THE SICKLE BY William W. WalterPREFACE ‘This book was written for the thinker, and not the triffer it was not written to benefit the writer, but to enlighten the honest searcher for ‘Truth. ‘The price was placed at twenty-five dollars to prevent its fall into the hands of the trifler, for the trifler takes paper and binding and size into con- sideration in determining the value of a book,— the thinker scans the contents, ‘To the trifler it would be dear at any price and to the actual thinker it would be cheap at any price. ‘That large sales or financial gain were not the intent of the writer, should be evident. Were this true, the book would have been put on the market at the usual price. This is a metaphysical work, and therefore, the determination of its price was based upon the meta- physical (mental) viewpoint,—that the human mind values cheaply that which it estimates as cheap, but craves that which it @nds difficulty in obtaining.INTRODUCTION That a misconception is responsible for ninety, if not one hundred, percent of all the ills, troubles, suffering, ete., of this life can be logically proved. ‘That a misconception could be handed down for thousands of years and only occasionally pereeived as a misconception seems incredible, but such is a fact, for a misconception has been handed down from father to son, as actual truth, for the past nineteen centuries, and not until the last fifty years has the magnitude of this misconception been fully revealed. Those who have had the courage previously to dispute this age-long mistake, have been called unbelievers, lost sheep, ete. ‘The misconception of which I speak, is that regarding God.and man, and their true relation to each other. To state merely that there is a misconception without pointing it out clearly so that all may understand, is to but partially do the good of which one is capable. 78 INTRODUCTION Had not this misconception been hidden under the cloak of religion, thinkers, no doubt, would have unearthed this father of all lies and destroyed it, with self-evident trath; but whenever a thinker, in his search for truth, intruded upon the so-called confines of church or religion, he was subtly made to understand that his research must be abandoned insofar as it assailed the religious tenets of the church, Progress in all other lines of endeavor, was per- missible, but religious doctrines must ever be those of our forefathers, regardless of erudity or errors. A few, possessing the courage born of convietion, made known their discovery of the Truth, only to meet with ridicule. Nevertheless, the advanced ideas promulgated by these few, are today bring- ing forth their fruition in a higher understanding of Cause and effect, God and man. No doubt these sincere thinkers were greatly handicapped in tell- ing plainly what they had discovered because of the ridicule heaped upon them, and because they feared they would be misunderstood. ‘This book is written for the express purpose of destroying the age-long misconception regarding God and man, and I claim no special mission fromINTRODUCTION 9 a personal God, neither do I claim to have been especially inspired by such a God, ‘This book is the outcome or fruit of years of study of the most advanced thought of this and past ages. Nearly all of the various students and writers, who wrote of the primal Cause or God, have contributed to my enlightenment to the point that this book became possible, Every system and theory advocated by these various writers promising help or enlightenment regarding the power of Mind or thought was con- scientiously tested in actual application. The wheat in each instance was slowly sifted from the chaff by actual demonstration and carefully gar- nered, the chaff discarded. T have experimented in this metaphysical work with as much care as any chemist ever exercised in his most painstaking tests. ‘Every experiment in my work has been carefully watched and noted and, after years of conscientious study and practice, a sure foundation has been acquired, and also ability to present the facts on which this foundation rests, so clearly that anyone willing to apply himself as diligently to this study as he would to the study of music or mathematics, can gain an-understanding of the Science of Life.10 INTRODUCTION He can demonstrate what he has learned of this Science only so far as he has progressed in his knowledge, the same as would be true of music or mathematics. In the Science of music, the fruit or effect of one’s musical knowledge is shown in the harmony that flows from pen, voice or instrument; and in the Science of Life, the fruit or effect of one’s under- standing is shown in the harmony, health and love that one can bring into one’s life through the appli- cation of right thought. : ‘You are not asked to blindly believe or accept what I have written in this book. In fact, to blindly accept or believe is a detriment to the be- liever. ‘You are asked to use your reasoning powers, and to put into actual application the much or little understanding that you may gain by reading and studying this book. The results or blessings re- ceived from a conscientious study and right appli- cation of the Truth (true thought). herein con- tained will he sufficient proof to convinee the most skeptical, if he approaches the work with an honest determination to prove the truth or error of what is herein written. _‘CHAPTER IL uO Iv vit ‘VIIL Ix xI XII xur xIV XVII xIx CONTENTS PAGE Preface... 2 eee ee B Introduction. 2 2... 1 Emptying Out . . 2 . . . 2B God. + 36 Man . 46 You . + 68 Thought . se 64 Understanding Versus Belief | | | 71 The Holy Trinity 4 ‘Metaphysics = 101 Nature . 7 Sin +151 Disease... = 162 Self Healing . - 113 Healing Others . oe MO Experiments and Experiences . 218 ‘Metaphysical Diagnosis = 288 ‘Methods. . - + 286 - ‘The Unholy Trinity = 804 Application ae - 316 Instantaneous Healing . . - 860 Conclusion . se 85 Revelation and Prophecy. - +319 nTHE SICKLE CHAPTER 1 EMPTYING OUT ‘You cannot add to a vessel already full. First you must empty the contents, then there will be room for the new. ‘This statement applies equally as well to the mentality of the individual as to a vessel. It is illustrative of the fact that an individual who be- lieves that what he knows is the truth, even though it be error, will not accept the actual Truth when presented to his mentality. Therefore I have found in my metaphysical work that it is first necessary to show the ‘individual that that which he believes to be truth, is in reality error, before the actual. ‘Truth can be accepted or understood by him. The individual mentality having been emptied of the error that filled it, is ready to have Trath take the place of the error. A Jesus of Nazareth was the greatest metaphysi- cian of all time, and the same error in the men- 34 THE: SICKLE tality of the people in the time of Jesus, and which filled it so completely that there was no room for actual Truth, is in the mentality of the people today. As this error pertains. to Life, God, and man (the reflection or image of God), it is the Girect reason for the inability of humanity, even to this day, to understand the actual truth of Life when it is presented. ‘Truth is slways mental, It is the knowing of actuality or fact. Error is always mental. It is delusion or self- deception. ‘The way to become free from an illusion or delu- sion is to become aware of the facts regarding it, and then the delusion, or self-deception, vanishes and the corresponding fact takes its place in the mentality. ‘To disillusion mankind of an error that has been viewed as truth since the world began, seems almost an impossible task. Nevertheless, one universal de- lusion that had stood for centuries as truth, has_ Deen destroyed through the light of reason and experience, namely, that the earth is flat; so’ why may not another universal delusion be banished through the same means? It is the desire of the writer to prove to theEMPTYING OUT 15 reader of this book that the beliefs which are re- sponsible for the ills and poverty in this world are but delusions. To do this it will be necessary to gain and retain the interest of the reader that he may be induced to read carefully and thoughtfully the matter pre- sented. This will tend to clear a vessel hitherto filled with erring human beliefs. Another factor in proving that ills and poverty are but delusions rests upon the consent or refusal of the reader to accept the facts presented,— whether he is so blinded by old beliefs and super- stitions as to be unwilling or unable to think for himself and is satisfied to abide by what his father believed before him, or is open to conviction. It will also depend upon the ability of the writer to state clearly the truths which he wishes to im- part, in order that the student may grasp an under- standing readily. The vital error of mankind is the belief regard- ing their God and man. ‘The almost universal belief is that the Creator and ruler of heaven and earth is a personal God, presumably sitting upon a throne, reigning much as would a humen king. For thousands of years those who have found