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WILL POWER

THE CREATOR
OF HAPPINESS
EDMOND

BORDEAUX

SZEKELY

ESSENE SCHOOL OF LIFE

1. We believe that, in the present state of society, it is possible for
every one, by judicious use of the best available methods of hygiene and
individual improvement, to achieve considerable betterment of the quality
of his life.
2. We believe that it is the worth of individuals which makes the
worth of societies and which conditions the effectiveness of public
institutions.
3. We believe, consequently, that every man owes a bounden duty to
himself, to the community and to the future of Humanity to make his own
improvement the essential task of his life.
4. We believe that this work of improvement has the sure effect of
introducing into the life of the individual a quota of happiness proportional
to the value of his efforts.
5. We believe that it is the study of the laws in Nature and in faithful
adherence to what they prescribe, that man finds the surest guides in his
effort to improve himself.
6. We believe that human thought and will have considerable power
and that they should be used conscientiously in the service of good, that is
to say, in the service of the force that leads Nature towards ever higher
forms of manifestation.
7. We believe in the irresistibility of progress and in the certain
triumph of beauty over ugliness, of truth over error, of good over egotism
and hatred.
8. We believe that expansive love, fraternity and co-operation are
the only effective means of collective progress, and that nothing true,
beautiful or good can be built upon hatred, the spirit of party, cliques,
rivalry, revenge and oppression.
9. We believe that there cannot fail to be universal sympathy for
every sincere effort to do good, even when it seems to be in opposition,
as the ways of realizing a better future are as numerous as are human
temperaments.
10. We firmly believe that we shall overcome evil, not by attacking
it, but by maintaining and strengthening the good.
Evil exists not;
Only the past.
The past is past.
The present is a moment.
The FUTURE is all!

ESSENE SCHOOL OF LIFE

DEDICATED TO THE ESSENE RENAISSANCE
OF HEALTH, HAPPINESS,
ABUNDANCE AND WISDOM
UPHOLDS THE ESSENE IDEALS OF
THE FATHERHOOD OF GOD
THE MOTHERHOOD OF NATURE
THE BROTHERHOOD OF MAN
AN INDEPENDENTNON SECTARIANNON POLITICAL NON
PROFIT EDUCATIONAL.
WORLD ORGANIZATION
SPECIALIZED IN ALLSIDED EDUCATION FOR
LIFE LIBERTY AND THE PURSUIT
OF HAPPINESS
The First Essene Organization in Europe and America
Founded in Nice, France, 1928.
Transferred to Elsinore, California1935.
FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT:
Edmond Bordeaux Szekely
MAIL ADDRESS
Tecate, California, U.S.A.
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SERVICES FOR STUDENTS AND MEMBERS
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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

send 25c for our 48 page Digest and Guide-book, 8 x 7", profusely
illustrated with 50 pictures, containing concise condensations of all above
books with detailed introductions to the Essene Teaching and
Cosmotherapy. Address THE ESSENE SCHOOL OF LIFE, TECATE,
CALIFORNIA.

First Edition 1939

Second Edition 1941
Third Edition 1942
Fourth Edition 1945
Copyright 1945 by Edmond Bordeaux Szekely.
Printed in United States of AmericaAll Rights reserved.

