THE SECRET OF THE MASTER MIND

The mind that masters him creates his own ideas, thoughts and desires through the original use of his own imaging faculty, while the mind that does not master himself forms his thoughts and desires after the likeness of impressions received through the senses; and is therefore controlled by the conditions from which those impressions come, because as we think so we act and live. Accordingly the master mind is a mind that thinks what he wants to think regardless of what circumstances, environments or associations may suggest.

The average mind desires what the world desires without any definite thought as to its own highest welfare or greatest need, the reason being that a strong tendency to do likewise or to imitate is always produced in the mind when desires are formed in the likeness of impressions that are suggested by external conditions. It is therefore evident that a person who permits himself to be affected by suggestion will invariably form artificial desires. And to follow such desires is to be misled in every instance. The master mind, however, desires only that which is conducive to real life here and now and in the selection of those desires is never influenced in the least by the desires of the world.

The power of desire is one of the greatest of all powers in the human system. It is therefore highly important that every desire be normal and created for the welfare of the individual himself. But no desire is normal that is formed through the direct influence of suggestions. Such desires are always abnormal and cause the individual to be misplaced.

This explains why a very large number of people are misplaced. They do not occupy those places wherein they may be their best and accomplish the most. They are working at a disadvantage and are living a life that is far inferior to what they are intended to live, and because of abnormal desires. They have imitated the desires of others without consulting their own present need. They have formed the desire to do what others are doing, permitting their minds to be influenced by suggestions and impressions from the world, forgetting what their present state makes them capable of doing now. Thus, by living the lives, the habits, the actions and the desires of others they are led into a life which is not their own; in other words, they are misplaced.

The master mind is never misplaced because he does not live to do what others are doing, but what he himself wants to do now, and he wants to do only that which is conducive to real life, a life worthwhile, a life that steadily works up to the very highest goal in view.

The average mind requires a change of environment before he can change his thought. He has to go somewhere or bring into his presence something that will suggest a new line of thinking and feeling. The master mind, however, can change his thought whenever he may so desire. A change of scene is not necessary because the master mind is not controlled by external conditions or circumstances. A change of scene will not produce a change of thought in his mind unless he so elects for the master mind changes his thoughts, ideas, or desires by imaging upon the mind the exact likeness of those new ideas, new thoughts, or new desires that have been selected.

The secret of the master mind is found wholly in the intelligent use of the imaging faculty, for man is as he thinks, and his thoughts are patterned after the predominating mental images, whether those images are impressions suggested from without or impressions formed by the mind through original thinking. When any individual permits his thoughts or desires to be formed in the likeness of impressions received from without he will be more or less controlled by environment. He will be largely in the hands of circumstances and fate, but when he proceeds to transform into an original idea every impression received from without and incorporates that idea into a new mental image he will use environment as a servant, thereby placing fate in his own hands.

Every object that is seen will produce an impression upon the mind according to the degree of mental susceptibility. This impression will contain the nature of the object of which it is a representation. Thus, the nature of that object will be reproduced in the mind, and what has thus entered the mind will be expressed more or less throughout the entire human system. Therefore, the individual who is susceptible to suggestions and external impressions will reproduce in his own mind and system conditions that are similar in nature to almost everything that he may see, hear or feel. He will, in consequence, be a reflection of the world in which he lives. He will think, speak and act as his surroundings may suggest. He will flow with the stream of his circumstances and he will be more or less of an automaton instead of a well individualized character.

However, every person who permits himself to be largely and continually affected by suggestions is more or less of an automaton, and accordingly is more or less in the hands of fate. So, therefore, in order to reverse matters and place fate in his own hands he must proceed to make intelligent use of suggestions instead of blindly following such desires and thoughts as his surroundings may suggest. We are all surrounded constantly by suggestions
of every description, because everything has the power to suggest something to us, provided we are susceptible. But there is a vast difference between permitting ourselves to be susceptible to all sorts of suggestions and by training ourselves to use intelligently all those impressions that suggestions may convey c The average student of suggestion not only ignores this difference, but encourages susceptibility to suggestion by constantly emphasizing the belief that it is suggestion that controls the world.

But if it is really true that suggestion does control the world, we want to learn how to so use suggestion that its indiscriminate control of the human mind may decrease steadily. For the human mind must not be controlled by anything, and this we can accomplish, not by teaching people how to use suggestion for the purpose of affecting their minds, but in using every impression conveyed by suggestion in the reconstruction of our own minds.

Suggestion is a part of life because everything has the power to suggest and all minds are open to impressions. Suggestion, therefore, is a necessary factor, and a permanent factor in our midst. But the problem is to train ourselves to make intelligent use of the impressions received, instead of blindly following the desires produced by such impressions, as the majority do.

