Truth from the Trance
At times he would lapse into a trancelike swoon (his Maltese cat on the table by his
side), the swoon sometimes lasting for hours. At such times the members of his
family would take particular care not to disturb him. When he emerged from these
lapses of the senses, he would write down the truths which had been revealed to
him. Once he wrote on his memorandum pad, " 'I AM' is the word of power. If you
think your thought is powerful, your thought is powerful."
It may be interesting to recall that such authorities as Barnett and the new
American Encyclopedia, in their biography of Socrates, mention similar trancelike
experiences of his. While serving in the Greek army, Socrates suddenly found his
feet seemingly rooted to the earth, where he remained in a trance for twenty-four
hours. He awakened with a spiritual knowledge that transformed his life, and,
later, the lives of many others. The similarity of the life of this Athenian
philosopher to that of Troward is that both relied chiefly upon intuition and
common sense for their theory and system of living.
A difference between Troward's teaching and that of Christian Science is that he
does not deny the existence of a material world. On the contrary, he teaches that
all physical existence is a concrete corresponding manifestation of the thought
which gave it birth. One is a complement of the other.
I once asked him how one could impart to others the deep truths which he taught.
"By being them," he answered. "My motto is, 'Being, and not possessing, is the
great joy of living.'"
8
Following a Trusted Guide
Judge Troward, although modest and retiring in his habits of speech and slow to
express a personal opinion, was always willing to discuss any current subject, but
extremely reticent and diffident about his own writings. Never, to my knowledge,
did he mention them unless approached on the subject. As a teacher, he was
positive, direct, and always impersonal.
When our lesson was given indoors, he always sat in a large morris chair, and,
seeming not to be aware of my presence, he would think aloud. To follow his
thought was like following a trusted guide through the most difficult places, the
darkest and least explored regions of thought. As I followed, the personality of the
man became obscure, and I was only conscious of the clear, commanding voice,
and the light of the inward torch which he bore. It was beyond doubt quite natural
that he who made so clear the true meaning of individuality should in his teaching
betray little of the personal or emotional element.
After I had been carefully guided to the most comforting conclusions, in the same
quiet, unassuming manner as in the beginning of our mental journey, my guide
would gently remind me that he had given me a few suggestions which I might
follow if I felt inclined, but which were offered only in the friendly spirit of a fellow-
traveler. He always tried to impress upon me that every effort to accomplish mental
control (which, in turn, meant control of circumstances) should be undertaken
with absolute confidence of success.
The length of a lesson depended upon my ability to absorb what he was telling me.
If he were convinced in fifteen or thirty minutes that I understood quite naturally
the reason why, for example, "If a thing is true." There is a way in which it is true,"
that lesson was concluded. If it took me an hour or more to get into the spirit of his
thought, the lesson was prolonged. At the end of a lesson he would quietly remark,
At times he would lapse into a trancelike swoon (his Maltese cat on the table by his
side), the swoon sometimes lasting for hours. At such times the members of his
family would take particular care not to disturb him. When he emerged from these
lapses of the senses, he would write down the truths which had been revealed to
him. Once he wrote on his memorandum pad, " 'I AM' is the word of power. If you
think your thought is powerful, your thought is powerful."
It may be interesting to recall that such authorities as Barnett and the new
American Encyclopedia, in their biography of Socrates, mention similar trancelike
experiences of his. While serving in the Greek army, Socrates suddenly found his
feet seemingly rooted to the earth, where he remained in a trance for twenty-four
hours. He awakened with a spiritual knowledge that transformed his life, and,
later, the lives of many others. The similarity of the life of this Athenian
philosopher to that of Troward is that both relied chiefly upon intuition and
common sense for their theory and system of living.
A difference between Troward's teaching and that of Christian Science is that he
does not deny the existence of a material world. On the contrary, he teaches that
all physical existence is a concrete corresponding manifestation of the thought
which gave it birth. One is a complement of the other.
I once asked him how one could impart to others the deep truths which he taught.
"By being them," he answered. "My motto is, 'Being, and not possessing, is the
great joy of living.'"
8
Following a Trusted Guide
Judge Troward, although modest and retiring in his habits of speech and slow to
express a personal opinion, was always willing to discuss any current subject, but
extremely reticent and diffident about his own writings. Never, to my knowledge,
did he mention them unless approached on the subject. As a teacher, he was
positive, direct, and always impersonal.
When our lesson was given indoors, he always sat in a large morris chair, and,
seeming not to be aware of my presence, he would think aloud. To follow his
thought was like following a trusted guide through the most difficult places, the
darkest and least explored regions of thought. As I followed, the personality of the
man became obscure, and I was only conscious of the clear, commanding voice,
and the light of the inward torch which he bore. It was beyond doubt quite natural
that he who made so clear the true meaning of individuality should in his teaching
betray little of the personal or emotional element.
After I had been carefully guided to the most comforting conclusions, in the same
quiet, unassuming manner as in the beginning of our mental journey, my guide
would gently remind me that he had given me a few suggestions which I might
follow if I felt inclined, but which were offered only in the friendly spirit of a fellow-
traveler. He always tried to impress upon me that every effort to accomplish mental
control (which, in turn, meant control of circumstances) should be undertaken
with absolute confidence of success.
The length of a lesson depended upon my ability to absorb what he was telling me.
If he were convinced in fifteen or thirty minutes that I understood quite naturally
the reason why, for example, "If a thing is true." There is a way in which it is true,"
that lesson was concluded. If it took me an hour or more to get into the spirit of his
thought, the lesson was prolonged. At the end of a lesson he would quietly remark,