WILL POWER, THE CREATOR OF HAPPINESS

The will plays a more important part in human life than
any other quality. Lack of will power is the cause of
unhappiness in ninety per cent of human beings. If it is
overcome, our other enemies vanish with rapidity. Will
power can be developed by training. There is a technique for
its acquisition.
If we analyse the will, we find it consists of three
factors: thought, feeling, and action. All pyschological
activity is the product of these three components. The most
vital and important factor is action. When we do a thing, there
is always a feeling behind the act. Action is the result of a
sentiment, not of thought. In order to produce right actions,
we must therefore cultivate right feelings. But unfortunately
we are not the masters of our feelings; we are only the
masters of our thoughts. While we may think what we wish,
we cannot feel what we wish.
There is, however, the possibility of establishing a
dynamic relation between thoughts and feelings. The key to
the problem of the will is how to connect our thoughts with
our feelings in such a way that the latter will create the action
which we wish to perform.
Let us examine the question more concretely. On the
one hand we have the "powerlessness of thoughts" and on the
other the '' power of feelings.'' If we observe our neighbours,
we shall see that many are people with knowledge and good
thoughts but that they do not use these rightly. Thoughts of
themselves do not suffice. We know that sober living will
give us health, yet many of us are gluttons. We know that
through work we can achieve, yet we remain lazy.
Knowledge of the truth is not the carrying out of the truth.
But whereas thoughts are incapable of leading to action,
feelings always bring it about. Where knowledge of the rules
of healthy living is unable to effect reform, pain or fear of
death will make us change our ways. A feeling of jealousy or
sense of rivalry can produce a tremendous activity, which
knowledge of the result of sustained effort is powerless to
evoke.
What, then, is the psychological mechanism which
enables us to dominate our feelings by our thoughts and so
perform the desired action? We must examine the process of
the will in its component parts. If we may compare man to an
automobile, thought is the steering-wheel, feeling the motor,
and action the wheels. In order to arrive at one's destination,
all three parts must work in collaboration.
Of the three forcesthought, feeling, action, it is
thought which is the youngest, and, in consequence, the
weakest in influence. Yet it is intelligence which is man's title
to nobility. It is intelligence which makes man what he is and
distinguishes him from animals. Actions and instincts
characterise every animal, but intelligence is the exclusive
property of Homo Sapiens.
Action and feelings, on the other hand, have a history of
several hundred thousand years, and it is for this reason that

the feelings are so much stronger than thought, that they, and
not thought, govern our actions. Though evolution shows that
the power of thought is steadily growing, yet the feelings are
still predominant.
Homo Neanderthalensis had a smaller and inferior brain
than that of contemporary man. He was exclusively under the
impulse of his feelings. The activities of his brain were very
modest beside those of a Millikan or an Einstein. The great
law of evolution traces the progressive development of
thought. The blind forces of instinct are in diminution, while
man's conscious intellectual forces are growing. Each
generation will see a step towards the eventual dominance of
the intellectual forces over the forces of sentiment. We stand
to-day between the past of instinct and the future of thought.
What is the logical consequence of this state of affairs?
We must aid the course of human evolution by striving to
ennoble and control the instinctive sentimental forces. It is
only thus that we shall be in harmony with the law and forces
of evolution and that we can share in the creation of the man
of to-morrow.
As we are at present, we represent the forces of
retrogression. Man and Society are being destroyed by the
play of blind, instinctive forces. They are the cause of all
crimes and wrongs. All forms of violence and social tyranny
are the product of irrational and unbalanced instincts. In
themselves instincts are neither good nor bad; their value
depends on their quality. If our feelings and emotions are
sources of energy and harmony, they are of great value. But if
they are a source of inharmony, they become a danger. The
practical conclusion to be drawn is that we should ennoble
and refine the feelings which give us balance, and eliminate
those which cause disequilibrium. The feelings and emotions
must be educated according to a certain practical technique.
Thoughts and feelings are divisible into two classes:
those which give us power to carry out actions and those
which paralyse actions.
We must analyse those thoughts and feelings which
inspire creative actions. When we have done a good deed, we
should look to see what thoughts and feelings prompted it.
All those factors which have helped in its performance should
be called into the consciousness. Our thoughts are under our
control, but we cannot provoke the sentiments we wish.
A knowledge of the laws of psychology gives us new
power. The association of ideas and sentiments, coupled with
the factor of time, constitutes an all-powerful force. If
thoughts remain abstract, they will not provoke feelings.
They must be given colour and vitality. Instead of thinking
and reasoning abstractly, we must strive to use creative
imagination. Our thoughts must become living images. This
art, long practised by Orientals, has been neglected and
forgotten in the West.
If we think of many things, we only produce pale images
of reality. In the absence of creative imagination, thoughts
and ideas remain sterile. Instead of experiencing a wealth of
realities, we create mental poverty. We must always imagine