To carry out this idea never permit the objects discerned by the senses to reproduce themselves in your mind against your will. Form your own ideas about what you see, hear or feel and try to make those ideas superior to what was suggested by the objects discerned. When you see evil do not form ideas or mental impressions that are similar to that evil. And do not think of the evil as bad, but try to understand the forces that are back of all evil, forces that are good in themselves though misdirected in their present state.

By trying to understand the nature that is back of evil or adversity you will not form bad ideas, and therefore will feel no bad effects from experiences that may seem undesirable. At the same time you will think your own thought about the experience, thereby developing the power of the master mind.

Surround yourself as far as possible with those things that suggest the superior, but do not permit such suggestions to determine your thought about the superior. The superior impressions that are suggested by superior environments should be used by you in forming still more superior thought. For if you wish to be a master mind your thought must always be higher than the thought your environment may suggest, no matter how ideal that
environment may be.

Every impression that enters the mind through the senses should be worked out and should be made to serve the mind in its fullest capacity. In this way the original impression will not reproduce itself in the mind, but will become instrumental in giving the mind a number of new and superior ideas. To work out an impression try to see through its own nature ; that is, look at it from every conceivable point of view while trying to discern its causes, tendencies, possibilities and probable effects.

Use your imaging faculty in determining what you want to think or do, what you are to desire and what your tendencies are to be. Know what you want, then image those things upon the mind at all times. This will develop the power to think what you want to think. And he who can think what he wants to think can be what he wants to be. In this connection it is most important to realize that the principal reason why the average person has not realized his ideals is because he has not learned to think what he wants to think. He is too much affected by the suggestions that are all about him. He imitates his environment too much, following desires and tendencies that are not his own, and therefore he is misled and misplaced.

Whenever you permit yourself to think what persons, things, conditions or circumstances may suggest, you are not thinking what you yourself want to think. You are following borrowed desires instead of your own desire. Therefore you will drift into strange thinking, thinking that is entirely different from what you have planned and that may be directly opposed to your present purpose, need or ambition.

To obey the call of every suggestion and permit your mind to be carried away by this, that or the other, is to develop the tendency to drift; your mind will wander, the power of concentration will weaken and you will become wholly incapable of really thinking what you want to think. In fact one line of constructive thinking will have scarcely begun when another line will be suggested, and you will leave the unfinished task to begin something else, which will in turn be left incomplete. Nothing, therefore, will be accomplished.

To become a master mind you must think what you want to think, no matter what your surroundings may suggest. And you must continue to think what you want to think until each particular purpose is carried out and every desired idea realized. Make it a point to desire what you want to desire and impress that desire so deeply upon consciousness that it cannot possibly be disturbed by such foreign desires as environment may suggest. Then continue to express that desire in all thought and action until you get what you want.

When you know that you have the right desire do not permit anything to influence your mind to change. Take such influences and suggestions and convert them into the desire that you have already decided upon, thereby giving that desire additional life and power. However, you should never close your mind to impressions from without. Try to gain valuable impressions from every source, but do not follow those impressions. Use them in building up your own system of original thought. Then think what you want to think under every circumstance and so use every impression you receive that you will gain still greater power to think what you want to think. Thus you will readily and surely develop the master mind.

Building the Superior Mind

According to the conclusions of experimental psychology the possibilities that are latent in the soul of man are both limitless and numberless. It is evident therefore that when we learn to draw on the abundance of the great within we can readily build within ourselves all the elements of a superior mind. In applying this idea, however, the first essential is to recognize the fact that every effort to build for greater things must act directly upon the soul, because the soul is the only source of that which is expressed or that which may be expressed in the human personality.

 

In trying to build the superior in mind, life and character two methods have been employed. The first has been based upon the belief that man is naturally imperfect in every part of his being and that advancement may be promoted only by improving upon his imperfect qualities. The other method, which is the new method, is based upon the principle that man contains within himself all the qualities of superiority in a perfect state and that advancement is promoted, not by trying to improve upon his imperfections, but by trying to bring forth into personal expression more and more of the many perfect qualities that already exist within him.

 

The first method is necessarily a failure. And the reason why the race has improved so slowly is because this method has been used almost exclusively. A few, however, have in all ages, consciously or unconsciously used the second method, and it is through the efforts of these, that the advancement that we have made has been brought about. That the first method must be a failure is clearly understood when we realize that nothing can be evolved unless it is involved, and that it is impossible for man to bring forth the more perfect unless the more perfect already exists in a potential state within him.

 

This principle is well illustrated by the fact that we cannot produce light by acting upon darkness, nor produce perfection by trying to improve upon such things as do not have the possibilities of perfection. We cannot develop quality, worth or superiority in ourselves unless those elements which go to make up qualities of worth and superiority already exist within us. Development means the bringing out of that which is already within. But if there is nothing in the within no development will take place, no matter how faithfully we may apply ourselves. Thus we realize that before development along any line can be promoted, we must recognize the fact that we already possess within us all those elements that may be needed for the promotion of that development even to the highest possible degree. In other words, we must recognize the fact that all the possibilities of perfection already exist within us, and that we are therefore in reality perfect through and through as far as our real or interior nature is concerned.

