CAN YOU KEEP A SECRET?

Carleton Whitehead
1955

He who masters the art of personal secrecy has the key to power, wisdom, riches and honor.
At one time or another you have confided some cherished idea or intimate, personal
experience to a friend, and when you did, you were left with the subtle, disturbing feeling that
you had lost something. You did lose something. You lost POWER. You spoiled a prized
possession because you violated a basic law of your inner world.
The Master Teacher was not given to superfluous repetition, yet over and over he said, "Tell
no man." In the sixth chapter of Matthew, three times in succession, he stressed secrecy:
"But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: that
thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee
openly." Matt. 6: 3-4.
"When thou prayest, enter into thy closet and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy
Father which is in secret, and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly."
Matt. 6:6.
". . . appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father,
which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly." Matt. 6: 18.
Three times in five minutes, Jesus drove home "Thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward
thee openly." Why is this so important? Why did he teach secrecy? Because he recognized a
fundamental LAW that has existed from the beginning, exists now, and always will exist.
When Jesus talked of praying, his first instruction was: "Enter into thy closet." Of what was
he speaking? Certainly he was not speaking in a literal sense because most of the people to
whom he talked did not even have houses, let alone closets. He was referring to the secret place
that is within your own consciousness, the very core of your personality; that which, in the old
Hebrew temples, was represented by the holies of holies; in the sacred rites of the great mystics
it is the sanctum sanctorum; that of which the psalmists spoke as the Secret Place of the Most
High.
Jesus taught those simple fishermen and farmers to turn within, to shut the door on outside
opinions and appearances, and talk to the Father. The more you study his teaching the more you
realize that this is the very heart of his message. "Find the secret place of your own soul, the
Kingdom of God within you, and there you will find the Father. Talk to the Father in SECRET
and the Father will give you whatever you ask."
Who is the Father? Who dwells in the secret place? Again his teaching is clearthe
Indwelling God, the one God, the Supreme Reality which is in and through all things and gives
rise to all creation. This is "the Power within which doeth the work." As you sincerely seek, and
awaken to, this Power, It becomes a warm Inner Presence, the Christ, the Master, the Father. Use
whatever name suits you. What others have called It does not matter. Choose a name that you
FEELthat means something to you! But whatever name you call It, this Inner Presence is the
Silent Partner in everything you do.
When this partnership becomes a conscious, living reality, charged with dynamic faith, the
Inner One guides and directs you in wonderful ways, works seeming miracles for you, and
removes the mountains that stand between you and your heart's desire. To form this vital,
conscious partnership, it is necessary to understand the Law on which it rests and to obey the
three prime requisites of this Law.
What are the three essentials of a partnership? Any partnership? AGREEMENT, TRUST and
COMPLETE INTEGRITY. No partnership can function harmoniously without all three of these
ingredients.
What of the agreement? You reach agreement with your Silent Partner through prayer and
treatment. In this divine partnership, only one partner does the choosing. You, with your
conscious mind, are the one who makes all the decisions. Jesus said, "All authority has been
given unto the Son,"not the Father, the Son! The partnership is between the Son, you (your
conscious mind), and the Father, which is the Divine Mind. "All authority has been given unto
the Son." You are the one who decides. Your Partner cannot. When you decide through prayer
and treatment, your Silent Partner always agrees.
Here is an important fact as far as the agreement is concerned. The Inner One does not care
whether your desire is great or small, whether it is for money, material gain, or some finer thing
such as love, companionship or your own unfoldment. Sufficient is your intention to work with
the Silent Partner to bring forth the desire into your experience.
It is true, as you grow spiritually, you place more importance on eternal realities, on living
Truths, and less on material things. This continuing growth takes place in your consciousness
with the expanding of your sense of value and the heightening of your awareness of Life and the
Oneness of Life. But do not confuse growing spiritually with any individual agreementany
particular demonstration you wish to make.
The fact is you enter into this partnership agreement for ANYTHING you choose. Jesus said:
"When any two of you shall agree on anything, it shall be done." The two that agree are you and
your Inner, Silent Partner. When this agreement is complete, no matter what the objective, IT IS
DONE. Jesus again stressed this: "Whatsoever things ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye
have received and ye shall receive." He did not limit this in any way. Why? Because he was
stating a LAWthe fundamental Law on which this partnership is based. "BELIEVE that ye
HAVE received and YE SHALL RECEIVE."
You reach absolute agreement when your belief, your TRUST is absolute. When you have
implicit faith in your Silent Partner, the Law goes into action, the Power flows and in due time
the agreement comes forth in your experience. "According to your FAITH, it is done unto you."
Jesus referred to making these inner agreements as "laying up treasures in heaven." A treasure
is something you cherishsomething you greatly desire, is it not? Heaven is within you, the
realm of Creative Power, hidden from view, secret. Lay up your treasured ideas and plans "in
heaven where moth and rust doth not corrupt, where thieves cannot break in and steal." Keep
your agreements within the confines of the silent, secret partnership and outside influenc es
cannot get in to disturb or upset them, nor can the negative ideas of others destroy them.
The integrity of the partnership must be kept. The Law demands it! Talk and you lose power.