concrete forms of beauty and melody. When we think of the

word "force," we must form a picture of concrete forms of
force: the Niagara Falls, the "Last Judgment" of Michael
Angelo, or Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. In such a way our
dead and anmic thoughts and ideas will become strong and
colourful, capable of provoking strong feelings and emotions
in us.
This technique is important in medicine. Though
external healing forces (sun, air, water, pure diet, etc.) are
important and indispensable, the internal forces of the human
consciousness are even more essential. A good diet in feeding
is of little use without a diet in thoughts and feelings. If our
thoughts are disorganised, food, however perfect, becomes
poisonous. In order to achieve, a successful cure, there must
be mental harmony and balance.
Will is not a momentary process, but one that is long
and continuous. Its cultivation is the result of prolonged and
patient effort. Nothing worth while was ever created in a
second. Will power can be acquired when one knows the
method and applies it. We must realise that while thoughts
give direction to feelings, it is the latter which give the former
force. Will is nothing but a succession of daily persevering
efforts carried over a number of years. It is like this that the
great discoveries of a Darwin were made by long years of
painstaking, patient efforts.
We must distinguish the will from what we may term
the "pseudo-will." Will is manifested in a series of daily
efforts, while the pseudo-will is able to make great efforts for
a short time, but unable to keep them up for long. All the
great works of human culture are the result of permanent
effort. Two or three hours of intellectual work every day
spread over a dozen years are able to produce many large
volumes. We can illustrate the difference between the true
will and the false will by comparing the two types of student.
There is the student who does a little work regularly
every day. He learns his subjects without effort and passes his
examinations without difficulty when the time comes. His
activity is a natural product of the will. Another type of
student will do nothing for months on end, and then, a few
weeks before the date of the examination, will be overcome
by a strong emotionthe fear of failure in the test. As a result
he "crams" day and night in a state of nervousness and
apprehension. He may or may not pass the examination, will
remain as lacking in will power as he was before, and will
pay a very high price for his sudden, activity in the form of
physical and mental exhaustion.
When we have learnt to transform our thoughts into
feelings, we must divide the feelings so created into two
categories: those that create energy and those that exhaust it.
In order to acquire will, we have to strengthen all the
feelings of the former category and avoid all those that lead to
exhaustion. Superior and valuable feelings are those that
create, while inferior and worthless feelings are those that
exhaust. With the aid of time and the appropriate
psychological processes it is possible to arrive at a state in

which our superior feelings create a vast source of energy and

harmony. Gradually we can eliminate all those inferior
feelings which lead to weakness and lack of balance within
us. In brief, we are able to build good character in ourselves
through the expenditure of effort and with time.
The feelings that give us energy are love in all its
manifestations, individual feelings of ambition, creative work
(whether scientific or practical), and hours spent with the
masterpieces of human culture. The great works of music,
literature and painting make us capable of higher activities
and awake in us a great store of feelings and ideas. One of the
highest forms of love is an altruistic social activity, which
provides a great source of energy.
The three great enemies of the will, on the other hand,
which exhaust our energies, are dispersion of energy laziness
and sensuality.
Lack of will is the specific disease of our age, which too
often confuses will with superficial agitation and noise. The
active, even hyper-active person, who is busy with many
trivial things, but who accomplishes little, is a very common
phenomenon. It is only concentrated effort that can get
results. We can only do one thing at a time if we wish to do it
well.
Here is an example of the dispersion of energies. A
person gets out of bed, washes himself and then begins to
dress. In stead of dressing briskly, he does so slowly, thinking
of many things in the process. He wants to do many things at
once, moving now here and now there, but never completing
any one action. He always lacks intensive energy.
Laziness is a periodic incapacity for work. It is
humiliating and deplorable. Idle and lazy people are generally
unhappy. Work well done is a source of energy and
satisfaction. Idle people become sensitive to the small
inharmonies and discomforts encountered in daily life. They
are worried by trivialities and find many imaginary obstacles
in their path. For an active worker these things do not exist. A
passive life is a short life and afforts a sense of slavery. When
we look back on an inactive life, we find that the hours and
days have passed rapidly and that the feeling of slavery leads
with force and speed towards death. On the other hand, a life
filled with superior activities appears long and gives a sense
of fertility and harmony. Life is a frame and its value depends
on what we put in it. What counts is not chronological, but
psychological time.
The third enemy of the will is sensuality. It consists in
the predominance of a group of inferior emotions. Love, on
the contrary, is the predominance of superior feelings. This
sensuality is another specific symptom of the age we live in.
Ninety per cent of all nervous disorders are derived from a
single sourcesensuality and its consequences. The material
source of sensuality is excess of energy and over-secretion of
the glands. Instead of being turned into useful channels, this
excess takes the form of sensuality and becomes a blind and
destructive force within us which destroys us if it continues to
predominate. It is necessary that there should be instruction in