 

Those who employ the first method do not recognize the greater possibilities within and therefore they do not try to bring forth what is already within them. They simply try to improve the imperfect in their personal nature by acting upon the imperfect. But we cannot fill an empty space by simply acting upon emptiness. We must bring something into that empty state if we wish fullness to take place. The imperfect lacks something; that is the reason why it is imperfect. And that something must be supplied from some other source before improvement or change for the better can be brought about. That something, however, that is lacking may be found in the great within because the great within contains everything that man may require to produce perfection in any part of his mind, character or personality.

 

The possibilities of the within are limitless and numberless. Of this fact we have any amount of evidence. Therefore by adopting the second method for building the superior in the human mind it is evident that any individual may steadily rise in the scale until he finally reaches the high goal of attainment that he may have in view.

 

To proceed, realize that the source of perfection and the source of all the elements of quality and worth exist already within you. Then by becoming more deeply conscious of these superior qualities that you possess within yourself those qualities will be expressed more and more, because the law is, that whatever we become conscious of within ourselves that we shall naturally express through mind and personality.

 

If you wish to improve any faculty or talent realize that the interior foundation of that faculty is perfect as well as limitless, and that you can make that faculty as remarkable as you wish by unfolding the perfection and the limitless power that is back of, beneath, or within that faculty. There is nothing to be gained by trying to patch up, so to speak, the imperfections of the exterior side of mind or personality through the application of some superficial or artificial method, though this is practically all that modern systems of mind building have attempted to do.

 

When we examine the results of those systems we realize how futile such methods necessarily are in this connection. However, when we proceed to enlarge the actual capacity of a faculty by drawing upon the interior and limitless source of that faculty we secure something with which to work. And by employing a scientific system of objective training in addition to the perpetual enlargement of a faculty from within, we build up not only a powerful faculty, but we learn to apply all of its power and talent in practical use.

 

The same methods will hold in the building of any part of the mind or the whole of the mind. And it is such methods through which we may secure not only satisfactory results in the present, but a perpetual increase of results for an indefinite period. Before we can employ these methods, however, we must recognize the fact that the real man within is already perfect and limitless and that the subconscious root of every talent or faculty is also perfect and limitless.

 

Therefore our object must not be to perfect our external selves by trying to improve upon our external selves regardless of what we may possess within us, but our object must be to bring forth into expression an ever increasing abundance of the power, the quality and the worth that is already latent within us. We must live, think and act with this great purpose uppermost in mind regardless of circumstances. In fact, everything we do must be done with the desire to bring forth more of the wonderful that is within us. And it is in this way that we may build the superior mind.

 

Those who have gone beneath the surface of mere existence and have familiarized themselves with real life know that the personal man is as he thinks. Therefore to perfect the personal man thought must be more perfect. But here we must remember that thought is created in the likeness of our own conception of ourselves. Therefore, so long as we think that we are imperfect in every part of body, mind and soul it is natural that our thought will be imperfect, and the personal man will accordingly in body, mind and character continue to be imperfect.

 

The law is that thought is the cause of every state or condition that appears in mind, character or personality. Thus we realize that so long as we think of ourselves as imperfect we will create imperfect thoughts; and imperfect thought will produce nothing else but imperfect conditions and states in every part of our being.

 

However, when man discovers that he himself in the real and in the soul state of his existence is absolutely perfect, he will think of himself as perfect, that is, he will not consider himself as an imperfect personality, but constantly think of himself as an individuality possessed of all the elements, powers and qualities of the highest state of perfection. Accordingly his thought will be perfect as far as he has developed this higher conception of himself. And since the personal man is in his nature the result of thought, more and more perfection will accordingly be expressed in every part of the personal man.

 

As man grows in the understanding of his own interior perfection his thought of himself will be higher and higher, better and better, more and more perfect. His mind, body and character will in consequence improve in proportion. And since there is no limit to the latent possibilities of perfection any individual can by attaining a larger and deeper conscious realization of the perfect qualities within develop himself perpetually, because whatever we become conscious of within ourselves that we naturally express through the life of the personality.

 

The art of building the superior in the human mind as well as in personality and character is therefore based upon the discovery that the real interior man is not only perfect in all his latent elements and qualities, but is actually a marvelous being; in fact is within himself limitless in power, having superior qualities that are actually numberless.

 

To unfold these possibilities and gradually bring out into expression more and more of the marvelous man within, we must become more and more conscious of this power and worth and perfection that exists within us. And this consciousness may be attained by thinking constantly with deep feeling of this interior perfection; and also by actually living for the one purpose of unfolding more and more of this interior perfection.