What happens? Comes an idea that fires your enthusiasm and you immediately rush to tell
friend, Joe. "Joe, isn't this a wonderful idea? It ought to go over in a big way. Don't you think I'll
make a mint of money?" Joe is a good friend of yours, so he says, "Why, yes, of course, it's a
marvelous idea." But down underneath he may think, "Are you out of your mind? It will never
work. It is foolish and impractical. "But he doesn't say so because he doesn't want to hurt your
feelings. Most people do react that way to a new idea, and it is this reaction we feel, regardless
of what they say. When we tune in on another person's consciousness by talking to them, we feel
their inner vibrations and are affected by them.
Suppose Joe is a little more frank. He wants to be helpful, so he says, "No, now look; after
all, this seems like a good idea on the surface but it won't work. The economic trend is down;
we're headed for a recession and this is no time to start a new business." You come away limp,
all enthusiasm gone, thinking the idea was no good in the first place.
I knew a man in Denver who had this happen to him. He had a good idea. He knew something
about the Mental Law so he entered into agreement with his Silent Partner; but he did not keep
his end of the bargain as far as secrecy was concerned. The idea bubbles like mad. He had to tell
someone. He talked to one friend and got a fairly positive response, then talked to a couple of
other people and their reactions were so negative that he dropped the whole thing. Within six
months someone else had the same idea and reaped a tremendous success! I know the details
intimately because I was the man who violated that Inner Partnership and had the experience of
somebody else carrying through my idea. What a lesson!
Secrecy builds a reserve of power. An uncontrolled river flows down its channel dissipating
power as it goes. Along comes an engineer and builds a dam across the river. The water rises,
creating a reservoir of potential power. This power is released as the now controlled river flows
through the turbines, generating electricity that can be used as directed. Your consciousness is
much like that river. Without control, it flows helter-skelter, dissipating Power. The Law of
Mind causes creative power to flow toward whatever you give your attention. If your attention
jumps from one thing to another, if you indulge in idle chatter or purposeless talk about your
plans, you waste Power. Build a dam of silence across the stream of you r consciousness. Control
it. Do not talk about your ideas and ideals with anyone but the Indwelling Father, and you will
feel the Power begin to build up behind them.
When the inner pressure grows to the point where you think you will burst if you do not t alk
to someone (and it will), do somethingbut don't talk. Through regular consultations with your
Inner Partner will come inspiration as to how best to direct the power you now feel. Follow the
guidance with confidence, but keep your agreement secret until the time has come when, on
some particular phase of your activity, you need some cooperation from the outside. You will
then find that this reservoir of power you have stored will attract to you the right people. (Don't
you feel drawn to the self-contained, powerful man?) You do not have to reach out for the one
who will fit into your plan and help you carry it through to fruition. He will come to you or you
will be drawn to him, as the case may be. In either event he will bring the conversation around to
the subject without your mentioning it. Bide your time and have complete trust in the Silent
Partner. His share of the work is to reach out with the invisible Law of Attraction and draw into
your life whatever or whoever is needed for the fulfilling, for the outer expression, of your plan.
Wait until the right one is attracted to you and makes himself known by his conversation! He
will bring up the subject because there is a mystical telepathy that works between your mind and
his. Have patience until the right one reveals himself, then begin to unfold your plan. But here
again, DON'T TELL ALLdon't spill all the water out of the dam! Hold back. Explain just what
is necessary to enlist his cooperation and enable him to carry out his part of the work.
Should we discuss a demonstration while it is in the process of unfoldingwhen the outer
evidence of the inner agreement begins to appear? NO!
 "Give not that which is holy to the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they
trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you." Matt. 7:6.
When we talk to someone (other than the person actually helping) about how the Law is
working for us, our motive, usually, is to brag a little. The swine before whom we cast the pearls
are not the people to whom we talk, but our own little selves, our own petty egos. When we
violate the Secret Place, we desecrate the altar of the Living God within, and trample something
very precious under our feet. Let the demonstration show what you are doing. Keep the integrity
of the partnership.
Actually, more demonstrations are ruined because the rule of secrecy is disregarded than by
any other one cause. Break the habit of talking about your agreements with the Silent Partner. It
always dissipates Power!
What about your demonstrations that are completed? Should you discuss them? After you get
the vital feeling of strength and confidence in this partnership, when you have seen things
happen as the result of the Inner Power and Law in action, then is the time to share with others
IF IT IS FOR THE SOLE PURPOSE OF HELPING THEM TO BETTER UNDERSTAND
THESE SPIRITUAL PRINCIPLES. This is the ONLY reason for ever telling about a
demonstration. Even then tell only part of it. Never violate the inner core! NEVER!
Sometimes "kindred spirits" come into your life, persons to whom you feel you could tell
your inmost secrets; but the strange thing about these people is, they understand without being
told.
Your relationship with God is an intimate, personal one. This relationship should be like that
of two people who are deeply in love. They associate with others yet their own world is set apart.
They would not think of sharing this world or talking about what goes on there with anyone else.
When you seek and find this type of relationship with the Inner One, you enter into the "mystic
marriage." Love, honor and cherish Him even as you would your beloved.
1. Enter the closetfind the Secret Place.
2. Get acquainted with the Father, your Silent Partner. Talk with Him. Listen to Him.
3. Remember the Law, which is "Believe that you have received, and you shall receive."
4. Form the partnership. State the agreement (your desire) to your Silent Partner.
5. Completely trust the Wisdom and Power of your Silent Partner.
6. Keep the secret. RememberSILENCE IS POWER.
7. "Thank you, Father.
Master the art of personal secrecy and you have the key to power, wisdom, riches and honor.
"Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and all things shall be added unto you."