11釋放你的想像力

Your life is governed by law - by actual, immutable principles that never vary. Law is in operation at all times; in all places. Fixed laws underlie all human actions. For this reason, men who control giant industries are enabled to determine with absolute precision just what percentage of every hundred thousand people will respond to any given set of conditions. 真實存在的恆定法則統治你的生命，無論何時、何地，它的運作永不停歇。恆定法則是人類所有行為的基礎，因為如此，那些掌控龐大事業體的企業家才有能耐帶著絕對的精準度，在任何既定情況下判斷每十萬人中有多少百分比的人會做出某種特定回應。

It is well, however, to remember that while every effect is the result of a cause, the effect in turn becomes a cause, which creates other effects, which in turn create still other causes; so that when you put the law of attraction into operation you must remember that you are starting a train of causation for good or otherwise which may have endless possibilities. 不過請千萬記住，無論是哪一種「果」，總是會有相應的「因」；而且這個「果」會再反過來變成「因」，從而導致下一個「果」，並繼續讓這些「果」再度演變成另一個「因」。所以，當你要開始運用吸引力法則時請務必記住，當下你正在啟動一長串的因果關係鏈，它可能會產生理想結果，但也可能出現其他各種不勝枚舉的可能性。

We frequently hear it said, "A very distressing situation came into my life, which could not have been the result of my thought, as I certainly never entertained any thought which could have such a result." We fail to remember that like attracts like in the mental world, and that the thought which we entertain brings to us certain friendships, companionships of a particular kind, and these in turn bring about conditions and environment, which in turn are responsible for the conditions of which we complain. 我們時不時會聽到別人這樣講：「現在我的生活真是一團糟，一點都不是當初想像的景況。」我們都忘了，正如心靈世界裡「同類相吸」的特性，我們的思想會為我們帶來同性質的友誼和情分，這些關係接著會影響到日後的境遇和環境，然後它們又都會反過來成為我們抱怨當下生活的緣由。

PART ELEVEN

1. Inductive reasoning is the process of the objective mind by which we compare a number of separate instances with one another until we see the common factor that gives rise to them all. 歸納推理是客觀心智能力之一，我們得相互比較許多獨立的事例，然後從中梳理出引發它們的共同原因。
2. Induction proceeds by comparison of facts; it is this method of studying nature which has resulted in the discovery of a reign of law which has marked an epoch in human progress. 歸納法就是相互比較的過程，人類正是善用這套研究方法才得以發現大自然的統治法則，它象徵人類歷史劃時代的進步。
3. It is the dividing line between superstition and intelligence; it has eliminated the elements of uncertainty and caprice from men's lives and substituted law, reason, and certitude. 歸納法也是迷信與智慧的分際線，以法則和確定性去替代、消除人類生命中各種變化多端的元素。
4. It is the "Watchman at the Gate" mentioned in a former lesson. 這正是前面課程提到的「城門守護人」
5. When, by virtue of this principle, the world to which the senses were accustomed had been revolutionized; when the sun had been arrested in his course, the apparently flat earth had been shaped into a ball and set whirling around him; when the inert matter had been resolved into active elements, and the universe presented itself wherever we directed the telescope and microscope, full of force, motion and life; we are constrained to ask by what possible means the delicate forms of organization in the midst of it are kept in order and repair. 瞭解這個原理之後，人類原本習以為常的世界發生了革命性的巨變 —— 人們發現太陽其實是靜止不動的，原本認為扁平狀的地球其實是圍繞著太陽運行的球體；人們發現從惰性物質中可以分解出活性分子；人們發現當我們使用望遠鏡或顯微鏡，無論是浩瀚宇宙或是細小的角落，觸目所及之處都充滿了宇宙的力量、動能與生命力，我們不禁想問：「究竟是什麼手段和方法，能使這精細的宇宙型態中的物體井然有序、自我修正？」