 

In brief, the principle is this: The superior already exists within us. When we become conscious of the superior we will, according to a leading metaphysical law, express the superior; and what we express in mind or personality becomes a permanent part of the personal man. Mind building, therefore, is based upon the bringing out of the greatness that

is within, and in learning to apply in practical life that power which naturally comes forth, through mind and personality, as this interior greatness is unfolded.

The Power of Mind Over Destiny

The destiny of every individual is being created hourly by himself, and that something that determines what he is to create at any particular period in time is the sum total of his ideals. The future of the person is not preordained by some external power, nor is fate controlled by some strange and mysterious force that master minds can alone comprehend and apply. It is our ideals that control and determine our fate. And we all have our ideals, whether we be aware of the fact or not.

 

To have ideals is not simply to have dreams or visions of that which lies beyond the attainment of the person, nor is idealism a system of ideas that the practical mind would not have the privilege to entertain. To have ideals is to have definite objects in view, be those objects very high, very low or anywhere between those extremes. The ideals of any mind are simply the wants, the desires and the aims of that mind, and as every normal mind will invariably live, think and work for that which is wanted by his present state of existence, it is evident that every mind must necessarily follow his ideals both consciously and unconsciously.

 

However, when those ideals are low or inferior the individual will naturally work for the ordinary and the inferior, and the products of his mind will correspond in quality to that for which he is working. Thus inferior causes will spring up everywhere in his life and inferior effects will inevitably follow. But when those ideals are high and superior he will work for the superior ; he will develop superiority in himself and he will give superiority to everything that he may produce. Accordingly every action that he originates in his life will become a superior cause and will be followed by a superior effect.

 

The destiny of every individual is determined by what he is and by what he is doing. And what any individual is to be or do is determined by what he is living for, thinking for, or working for, be those objects great or small, superior or inferior. Man is not being made by some outside force, nor is the fate of man the result of causes outside of himself. Man is making himself as well as his future with what he is working for and in all his efforts he invariably follows his ideals.

 

It is therefore evident that he who lives, thinks and works for the superior becomes superior while he who works for less becomes less. And also that any individual may become more, achieve more, secure more and create for himself a better future and a greater destiny by beginning to think, live and work for a superior group of ideals.

 

To have low ideals is to give the creative forces of the system something ordinary to work for. To have high ideals is to give those forces something extraordinary to work for. And the fate of man is the result of what those forces are constantly producing. Every force in the human system is producing something and that something will become a part both of the individual and his external circumstances.

 

It is therefore evident that any individual can improve the power, the quality and the worth of his being by directing the forces of his system to produce something that has quality and worth. Those forces, however, are not directed or controlled entirely by the will, because it is their nature to produce what the mind desires, wants or needs. And the desires of any mind are determined directly by the leading ideals entertained in that mind.

 

The forces of the system will begin to work for the superior when the mind begins to entertain superior ideals. And since it is the product of those creative forces that determine both the nature and the destiny of man it is evident that a superior nature and a greater destiny may be secured by any individual who will adopt, and live up to, the highest and the most perfect system of idealism that he can possibly comprehend.

 

To entertain superior ideals is to picture in the mind, and to hold constantly before the mind, the highest conceptions that can be formed of everything of which we may be conscious. To dwell mentally in those higher conceptions at all times is to cause the predominating ideals to become superior ideals. And it is the ruling ideals for which we live, think and work.

 

When the ruling ideals of any mind are superior the creative forces of that mind will produce the superior in every element, faculty, talent or power in that mind. Thus the greater will be developed in that mind, and the great mind invariably creates a better future and a greater destiny.

 

To entertain superior ideals is not to dream of the impossible, but to enter into mental contact with those greater possibilities that we are not able to discern. And to have the power to discern an ideal indicates that we have the power to realize that ideal. For the fact is we do not become conscious of greater possibilities until we have developed sufficient capacity to work out those possibilities into practical tangible results.

 

Therefore when we discern the greater we are ready to attain and achieve the greater, but before we can proceed to do what we are ready to do we must adopt superior ideals, and live up to those ideals according to our full capacity and power. When our ideals are superior we shall think constantly of the superior because as our ideals are, so is our thinking. And to thing constantly of the superior is to grow steadily into the likeness of the superior. Thus all the forces of the mind will move toward the superior. All things in the life of the individual will work together with greater and greater goals in view, and continuous advancement on a larger and broader scale must inevitably follow.

