From a talk by Vernon Howard--Transcribed in the book Your Power of Natural Knowing This writing is discussed in this podcast.

Some years ago, when I was a boy, I lived in Los Angeles, in the section of Los Angeles called Highland Park. And I went to Luther Burbank Junior High School, on North Figueroa Street in Los Angeles, which probably some of you recognize.

Junior High School. Oh, I tell you--Junior High School boys--they're only interested in having a sugar donut in one hand and a bottle of pop in the other, and thinking about the baseball game, right? Oh, what do you girls think about? I'll leave that to you to answer, ladies, when you were a Junior High School girl. Did you think about boys, for example? (Laughter) And wonder about it? The boys were wondering about you, too! (Laughter)

One day, we had a homeroom class, and you know what that is. We had a homeroom class, and the regular teacher was gone for the day. So we had a substitute teacher in the homeroom, with this all boy classroom. All boys. He was part of the regular staff, but he was just filling in for the day.

And I remember an inspiring impression that came to me and hopefully to the other boys in there--about thirty boys--twelve, thirteen, fourteen years old. But I can see it now. This gentleman teacher was kind of leaning against the desk, standing in front of us. And he wasn't giving any particular lesson in geography or history.

But he stood there, and for maybe ten minutes, he began to tell us about something that we as boys hadn't paid much attention to before. We were more interested in the toy glider we were making. Do you know what he talked about? He talked about being a good human being. He talked about--there was enough sadness and sorrow in this world without us growing up and adding to it. He talked to us about having ordinary good manners, about being polite. He talked to us about the need to be kindly--to not hurt anyone else.

I sat there and it inspired me. I'd never heard anything put quite that directly before. And I didn't know at the time, that he was giving preliminary lessons in the higher life, in a spiritual life. Because you know, don't you, that when you're spiritual and in charge of yourself, when you know who God is and are living with the Holy Spirit, you don't have to be rude to other people.

He talked to us boys, "Please now, and when you grow up--please be a pleasant man." You know that word pleasant covers so much, doesn't it. Think about it. You meet someone who's pleasant. How nice. The word itself is nice. He's pleasant. That means you don't have to be afraid, you don't have to be tense over it. The man, the woman is simply pleasant. How nice.

All that--the lessons and the inspiration--came to me. And it was so inspiring, so marvelous. I listened to every word. And no doubt the other twenty-nine or thirty boys in the room did the same thing. He spoke very casually, very calmly. He wasn't trying to force anything down. He simply gave us the beautiful facts of the matter for our benefit.

You know, I even was so impressed by it that I remember the teacher's name. His name was Carl Link--C-a-r-l L-i-n-k. Thank you, Mr. Link. He didn't know that he was starting something that could eventually, as those boys grew up, begin to turn that wintertime of human nature, into spiritual world and spiritual springtime.

Listen to me. The Kingdom of Heaven is not only pure, but it is complete--one hundred percent complete. And when you live in one hundred percent completion, how can you want anything! Why do you have to go anywhere to collect a bit of flattery, to collect a bit of friendship, to collect whatever is driving you inside to try to fill that need? Why do you have to go anywhere? The answer is, you don't.

Truth is faithful. And it says to you right now, here is the way.