Recap; If humans want to progress in purifying their natural love, they should endeavor to have good and pure thoughts and desires.
“…Then they will attract to themselves spirits who are good and pure, and their influences will help them to a wonderful degree in strengthening and increasing these thoughts, thereby making it less likely that evil thoughts will arise in their brain, or evil desires in their affections. While humans may originate these thoughts and desires, they must know as a truth, that this progress is not dependent upon themselves alone; for when they are in that condition to attract the good spirits, they will invariably come to them and render their help – and it will prove to be a wonderful and never-failing help.
“Now mortals thoughts and desires are not only the result of something that comes from within themselves, and of which they may not be aware, for most frequently these thoughts and desires are the result of an objective influence that comes to them by way of their ordinary senses, which then creates or suggests the thought or desire. Without going into details you will understand what I mean, but as a mere illustration; a glass of whisky may and does suggest, to a person who likes whisky, the thought and desire that they should take a drink, thereby bringing into operation their will, which is followed by the act of drinking. And so with many other objects which a person meets in the course of their daily life; these thoughts and desires arise not only from seeing objects, but also from other natural senses.
“Again, these objective suggestions (arousing these thoughts and desires) arise and exist not only from the real object sensed, but also from words and thoughts which are expressed by other human beings in the course of conversation, or in books and literature; and when they come in this way, they are frequently more effective than in any other. As these objective words and thoughts enter the minds of mortals, they create similar thoughts, which frequently become intensified as they attract evil spirits of like thoughts with their degenerating influences. Hence the importance of humans avoiding companionship where such communications take place, and books or literature where such suggestions are made. It has been well said that evil communications corrupt good maners; and I may add that they also corrupt good thoughts.” To be continued…