 

To entertain superior ideals is not simply to desire some larger personal attainment, nor is it to dwell mentally in some belief that is different from the usual beliefs of the world. To entertain superior ideals is simply to think the best thought about everything and to try to improve upon that thought every day. Superior idealism therefore is not mere dreaming of the great and beautiful. It is also the actual living in mental harmony with the very best we know in all things, in all persons, in all circumstances and in all expressions of life. To live in mental harmony with the best we can find anywhere is to create the best in our own mentalities and personalities.

 

And as we grow steadily into the likeness of that which we think of the most we will in this manner increase our power, capacity and worth, and in consequence be able to create a better future and a more worthy destiny. For it is the law under every circumstance that the man who becomes much will achieve much, and great attainments are invariably followed by a greater future.

 

To think of anything that is less than the best or to dwell mentally with the inferior is to neutralize the effect of those superior ideals that we have begun to entertain. It is therefore absolutely necessary to entertain superior ideals only, and to cease all recognition of inferiority or imperfection if we want to secure the best results along these lines.

 

In this connection we find the reason why the majority fail to secure any tangible results from higher ideals, for the fact is they entertain too many lower ideals at the same time. They may aim high, they may adore the beautiful, they may desire the perfect, they may live for the better and they may work for the greater, but they do not think their best thoughts about everything; therefore the house in their case is divided against itself and cannot stand.

 

Superior idealism, however, contains no thought that is less than the best, and it entertains no desire that has not greater worth in view. Such idealism does not recognize the power of evil in anything or in anybody. It may know that adverse conditions do exist, but it gives the matter no conscious thought whatever. And to pursue this course is absolutely necessary if we would create a better future. For it is not possible to think the best thought about everything while the mind gives conscious attention to adversity and imperfection.

 

The true idealist therefore gives conscious recognition only to the power of good. And he lives in the conviction that all things in his life are working together for good. But this conviction is not mere sentiment with him because he knows that all things will work together for good when we recognize only the good, think only the good, desire only the good, expect only the good and live only for the good.

 

To apply the principle of superior idealism in all things, that is, to live, think and work only for the highest ideals that we can comprehend means advancement in all things. To follow the superior ideal is to move towards the higher, the greater and the superior. And no one can continue very long in that mode of living, thinking and acting without creating for himself a new world, a better environment and a fairer destiny.

 

We understand therefore that in order to create a better future we must begin now to select a better group of ideals, for it is our ideals that constitute the cause of the future we expect to create. And as the cause is so will also be the effect.

The Power of Mind Over Body

It is through the law of vibration that the mind exercises its power over the body. And through this law every action of the mind produces a chemical effect in the body, that is, an effect that actually takes place in the substance of the physical form. The process of this law is readily understood when we find that every mental action is a vibration, and passes through every atom in the body, modifying both the general conditions and the chemical conditions of every group of cells.

 

A chemical change in the body is produced by a change in the vibrations of the different elements of the body because every element is what it is by virtue of the rate of vibrations of its atoms. Everything in the universe is what it is because of its rate of vibration; therefore, anything may be changed in nature and quality by changing the rate of its vibrations.

 

When we change the vibrations of ice it becomes water. When we change the vibrations of water it becomes steam. When we change the vibrations of ordinary earth in one or more ways it becomes green grass, roses, trees or waving fields of grain, depending upon the changes that are made. Nature is constantly changing the vibrations of her elements thus producing all sorts of forms, colours and appearances. In fact, the vast panorama of nature, both that which is visible to the senses and that which is not all is produced by constant changes in the vibrations of the elements and forces of nature.

 

Man, however, is doing the same in his kingdom, that is, in mind and personality. We all are changing the vibrations of different parts of our system every second, though all such changes are, of course, produced within the bounds of natural law. We know that by exercising the power of thought in any form or manner we can produce the vibrations both of our states of mind and our physical conditions. And when we exercise this power to the fullest degree possible we can change the vibrations of everything in our system and thus produce practically any condition that may be desired. This gives us a power that is extraordinary to say the least. But it is not a power that we have to secure. We have it already and we employ it every minute, because to think is to exercise this power. This being true the problem is to use this power intelligently and thus not only secure desirable results, or results as desired, but also to secure superior results to anything we have secured before.

 

When we analyse this law of vibration we find that every unpleasant condition that man has felt in his body has come from a false change in the vibrations of some of the elements in his body. And we also find that every agreeable condition has come from a true change in those vibrations, that is, a change towards the better. Here we should remember that every change in the vibrations of the human system that takes us down, so to speak into the lesser grade is a false change and will produce unnatural or detrimental effects, while every change that is an ascending change in the scale is beneficial.

 

To apply this law intelligently it is necessary to know what chemical changes each particular mental action has the power to produce, and also how we may so regulate mental actions that all changes in the vibrations of our system may be changes along the line of the ascending scale. This, however, leads us into a vast and most fascinating subject; but on account of its vastness we can only mention it here, which is all that is necessary in this connection, as our object for the present is simply to give the reason why every mental action produces a chemical change in the body.