6. Like poles and like forces repel themselves or remain impenetrable to each other, and this cause seems in general sufficient to assign a proper place and distance to stars, men and forces. As men of different virtues enter into partnership, so do opposite poles attract each other, elements that have no property in common like acids and gases cling to each other in preference and a general exchange is kept up between the surplus and the demand. 正如磁力「同性相斥，異性相吸」的特性，這種特性會使相同的磁極互相排斥、無法接近，這種現象便足以說明，為何星球之間、人際之間，兩道力量之間總是會彼此保持一定的距離；反之，正如異性相吸、酸鹼中和、供需互補的道理，性情不同、才能相異的人多半可以相互吸引、互補有無。
7. As the eye seeks and receives satisfaction from colors complementary to those which are given, so does need, want and desire, in the largest sense, induce, guide and determine action. 我們的雙眼四處梭巡後歡喜接受的顏色，多半是和當前色彩互補的顏色。同理，我們的需求、嚮往與渴望通常也都是依循著這個模式引導、決定自身的行為。
8. It is our privilege to become conscious of the principle and act in accordance with it. Cuvier sees a tooth belonging to an extinct race of animals. This tooth wants a body for the performance of its function, and it defines the peculiar body it stands in need of with such precision that Cuvier is able to reconstruct the frame of this animal. 得以明白這套原則並據此行事，可說是老天對人類的厚愛。法國古生物與比較解剖學家喬治．居維葉（Georges Cuvier）在一頭已經絕種的動物骸體中看到一顆牙齒，進而從中發現，這顆牙齒為了善盡自身功能，需要牠的全身骨架與肌肉與之互相匹配。正是這顆牙齒讓居維葉有了依據可以重建這隻絕種動物的骨架。
9. Perturbations are observed in the motion of Uranus. Leverrier needs another star at a certain place to keep the solar system in order, and Neptune appears in the place and hour appointed. 法國數學家奧本．尚．約瑟夫．勒威耶（Urbain Jean Joseph Le Verrier）觀察到，天王星的運動軌道偏離，因此需要在太陽系的某個確定位置中找到另一顆行星，以便維繫太陽系運行的秩序，海王星因而出現在預定的時間和地點。
10. The instinctive wants of the animal and the intellectual wants of Cuvier, the wants of nature and of the mind of Leverrier were alike, and thus the results; here the thoughts of an existence, there an existence. A well-defined lawful want, therefore, furnishes the reason for the more complex operations of nature. 不管是動物的本能需求，或是居維葉在知識上的渴望，其本質是類似的，因此有了上述結果。思想出現在哪裡，存在就會在那裡。大自然複雜的運行之道背後，必定存在著符合法則的正當需求與意念。
11. Having recorded correctly the answers furnished by nature and stretched our senses with the growing science over her surface; having joined hands with the levers that move the earth; we become conscious of such a close, varied and deep contact with the world without, that our wants and purposes become no less identified with the harmonious operations of this vast organization, than the life, liberty, and happiness of the citizen is identified with the existence of his government. 當我們正確地記錄大自然提供的答案，藉由日新月異、無邊無際的科學發展，並懂得善用推動地球運轉的槓桿時，我們意識到自身與外在世界之間，存在著如此緊密、多變、深入的聯繫關係，我們瞭解到自己的需求與目的，與宏大的宇宙運行息息相關，就和公民的生命、自由、幸福全繫於政府存在一樣。
12. As the interests of the individual are protected by the arms of the country, added to his own; and his needs may depend upon certain supply in the degree that they are felt more universally and steadily; in the same manner does conscious citizenship in the Republic of nature secure us from the annoyances of subordinate agents by alliance with superior powers; and by appeal to the fundamental laws of resistance or inducement offered to mechanical or chemical agents, distribute the labor to be performed between them and man to the best advantage of the inventor. 個人利益是由國家力量加上自身力量維護，因此他的需求在某種程度上取決於一定程度的供應量是否普遍、穩定。同理，「大自然共和國」自發自覺的公民也會與更崇高的力量結盟，進而保護我們無須受到低層介質干擾煩憂。大自然訴諸於阻力物理、化學介質之間相互吸引或排斥的基本法則，合理分配人類與外部世界之間相互作用所需要的勞動力，以便最妥善地實現創造者的意圖。
