In the last two chapters we thought together about some of these
strings, examining the fibers of which they are made and learning in
what directions they pull. We found them to be more powerful than we
should have supposed, more insistent and less visible. We found that
instinctive desire is the string, the cable that energizes our every
act, but that our desires are neither single nor simple, and are but
rarely on the surface. Many of us live with them a long time, feeling
the tug, but not recognizing the string.

=There's a Reason.= We take our thoughts and feelings and actions for
granted, without stopping very often to wonder where they come from.
But there is always a reason. When the law of cause and effect reaches
the doorsill of our minds, it does not stop short to give way to the
law of chance. We wake up in the morning with a certain thought on
top. We say it "just happens." But nothing ever just happens. No
thought that ever comes into our heads has been without its
history,--its ancestors and its determining causes. But what about
dreams? They, at least, you say, have no connections, no past and no
future, only a weird, fantastic present. Strange to say, dreams have
been found to be as closely related to our real selves, as interwoven
with the warp and woof of our lives as are any of our waking thoughts.
Even dreams have a reason.

We find ourselves holding certain beliefs and prejudices, interested
in certain things and indifferent to others, liking some foods, some
colors and disliking others. Search our minds as we will, we find no
clue to many of these inner trends. Why?

The answer is simple. The cause is hidden below the surface. If we try