 

Since every element in the body is what it is because it vibrates at a certain rate; since every mental action is a vibration; since every vibration that comes from an inner plane can modify vibrations that act upon an outer plane; and since all vibrations are within the physical plane of action, we understand perfectly why every mental action will tend to produce a chemical change in the body. Although it is also true that two different grades of vibration on the same plane, or in the same sphere of action, may modify each other, still they do so only when the one is much stronger than the other.

 

All mental vibrations act more deeply in chemical life than the physical vibrations; therefore the former can entirely change the latter, no matter how strong the latter may seem to be. And this is how the mind exercises power over the body. Some mental vibrations, however, are almost as near to the surface as the physical ones and for that reason produce but slight changes, changes that are sometimes imperceptible. Knowing this we understand why the power of mind over body becomes greater in proportion to the depth of consciousness and feeling that we enter into during any process of thought.

 

Therefore when we promote such changes in the body as we may desire or decide upon we must cultivate deeper consciousness, or what may be called subjective consciousness. This is extremely important because we can eliminate practically any physical disease or undesired physical condition by producing the necessary chemical change in those physical elements where that particular condition resides at the time. This is how medicine aims to cure and it does cure whenever it produces the necessary chemical change. But it fails so frequently in this respect that it cannot be depended upon under all circumstances.

 

Mental vibrations, however, when deep or subjective can in every case produce the necessary chemical change in the elements concerned. And the desired vibrations are invariably produced by positive, constructive and wholesome mental actions, provided those actions are deeply felt. Thus we realize that the power of mind acting through the law of vibration can, by changing or modifying the vibrations of the different elements in the body, produce almost any change desired in the physical conditions of the body.

 

What we wish to emphasize in this connection are the facts that every mental action is a vibration; that it permeates every atom of the body; that it comes up from the deeper chemical life, thereby working beneath the elements and forces of the physical body; and that according to a chemical law can modify and change the vibrations of those elements and forces to almost any extent within the sphere of natural law.

 

To modify the vibrations of the physical elements is to produce a chemical change in the body. But whether this change will be desirable or undesirable depends upon the nature of the mental action that produces the change. Therefore by entertaining and perpetuating only such mental actions as tend to produce desirable changes, or the changes we want in the body, we can secure practically any physical change desired ; and we may thereby exercise the power of mind over body to an extent that will have practically no limitation within the natural workings of the human domain.

 

How Mental Pictures Become Realities

Every thought is patterned after the mental image that predominates at the time the thought is created. This is another great metaphysical law and its importance is found in the fact that thoughts are things, that every thought produces an effect on mind and body, and that the effect is always similar to the cause. According to these facts we can therefore produce any effect desired upon mind or body by producing the necessary thought or mental state, so that when we have learned to control our thinking we can control practically everything else in life, because in the last analysis it is thinking that constitutes the one great cause in the life of the individual.

To control thinking, however, we must understand the process of thought creation. To think is to create thought, and to control thinking is to create any thought we like at any time and under any circumstance. When we analyse the process of thinking we find three factors involved; that are, the pattern, the mental substance and the creative energy. The pattern is always the deepest impression, the clearest image, or the predominating idea.

The quality of the mental substance improves with the quality of the mind; and the quantity increases with the expansion of consciousness, while the creative energies grow stronger the less energy we lose and the more we awaken the greater powers from within.

When an idea or image is impressed upon the mind the mental energies will proceed to create thought just like that image; and will continue while that image occupies a permanent position in consciousness. When the mind is very active a great deal of thought is created every second, though the amount varies with the activity of the mind. It is therefore more detrimental for an active mind to think wrong thought than for a mind that is dull or stupid; proving the fact that responsibility always increases as we rise in the scale. It is the function of the creative energies of the mind to create thought that is just like every image impressed upon mind and to continue to create thought in the likeness of that image while it lasts. The creative energies do this of their own accord and we cannot stop them. But we can make them weak or strong, or give them better patterns.

Mind is an art gallery of many pictures, but only the most prominent are selected for models in thought creation. Only those pictures that are sufficiently distinct to be seen by consciousness without special effort are brought before the creative energies as patterns. We thus find that the art of controlling one’s thinking and the power to determine what kind of thought is to be created is acquired largely through the training of the mind to impress deeply only such mental pictures as are desired as models for thinking. The law, however, is very simple because as the picture in the mind happens to be at this moment so will also be the thoughts created at this moment, and the mental pictures are in each case the ideas and impressions that we permit in mind.

Whatever enters the mind through the senses can impress the mind, and the result will be a picture or mental image which will become a pattern for the creative energies. What takes shape and form in your mind through your own interior thinking will also impress the mind and become an image or pattern. It is therefore possible through this law to determine what kind of thoughts you are to create by impressing your mind with your own ideas regardless of what environment may suggest to you through your senses. And it is by exercising this power that you place the destiny of body, mind and soul absolutely in your own hands.