13. If Plato could have witnessed the pictures executed by the sun with the assistance of the photographer, or a hundred similar illustrations of what man does by induction, he would perhaps have been reminded of the intellectual midwifery of his master and, in his own mind might have arisen the vision of a land where all manual, mechanical labor and repetition is assigned to the power of nature, where our wants are satisfied by purely mental operations set in motion by the will, and where the supply is created by the demand. 倘若古希臘哲學家柏拉圖可以借力攝影師的作品觀察太陽工作的場景，或是善用歸納法思考出一百幅類似的畫面，或許就能回想起其導師所傳授的智慧雋語，而且他的心中可能還能夠描繪出一幅樂土願景──在這塊樂土中，所有人工、機械式的勞力和重複性的工作都指派給大自然的力量完成，至於自我的渴望，只需要啟動意念，再加上推動精神運作就可以完成。只要有需求，就有足夠的供給。
14. However distant that land may appear, induction has taught men to make strides toward it and has surrounded him with benefits which are, at the same time, rewards for past fidelity and incentives for more assiduous devotion. 無論這個境界看似多麼遙遠，在歸納法的引領下，人類大步前進，並獲得各種好處的反饋，這些好處一方面可說是回報過往的忠誠表現，另一方面則是激勵未來繼續勤懇耕耘。
15. It is also an aid in concentrating and strengthening our faculties for the remaining part, giving unerring solution for individual as well as universal problems, by the mere operations of mind in the purest form. 它也有助我們集中、增強自身能耐，獲取那些尚待採擷的成果；更有助我們發揮心靈最純粹的形式，以便找到解決個人和宇宙一切問題的答案。
16. Here we find a method, the spirit of which is, to believe that what is sought has been accomplished, in order to accomplish it: a method, bequeathed upon us by the same Plato who, outside of this sphere, could never find how the ideas became realities. 我們在此找到一個方法，其中的核心精神便是：「不論要實現什麼，首先要相信自己已經實現了想要追求的那個目標。」這個方法是柏拉圖遺愛人間的寶貴資產，這位作古多年的賢者恐怕萬萬想不到他的理念竟會成真。
17. This conception is also elaborated by Swedenborg in his doctrine of correspondences; and a still greater teacher has said, "What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them." (Mark 11:24) The difference of the tenses in this passage is remarkable. 通行靈界的瑞典科學家伊曼紐．史威登堡（Emanuel Swedenborg）在他的學說裡也詳加闡述這個理念；此外，另一個地位更崇隆的導師也曾說過：「凡你們禱告祈求的，無論是什麼，只要信是得著的，就必得著。」（編按：《聖經》馬可福音 11：24）值得留意的是，這段話各段落使用的時態是現在式。
18. We are first to believe that our desire has already been fulfilled, its accomplishment will then follow. This is a concise direction for making use of the creative power of thought by impressing on the Universal subjective mind, the particular thing which we desire as an already existing fact. 首先我們得相信，自身的渴望已經實現，如此就必然會看到渴望實現。若想善用創造性能量，可依循一條明確的路徑，那就是把我們渴望的某一項特定事物視為已經存在的事實，令它在宇宙主觀心智裡烙下印記。
19. We are thus thinking on the plane of the absolute and eliminating all consideration of conditions or limitation and are planting a seed which, if left undisturbed, will finally germinate into external fruition. 如此一來，我們就可以立足絕對的角度，跳脫表象去深入思考，並消除一切關於條件或限制的顧慮；我們也就是在土壤中種下一顆種籽，只要不揠苗助長，終有一天它會發芽長大，結出外觀碩大的果實。
20. To review: Inductive reasoning is the process of the objective mind, by which we compare a number of separate instances with one another until we see the common factor that gives rise to them all. We see people in every civilized country on the globe, securing results by some process which they do not seem to understand themselves, and to which they usually attach more or less mystery. Our reason is given to us for the purpose of ascertaining the law by which these results are accomplished. 複習一下：歸納推理是客觀心智運作的過程，我們得相互比較許多各自獨立的事例，然後從中梳理出引發它們的共同原因。我們目睹，地球上每一個文明國家中的人民都是透過某種方式獲取成果，但他們自己卻渾然不覺，因而常常為這些成果添加上一些神話色彩。我們打算找出箇中原因，目的就是探求這個能夠使結果得以實現的法則。
