapid and surprising progress will be made by both, and a better understanding and companionship established between them.

“MOTHER,” said Colombe one day, “You promised an interesting game with ‘Live Dolls’ to show me how it happens that people can do mean things, when God, Who is Good, is making them go.”

“Very well,” answered Mother, “we’ll clear off the dressing table and pretend that it is the ‘Live Dolls’ world. Now, put one doll on each of your hands. We will again pretend that you are God and have just made the two ‘Live Dolls,’ whom we will call Adam and Eve. You make them move and I’ll tell you what they are saying and thinking.”

“Alright, Adam, you now have a soul,” laughed Colombe as she thrust her hand into the boy doll. “You, too, Eve,” she said to the girl doll, as she began to make them move about on the table before the mirror.

“Now,” said Mother, “long ago you and I, and all the people on earth, knew that we were all a part of God and of each other—just like your hand-dolls are a part of you and of each other; and that we lived in a mirror-world like the one your dolls are now looking into. We then knew that what we saw in our mirror-world was merely our own reflections, or the way our minds saw ourselves then. We knew that when we would smile our reflections in our mirror-world would smile happily with us, and when we would frown, they too would frown.

So let us pretend that the Adam and Eve dolls are we, as we were long ago before our real-selves lived in the many bodies they have had since—including the ones we are in now. We will now pretend that you are God, that your arms are their Higher Selves, your hands are their souls, your fingers are their minds, and that the dolls themselves are their souls’ real bodies. This mirror is their world, and their reflections in the mirror are their bodies as they look to the dolls. See, they are laughing gaily and playing before the mirror-world, just as we did long ago, and they are so happy to look into this mirror and see you, their God, just as we once enjoyed looking within the mirror-world of our minds and saw God in it moving us and each other about.

“Now let us pretend that a long time has gone by. Adam and Eve are still looking into their mirror-world, and nothing has changed except that each one has become more interested in seeing himself in the mirror than in seeing you, their God. They are so busy admiring themselves in the mirror that they do not even remember that they are a part of you and of each other; just as most of us have forgotten that we are a part of God and of each other. They now think their reflections are themselves, and many such foolish thoughts and beliefs are like rubbish in their minds, filling them up little by little, just like this (stuffing scraps of paper and cloth into the dolls’ hands, feet, and head-holes, making it hard for Colombe to manipulate the dolls as before).

“How funny they walk now,” laughed Colombe, “sort of stiff-legged! And I can’t make their arms go just the way I want them to.”

“No,” answered Mother, “and neither can God make us go the way He wants us to, when we’re all filled up with rubbishy thoughts. Now watch what happens as these dolls become more and more interested in and in love with their mirror-world, and care less and less about God (putting more paper and cloth into the dolls on Colombe’s hands). See, this stuffs them so full of rubbish that in Eve there is no longer room in her head for your thumb (so her head just wobbles any way it happens to flop), and there is not much room left in her body for your fingers. In Adam it is worse yet, for there remains barely room for one finger. Now try to make them go!”

“Why now they won’t do anything I want them to,” cried Colombe. “They just flop around and act silly!”

“And that’s the same way with people,” said Mother. “They stumble about doing foolish things, because they are so full of rubbishy beliefs that there is not enough room left in their minds for God’s thoughts to get in and move them as He wishes.”

“How can we get rid of the rubbish, Mother?” asked Colombe eagerly.

“By knowing that we are all parts of God, and by always thinking and acting in such knowledge. But we’ll tell more about that at another time. At present we are illustrating how there can apparently be hatred, meanness, and wrong-doing in the world, when God is moving everyone (as you are moving your dolls). You’ve already seen how the rubbish caused by their wrong thoughts, their interest in the mirror-world, and their forgetfulness of God, has made them stumble about foolishly. Well, instead of realizing that their own foolishness was making them stumble, each one blamed someone or something else. Eve says it’s not her fault that she was “born” with legs that wouldn’t walk right. ‘God made her that way, so He’s to blame!’ Now since all thoughts must make something, her ugly foolish thoughts caused a thin dark veil to wrap itself about her, like this (wrapping the doll in a thin dark piece of cloth). See! Her mirror-self now looks quite horrid, doesn’t it? Even though the real doll underneath is still the same? But Adam sees only its reflection in the mirror-world and thinks that the dark, queer-looking thing is the real Eve.”

“Oh, you horrid, ugly thing! Keep away from me!” he cries. “I don’t like you!” And this unloving thought makes for him a veil, too, so that his mirror-body looks dark and misshapen, and he sees his mirror-world also through a dark veil, which makes it look like this (placing before Colombe’s eyes a piece of the dark thin cloth)—all gloomy looking. And so Adam looks out through his dark veil and says the world is getting darker. He looks at Eve’s veil and calls her ugly. And of course such dark unloving thoughts causes the veil to become thicker and thicker, making the world seem still darker. The same thing happens to Eve; and because they (their minds) are so full of rubbish, the reflections, which they think are themselves, appear to them as distorted, sick and bad looking.

“Now this is as true of people as it is of the dolls. When we look out at our world through a dark veil of selfish, wrong and ugly thoughts, the world looks dark, wrong, and ugly. When we view others through a mean and hateful veil of thought, they seem to us mean and hateful. When we allow our minds to become all cluttered up with such rubbish—even though they seem to be just thoughts and beliefs—scraps of ‘cloth’ or ‘paper’—our bodies then appear to us as sick or crippled or diseased.

“So now you know that the answer to your question, ‘How can there be wrong in the world if God is doing everything,’ is that THERE REALLY IS NO WRONG EXCEPT, OUR THINKING MAKES IT SO. But we’ll explain more about this some other time.”

Questions.

1. Have we lived in other bodies besides this we are now in? How do you know?

2. What part of us is it that was happy long ago in the mirror-world?

3. How is the world we live in like a mirror?

4. When you are happy does your world seem happy too? Why?

5. Have you ever noticed that the people you love are nicer to you than those you dislike? Is that because they are reflecting, like a mirror, your thoughts and feelings?

6. Why can’t God move us just the way He wants to?

7. What sort of thoughts are like rubbish in our minds?

8. Are we a part of God? What makes us forget it? (Ans. Our giving all of our interest to our mirror-world.)

9. Should we blame others when things go wrong, or should we know it is our fault and try to get rid of the cause? What is the cause?

10. Why do things seem ugly, mean, or wrong to us? Whose fault is it?

11. Have you ever known someone whom you disliked at first, and then later came to love? What changed your feelings?

12. If we could remove the veil from ourselves, would everything look good to us? Why?

NOTE. Although this story can be read without actually illustrating it to the child—a much deeper impression and far greater interest can be created by the use of a mirror, and of two “Live Dolls” (patterns for making which the Sun Center will supply upon request), made from a few scraps of cloth and paper (some of which should be prettily colored), and a couple of pieces of thin dark silk, net or other sheer material.

S. B.

FORGET that which is part of me! How could I? Forget the very heart of me! Why should I, When Love is all of life? I could not if I would, Nor should I if I could; So why the futile strife?

Each vain attempt but serves to prove The everlasting bond of Love, And I am forced at length to see That I can never possibly Forget.

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