As we proceed with this process we find another vital law which may be stated as follows : What we constantly picture upon the mind we shall eventually realize in actual life. This law may be spoken of as a twin sister to the one stated above as they are found to work together in almost every process of thought creation and thought expression. The one declares that all thought is patterned after the predominating mental pictures while the other declares that the entire external life of man is being daily recreated in the likeness of those mental pictures. The fact is, as the mental tendencies are, so is thought; as thought is, so is character; and it is the combined action of character, ability and purpose that determines what we are to attain or accomplish, or what is to happen to us.

Through the law of attraction we naturally meet in the external world what corresponds to our own internal world, that is, to what we are in ourselves. The self-constitutes the magnet, and like attracts like. This self which constitutes the magnet is composed of all the active forces, desires, tendencies, motives, states and thoughts that are at work in mind or personality. When we look at everything that is alive throughout our whole being and put all those things together we have what may be termed our present active self. And this self invariably attracts in the external world such conditions as correspond to its own nature. This self and all its parts in the person corresponds to the thoughts that we have been creating in mind. In fact the nature of the self is actually composed of thought, mental states and mental activities. We realize, therefore, that when we change our thought, the nature of the self will change, and this change will be good or otherwise depending upon the change of thought.

Your external life is the exact counterpart of this active self. This self is the exact likeness of your thought, and your thoughts are patterned after the pictures that are impressed upon your mind. Therefore we understand that whatever is pictured in the mind will be realized in external life. And the reason why is not only simply explained but can be proven along strictly scientific lines. However, to determine through the law of mind picturing what our external life is to be, every process of mind picturing which we desire to carry out must be continued for a sufficient length of time to give the creative processes the opportunity to make over the whole self.

When a certain picture is formed in the mind thought will be created in the likeness of that picture. This thought goes out and permeates the entire self and changes the self to a degree. But as a rule it takes some time to change the entire self; therefore we must continue to hold the desired picture in mind until the whole self has been entirely made over and has become just like the ideal picture. And you can easily discern when the self has been wholly changed because as soon as the self is changed everything in your life changes. Then a new self will attract new people, new conditions, new environments, new opportunities and new states of being. It is evident therefore that so long as there is no change in the outer life we may know that the self has not been changed. However, the changing process may be going on, but the new has not as yet become stronger than the old, and for the time being things continue as they were.

When the self has been changed to such an extent that the new becomes positive and the old negative we will begin to attract new things. We may therefore begin to attract new and better things for some time before the entire self has been completely changed. When we are changing only a part of the self that part will begin to attract the new while those parts of the self that have not been changed will continue to attract the old as usual. This explains why some people continue to attract trouble and adversity for a while after they have begun to live a larger and a better life.

In promoting the art of mind picturing we must not change ideas or plans at too frequent intervals for such changes will neutralize what has been gained thus far and here is the place where a great many people fail. The average person who wishes to change his life for the better does not hold on to his ideals long enough; that is, he does not give them a fair chance to work themselves out and bring the expected results. When he does not receive results as soon as he expects he changes his plans and produces new pictures upon the mind. Thus he begins all over again, losing what he had built up through previous plans; but ere long becomes discouraged once more, so tries still other ideas or methods. When our ideals are the highest we know we do not have to change them. They cannot be improved upon until we have so entirely recreated ourselves that we can live in a superior state of consciousness. It is therefore highly important to determine positively upon the ideals that we wish to realize, and to hold on to those ideals until they are realized regardless of what may happen in the meantime.

However, we must not infer that we can realize in the external the correspondence of every picture that we hold in mind, because the majority of the mental pictures that we form are so constituted that they can be worked out in practical action. We must therefore distinguish between such ideals as can be made practical now and those that are simply temporary dreams, having no connection with real life here and now.

To be realized a mental picture must be constant, but only such pictures can be constant as are sufficiently elaborate to involve a complete transformation in yourself, and that are so high that they can act as an inspiration until all your present ideals are realized. When we form such pictures in the mind and continue to hold on to them until they are externally realized we shall certainly obtain the desired realization. At such times we can proceed with the perfect faith that what we have pictured will become true in actual life in days to come, and those days will not be far away. But to use this law the mind must never waver; it must hitch its wagon to a star and never cut the traces.

In scientific mind picturing it is not necessary to go into minor details, though we must not be too general. The idea is to picture all the essentials, that is, all those parts that are distinct or individualized. But we need not include such things as are naturally attracted by the essentials. In other words, apply the law, and that which will naturally come through the application of that law, will be realized.