21. The operation of this thought process is seen in those fortunate natures that possess everything that others must acquire by toil, who never have a struggle with conscience because they always act correctly, and can never conduct themselves otherwise than with tact, learn everything easily, complete everything they begin with a happy knack, live in eternal harmony with themselves, without ever reflecting much what they do, or ever experiencing difficulty or toil. 我們可以從少數幸運兒身上目睹這套思考進程如何進行，因為他們不費吹灰之力就能得到其他人必須千辛萬苦才得到的成就；他們總是走在正確道路上，因此從來不需要在內心自我交戰；他們總是圓融機智，因此行為舉止總是發乎情、止乎禮；他們學習總是輕而易舉；無論投身什麼事業總能很快就上手；與自身保持著一貫和諧，從來毋須反思自身作為，也不必備受困難或辛勞考驗。
22. The fruit of this thought is, as it were, a gift of the gods, but a gift which few as yet realize, appreciate, or understand. The recognition of the marvelous power which is possessed by the mind under proper conditions and the fact that this power can be utilized, directed, and made available for the solution of every human problem is of transcendental importance. 這種思想產出的果實確實是上帝恩賜，但鮮少人意識、領悟並珍視這項恩賜。人類的心智唯獨在天時、地利、人和俱足的條件下才能擁有這股神奇的力量，並用以引導協助解決人類的所有問題。因此，認識這股力量並明白這項事實，對人類而言具備極重要的意義。
23. All truth is the same, whether stated in modern scientific terms or in the language of apostolic times. There are timid souls who fail to realize that the very completeness of truth requires various statement -- that no one human formula will show every side of it. 無論是套用現代的科學術語闡述，或是端出使徒時代的語言解釋，所有真理的本質從未或變。有些人就是拉不下臉承認：要完整地描述真理，其實需要不同的陳述。也就是說，沒有任何一條人類公式，可以表述真理的完整面向。
24. Changing, emphasis, new language, novel interpretations, unfamiliar perspectives, are not, as some suppose, signs of departure from truth but on the contrary, they are evidence that the truth is being apprehended in new relations to human needs, and is becoming more generally understood. 人們只要聽到與他們所認知的真理不同的新穎闡述或陌生觀點，就會認為這些背離了真理。事實並非如此，這顯示真理與人類的需求之間正在重塑新關係，而真理正漸漸為外界理解，也越來越廣為人知。
25. The truth must be told to each generation and to every people in new and different terms, so that when the Great Teacher said -- "Believe that ye receive and ye shall receive" or, when Paul said -- "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" or, when modern science says -- "The law of attraction is the law by which thought correlates with its object", each statement when subjected to analysis, is found to contain exactly the same truth. The only difference being in the form of presentation. 要將真理傳遞給不同時代、告訴不同人時，需要使用迥異於前的表達方式。正如偉大的導師所說的：「凡你們禱告祈求的，無論是什麼，只要信是得著的，就必得著。」或是使徒保羅所指出的：「信，是對所盼望的事有把握，對看不見的事有確據。」（編按：《聖經》希伯來書 11：1）也或者是現代科學闡明的道理：「吸引力法則就是聯繫思想與目標的法則。」當你深入研究分析每一種說法，就會發現其中都蘊含相同的真理，唯一差異就是表達方式各有不同。
