ARE YOU wearing invisible glasses? Not those small discs of carefully ground glass worn under the eyelids and over the eyeballs of such people with impaired vision who shrink from marring their physical attractiveness with old-fashioned spectacles. Whereas such glasses, while remaining entirely undetectable, correct and restore vision, the invisible glasses to which I refer distort, darken and confuse vision.

“But who would wear such ridiculous appendages?” I can hear you ask, and I can sense your incredulity at the answer: “Practically everyone. For to judge by the testimony of sense-perception is to judge imperfectly.”

To understand and prove this statement let us transport ourselves in imagination from the world which we see about us into the world of Soul, or Reality. There with the clarified vision of Soul we see a veritable Paradise of beauty and perfection. In awe and admiration we gaze about us, at this world of etherialized substance. Can it be that we have found the Garden of Eden? And these glorious Beings of Light moving through this Garden of Beauty? Are these our True Selves? From the almost blind- ing brilliance of these Great Ones and the radiance of their surroundings, we wonder if we have entered on to the Sun itself?

But as we watch, we see these Children of Light act in a fashion totally at variance with their true nobility. What causes these Beautiful Ones to act so queerly? What makes them regard one another with fear, distrust, suspicion? Why does one wonderful Being shrink back in hate and loathing at the approach of another beautiful Soul? And how bewildered, weary and beaten most of them seem, constantly putting their hands to their eyes or ears as though in pain. It is incredible! Is there no clue to this mystery—this living paradox?

As we are about to leave, completely baffled, we notice one of these Great Beings suddenly transfixed with an awesome Idea. Slowly, doubtfully, reluctantly—as though compelled against his will—he proceeds to remove from beneath his eyelids a pair of invisible glasses! Searching further he extracts from his ears a pair of tiny hidden ear-phones! Now looking about him, his eyes grow large with surprise, and his countenance radiates joy, relief, peace and gratitude unmeasured. His entire attitude now changes to one of deep love, trust and appreciation of his Fellow-Beings, though they still regard him with doubt and suspicion.

Asking ourselves what brought about this greatly transformed attitude, we pick up the discarded eye-discs and ear-phones as possible clues to the answer, and carefully place them in one eye and one ear, leaving the other free. Then, shutting the free eye and ear we now look out upon our lovely Sun World and listen to its loving voices. WHAT A SHOCK WE RECEIVE! HOW can one little eye-disc so warp, twist and darken everything in view! The bright, etherialized Garden has become gross, darkened matter! The grand and glorious Beings have shrunk into weazened, fretful humans—crippled, diseased, filthy! The sweet words of love and blessing are now transformed by the ear-phone into vile words of hate and anger! Quickly we close the afflicted eye and ear and opening our other ones instead, once again the scene becomes as we first saw it—bright, beautiful, perfect.

Now we understand and sympathize with these glorious Beings who look upon one another with such distrust. They must ALL be wearing the invisible glasses of sense-perception which distort every word and view, including that of their own body into the horrible images found ON THE GLASSES ALONE, and which also influence and involve their sense of touch, taste and smell! How thankful we are to discard the borrowed glasses and earphones and return again to everyday living.

Returning once again to our accustomed earth life, we are startled to realize that we ourselves have always worn these same hindrances. Resuming our routine activities we find our perception again dulled, befuddled and deceived. We cry aloud: “Father why cannot we rid ourselves of these wretched glasses and never wear them again?” “Child,” comes the answer, “for a short period in the Garden of Beauty you saw truly. That Garden is right here on this earth and you may live in it. But first you must realize that you have created the distortive lens of self. That this self is nourished and strengthened by you alone. That it can only be dissolved by a pure divine Impersonal Love which knows that no one else is to blame for the seeming imperfection: That your own distorted viewpoint through self’s invisible glasses alone is responsible for all seeming wrong in the world, yourself or in your fellowman!”

Therefore, I repeat, “Are you wearing invisible glasses?” Do you say that self is in all men and therefore you cannot be expected to take the sins of this world upon your back, for they, too, are to blame? If so, you are still looking through, and strengthening self’s invisible glasses, for even though your brother may also be wearing like glasses, how can that affect anyone but himself? Such an argument is as devoid of real logic as would be the statement that part of the cause for the world’s colored appearance when seen through red cellophane, was due to someone else also gazing through red cellophane at the same time! Or for a man blinded by cataract to blame his obscured vision of the world upon his brother’s poor eyesight! In these cases it is the spectator alone who is responsible for what he sees, and it rests upon him alone to remove such obstructions. It can therefore be seen how inconsistent it is to insist upon sharing the blame with others for how self’s distorting glasses and “sense-deceivers” are causing the world to appear to you!

Once you realize that you and you alone are completely responsible for everything which enters your consciousness, and for every person, thing, object or condition which you view as less than perfect; once you truly from your heart admit your guilt, freeing all others from blame for what you see, hear or feel; and then earnestly determine to allow LOVE to redeem your world by dissolving the lens of self now distorting it—then and then only will you have completely surrendered ALL to the Father; then and only then will you be able to abide continually in the Highest Realm of His Kingdom; then and then only will you be able to really help from His Consciousness your now Angel-Brothers to remove the glasses distorting their world.

“WITH your natural eyes you look upon the body of flesh while the Angels with their Spiritual eyes, look not upon the material body but upon the Soul—on Love and Goodness . . . If you had the Spiritual vision of an Angel, you would not look for the material form of the flesh; but for the form of the Soul in its lofty goodness. It would appear to your Spiritual vision in all its symmetrical elegance and pure grace, with its polished radiance and refinement, grown into this magnificent loveliness according to its virtue and goodness. The selfish man looks into the world as he looks into his mirror; only to see himself.” —J. C. Street.

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