If you wish to realize a more perfect body it is not necessary to picture the exact physical appearance of that body. You may not know at present what a perfect body should look like. Therefore picture only the quality of perfection in every part of the physical form and those qualities will develop and express themselves more and more throughout your personality. And if you wish to enter a different environment do not give your thought to some special locality, nor to persons and things that would necessarily be included in such an environment. Persons come and go and things are generally the way we wish them to be.

To proceed realize what constitutes an ideal environment and hold that picture in your mind. In analyzing an ideal environment we would find it to contain harmony, beauty, love, peace, joy, desirable opportunities, advantages, ideal friends, wholesome conditions and an abundance of the best of everything that the welfare of human life may require. Therefore we should picture those things and continue to hold them in mind with the faith that we will soon find an environment containing all those things in the highest degree of perfection. Gradually we shall find more and more of them coming into our life until we shall find an environment that comes up in every respect to our deal.

The law of mind picturing will also be found effective in changing physical conditions. Any physical malady must eventually disappear if we continue to hold in mind a perfect picture of health and wholeness. Many have eliminated chronic ailments in a few weeks and even in a few days by this method, and all would succeed if they never pictured disease but perfect health only. In the field of achievement we will find the same facts to hold good. Whenever we fear that we shall not succeed we bring forth the wrong picture thus the wrong thoughts are created and wrong conditions are produced; in consequence the very thing we feared comes upon us. When we are positively determined to succeed, however, we picture the idea of success and attainment upon the mind, and according to the law, success will be realized in external life.

Mental and spiritual attainments respond remarkably to mind picturing, principally because all true mind picturing draws consciousness up into the world of superiority. The same is true in the field of talent. If there is any talent that you wish to develop draw mental pictures of yourself in full possession of that talent and you will comply with the requirements of the steady growth of that talent. This method alone will accomplish much, but when it is associated with our processes of development the results desired will surely be remarkable.

In the building of character, mind picturing is of exceptional importance. If you continue to associate only with impure minds and continue to think only of deeds of darkness you will picture only the wrong upon your mind. Thus your thoughts will become wrong and wrong thoughts lead to wrong actions. The contrary, however, is also true. So therefore if we wish to perfect our conduct we must impress upon the mind only such ideas as will inspire us with desires and aims for greater and higher things.

We all admit that character can be influenced most decidedly by mind pictures, but everybody may not be ready to accept the idea that ability, attainment, achievement, environment and destiny can be affected in the same way. However, it is only a full analysis of the law of mind picturing that is necessary to prove this also to be an exact scientific fact. It is the way we think that determines the quality of the mind, and it is the quality of the mind that determines what our ability, mental capacity and mental force is to be. And we can readily understand that the improvement of ability will naturally be followed by increase in attainment and achievement as well as a greater control over fate and destiny.

Man is constantly increasing his ability, is making his own future and is making that future brighter and greater every day. Therefore, if mind pictures can affect mental quality, mental power and mental ability they can also affect environment and achievement, and in brief, the entire external life of man. In looking for evidence for the fact that mental pictures can affect ability, simply compare results from efforts that are inspired by high ideals and efforts that are inspired by low ideals and you have all the evidence you need.

When your mind is filled with pictures of superiority you will think superior thoughts that have more quality, power and worth, and such thoughts cannot fail to give power, quality and worth to your talents and faculties. We also find that tendencies, desires and motives originate largely from mental pictures, and we also know that these factors exercise an enormous power in life. The active self of man is so dominated by desires and tendencies that it is absolutely impossible to change the self until tendencies and desires are changed. But tendencies and desires as well as motives cannot be changed without changing the mental pictures a fact of extreme importance.

Through scientific mind picturing you can create or eliminate any kind of desire; you can produce or remove any tendency that you like. All that is necessary is to impress upon the mind the perfect picture of a desire or tendency that you wish and then continue to hold that picture in the mind until you have results. A mental picture, however, is not necessarily something that you can see in the same way as you see external, tangible things. It is an impression or idea or concept and is seen only by the understanding. In order to hold a mental picture constantly in mind keep all the essentials of that picture before your attention; that is, try to be conscious of the real nature of those powers and possibilities that are represented by the picture. In other words, enter into the very nature of those qualities which that picture represents.

The mind is very large. It is therefore possible to form mental pictures of as many ideals as we like, but at first it is best to choose only a few. Begin by picturing a perfect body, an able mind a strong character and a beautiful soul; after that an ideal interior life and an ideal external environment. Thus you have the foundation of a great life, a rich life and a wonderful life. Keep these pictures constantly before your mind in fact, train yourself to actually live for those pictures. And you will find all things in your life changing daily to become more and more like those pictures. In the course of time you will realize in actual life the exact likeness of those pictures; that is, what you have constantly pictured upon your mind you will realize in actual life. Then you can form new and more beautiful pictures to be realized in like manner as you build for a still greater future.