the laws of sexual hygiene, so that young people at the period

of increased glandular activity may know how to solve their
problems of sex as they arise. At present they are given much
useless knowledge, but left without intellectual or moral
support at a time when they most need it.
One of the most formidable enemies of the will is
disease. Muscular or nervous pain paralyses the will. On the
other hand, when we are in a dynamic and healthy condition,
the will obeys our commands. Good health is the will's
greatest friend. But health itself is rare and is the possession
only of a small group of peoplethose that have will power.
So often a vicious circle is set up.
There are two false conceptions current with regard to
the will. There are those who hold that the will is entirely free
and that there is consequently no need to educate it. This is
indeterminism. At the other extreme is the view that the will
cannot be educated. This deterministic outlook tends to or
results in pessimism. The truth is that the will is not entirely
free nor entirely incapable of education. It has enemies which
have to be overcome by the use of a certain psychological
technique. The key to the education of the will is the direction
of the feelings by a powerful creative imagination.
Every great value in human culture owes its creation to
the exercise of human will. To-day we see many valueless
politicians enjoying the limelight and gambling with human
life and happiness, while great scientists who render real
services to mankind are neglected or even persecuted. The
latter are governed by will, the former by blind emotion and
inferior instincts. The true values remaining after the passage
of an epoch are not the deeds of soldiers and dictators, but the
patient researches of philosophers and scientists. Man is
governed by the true values of the past and leaves only true
values for the future. And these true values are the product of
the small aristocracy of the will. Will is the master key to the
future. It is not only necessary for the enjoyment of health,
but a great moral duty owed to human culture.
For health, harmony and balance, three things are
needed: will, will and will.

THE 12 RULES OF THE HYGIENE OF THE BODY

AND MIND
(Air, Water, Sun, Exercises, Respiration, Altruism, Culture Harmony)
1. Spend as much time as possible in the fresh air.
2. Always take a cold or lukewarm shower in the morning when you wake
and in the evening before you go to bed.
3. Devote one half-day a week to alternate sun-baths and
waterbaths (swimming where possible).
4. Go for 30-50 minutes walk in the fresh air after lunch and supper every
day breathing deeply and rhythmically.
5. Do some simple physical culture exercise for 10-15 minutes every
morning on rising.
6. Always sleep in a cool, airy and quiet place.
7. Follow the middle path of moderation and naturalness in all things,
particularly in food, rest, work, recreation and sleep.
8. Beware of psychic toxins (inharmonious thoughts and feelings) even
more than of chemical poisons. Be an optimist and have
confidence in yourself, in human progress and in the forces of
nature.
9. Be a sincere altruist, love and help others. Appreciate people's good
qualities and forgive their bad ones.
10. Enjoy the beauties of nature and the masterpieces of literature,
the arts and philosophy.
11. Study and observe the natural and cosmic laws and live in complete
harmony with the natural and cosmic forces.
12. Do everything possible to propagate cosmotherapy, and spread the
knowledge of the contents of this booklet in order to lessen the
suffering and chaos around you.

MEMBERSHIP
Membership shall be open to all persons, of any race, creed, or nation
who believe in the Essene ideals of the Fatherhood of God, the Motherhood
of Nature and the Brotherhood of Man, based on creative altruism and
scientific knowledge of the Natural and Cosmic Laws.
The School shall always be free to maintain Essene principles by
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wherever it considers such action desirable.
The membership fee shall be one dollar ($1.00) per month, payable
in advance, quarterly ($3.00), semi-annually ($5.50) or annually ($10.00).
The membership fee has been computed from experience, based
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ADVANTAGES OF MEMBERSHIP
Quarterly members receive our International Quarterly "Health, Life
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Semi-annual members receive all the above, and in addition, five
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Essene School of Life.
Annual members receive all the above, and in addition, ten more
semi-monthly lessons (a total of twenty lessons during the twelve months),
as well as the personal assistance of Professor Edmond Bordeaux Szekely
in their individual Life-problems.

LIST OF PUBLICATIONS
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COSMOTHERAPY, COSMOVITALISM
Guide to Health, Happiness & Abundance
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One Health Day a Week
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The Essene Gospel of John
The Natural and Cosmic Laws
Essene Communions with the Angels
Essene Renaissance
The Sevenfold Peace
The Ancient Essenes
GREAT TEACHINGS OF HUMANITY
The Living Jesus
The Teaching of Buddha
Zoroaster, The Master of Life
Quetzalcoatl, the Soul of Mexico
The Essenes, by Josephus
The Future of Humanity
The Meaning of Christmas
Yoga in the Twentieth Century
Will-Power, the Creator of Happiness
Sleep, A Source of Harmony
. Beethoven, Prometheus of the Modern World
Guide to Scientific Thinking
Creative Simplicity
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