26. We are standing on the threshold of a new era. The time has arrived when man has learned the secrets of mastery and the way is being prepared for a new social order, more wonderful than anything every heretofore dreamed of. The conflict of modern science with theology, the study of comparative religions, the tremendous power of new social movements, all of these are but clearing the way for the new order. They may have destroyed traditional forms which have become antiquated and impotent, but nothing of value has been lost. 我們正置身新時代的十字路口。人類已經掌握了控制權的奧祕，邁向嶄新社會秩序的道路已然鋪平。此際正是採取行動的最佳時刻。現代科學和神學之間互有衝突、比較宗教學研究崛起、新型態社會運動蓄積巨大能量，所有這一切都在為即將到來的新秩序掃清路障，它們也許在過程中摧毀了一些傳統中陳舊迂腐的形式，卻保存其中的精華部分。
27. A new faith has been born, a faith which demands a new form of expression, and this faith is taking form in a deep consciousness of power which is being manifested, in the present spiritual activity found on every hand. 一個全新信仰已然誕生，它正召喚全新的表達形式，而且這種信仰需要我們透過靈性活動，獲得對力量的深入領會，以便讓它化為實體。
28. The spirit which sleeps in the mineral, breathes in the vegetable, moves in the animal and reaches its highest development in man is the Universal Mind, and it behooves us to span the gulf between being and doing, theory and practice, by demonstrating our understanding of the dominion which we have been given. 這股精神原本休眠於礦物質中、呼吸於植蔬中、運行於動物體內，並在人類心靈中攀抵高峰，它就是宇宙心智，使我們得以跨越「存在」與「行為」、「理論」與「實踐」之間的鴻溝，而方法就是充分理解上天所賦予自己的掌控權。
29. By far the greatest discovery of all the centuries is the power of thought. The importance of this discovery has been a little slow in reaching the general consciousness, but it has arrived, and already in every field of research the importance of this greatest of all great discoveries is being demonstrated. 自古至今，有史以來最偉大的發現就是思想的力量。儘管這項重要發現尚未達成普遍共識，但正在被所有人理解並接納，而且也已經在每一門研究領域中日益彰顯。
30. You ask in what does the creative power of thought consist? It consists in creating ideas, and these in turn objectify themselves by appropriating, inventing, observing, discerning, discovering, analyzing, ruling, governing, combining, and applying matter and force. It can do this because it is an intelligent creative power. 於是你想問：「思想的創造力是由什麼物質組成的？」答案是具有創造性的理念，它們會反過來調撥、發明、觀察、辨識、發現、分析、控制、管理、結合諸多手段與力量。之所以具有上述能耐，全是因為思想是一種富有智慧的創造力。
31. Thought reaches its loftiest activity when plunged into its own mysterious depth; when it breaks through the narrow compass of self and passes from truth to truth to the region of eternal light, where all which is, was or ever will be, melt into one grand harmony. 當我們遁入思想的神祕國度，它的最崇高活力也就隨之迸發；當思想衝破自我局限的藩籬，通過一道又一道真理試煉，就會進入永恆之光的領域。在此，所有當下、過往與未來的事物都將交融為莊嚴和諧的整體。
32. From this process of self contemplation comes inspiration which is creative intelligence, and which is undeniably superior to every element, force or law of nature, because it can understand, modify, govern and apply them to its own ends and purposes and therefore possess them. 從這個自我沉思的過程出發，具有創造能力的智慧將因而誕生，它能超越任何元素、力量或法則，因為它能領悟、管理並運用各種元素、力量或法則來實現目標，也因此，它終將得以擁有一切。
33. Wisdom begins with the dawn of reason, and reason is but an understanding of the knowledge and principles whereby we may know the true meaning of things. Wisdom, then, is illuminated reason, and this wisdom leads to humility, for humility is a large part of Wisdom. 智慧誕生於理性萌芽之際，理性不過是我們深入瞭解事物本質的知識和原理所獲得的領悟。因此，智慧是經過闡明的理性，這種智慧有能力引導人類走向謙卑，因為謙卑便是集智慧之大成。
34. We all know many who have achieved the seemingly impossible, who have realized life-long dreams, who have changed everything including themselves. We have sometimes marveled at the demonstration of an apparently irresistible power, which seemed to be ever available just when it was most needed, but it is all clear now. All that is required is an understanding of certain definite fundamental principles and their proper application. 我們都知道，有許多人實現看似不可能達成的成就，也有許多人實現自己一生渴望的夢想，更有許多人改變包括自己在內的萬事萬物──他們的成功就是這股無堅不摧，而且有求必應的宇宙力量的彰顯。過去我們因為不瞭解而將之視為奇蹟，但如今一切都明朗了，我們應該付諸行動的就是，領會那些明確無誤的基本法則，然後合情合理地善用它們。
35. 【本週練習】For your exercise this week, concentrate on the quotation taken from the Bible, "Whatsoever things ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them and ye shall have them"; notice that there is no limitation, "Whatsoever things" is very definite and implies that the only limitation which is placed upon us in our ability to think, to be equal to the occasion, to rise to the emergency, to remember that Faith is not a shadow, but a substance, "the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." 本週，你的作業就是體悟這句《聖經》中的智慧語錄：「凡你們禱告祈求的，無論是什麼，只要信是得著的，就必得著。」請留意，這句話點明沒有任何限制，所謂「無論是什麼」就已經說得非常明確，而且也充分表明，唯一限制自身能力的元素就是我們是否有能力掌握思想、把握機會、應對一切情況。請謹記，信念不是若隱若現的陰影，而是真切的實際存在，「信是對所盼望的事有把握，對看不見的事有確據。」

“Death is but the natural process whereby all material forms are thrown into the crucible for reproduction in fresh diversity.” 「死亡是個自然過程，個人的物質型態被重新投入宇宙熔爐，以產生更活力多樣的生命。」

PART ELEVEN Study Questions with Answers

1. What is inductive reasoning? The process of the objective mind by which we compare a number of separate instances with each other until we see the common factor which gives rise to them all. Q1：何謂「歸納推理」？A：「歸納推理」是客觀心智運作的過程，我們相互比較把許多獨立的事例，然後從中梳理出引發它們的共同原因。
2. What has this method of studying accomplished? It has resulted in the discovery of a reign of law which has marked an epoch in human progress. Q2：這種學習方法，帶來了那些結果？A：我們得以發現大自然的統治法則，它象徵人類歷史劃時代的進步。
3. What is it that guides and determines action? It is need, want and desire which in the largest sense induce, guide and determine action. Q3：什麼力量指導、決定一個人的行動？A：一個人的需求、嚮往與渴望會引導、決定一個人的行為。
4. What is the formula for the unerring solution of every individual problem? We are to believe that our desire has already been fulfilled; its accomplishment will then follow. Q4：任何問題最適當的解決方案是什麼？A：我們要先相信自身的願望已經實現，這樣它就會真的實現。
5. What great Teachers advocated it? Jesus, Plato, Swedenborg. Q5：哪些偉大導師主張這個方法？A：耶穌、柏拉圖、瑞典科學家史威登堡都主張這樣的方法。
6. What is the result of this thought process? We are thinking on the plane of the absolute and planting a seed, which if left undisturbed will germinate into fruition. Q6：這個思考過程能帶來何種結果？A：我們立足絕對角度深入思考，並在土壤中種下一顆種籽，只要不揠苗助長，終有一天它會發芽長大。
7. Why is it scientifically exact? Because it is Natural Law. Q7：為何這個思想過程在科學上準確無誤？A：因為它就是自然法則。
8. What is Faith? "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things unseen." 109. What is the Law of Attraction? The Law by which Faith is brought into manifestation. Q8：何謂信仰？A：「信，是對所盼望的事有把握，對看不見的事有確據。」
9. What importance do you attach to an understanding of this law? It has eliminated the elements of uncertainty and caprice from men's lives and substituted law, reason, and certitude. Q9：何謂「吸引力法則」？A：讓所信之事化為有形實體。
10. What importance do you attach to an understanding of this law? It has eliminated the elements of uncertainty and caprice from men's lives and substituted law, reason, and certitude. Q10：瞭解「吸引力法則」對一個人有什麼重要性？A：它可以消除人生中各種不確定性與無常，並以法則、理性與確定性取而代之。