Character Building By Mental Control
Man can make of himself what he will - Regeneration
no idle dream - A living truth -Strong faculties made stronger, weak
faculties developed - The new "Regenerator" - The Law of Mental
Control - The new path through the woods - Making yourself over - To
break up old thought habits and form new ones - The four great
methods - Force of Will -Hypnotic Suggestion - Auto Suggestion -
Thought Absorption - Ideal treatment - Full instruction in the
theory of each of the four methods, showing their respective
advantages and disadvantages, with illustrations of each - How to
acquire a desired quality of mind - The practice of Thought
Absorption - Practical exercises and directions - Exercises 1 to 6 -
You are your own master - Make of yourself what you will.
The student who has read the preceding lessons has doubtlessly
said, after reading some of the statements contained therein, "yes,
that is all true enough, and I could accomplish these results if I
but possessed the necessary qualities of mind and character."
This seems to be the great stumbling block to many. They know
just what is necessary to produce Success, but because they do not
possess the characteristics of the successful man they fancy, that
the prize is beyond their reach. There is no greater mistake in the
work that this false belief, this kind of fear thought, this lack of
recognition of the power of the I AM.
Man can so mold his mind by the power of the will that can make
of himself practically what he will. He can "make over" himself,
without a doubt. A man is just what he wills himself to be. This is
a bold statement, but it is absolutely true and we have hundreds of
instances of it in every city in this land. Hundreds of men can
testify to its correctness, and many hundreds of others are on the
road. Regeneration is no idle dream. It is a living truth. You will
realize just what this means, if you will stop to consider that
every effect has its cause. Business success is due to certain
qualities of mind, character or temperament. Of these three
qualities, the first is the only real one, as the last two are but
the results of the first. Those who have the given qualities,
produce the given result; those lacking the said qualities, fail to
obtain the result. When once you realize that these qualities are
within your grasp - that you can make them a part of yourself, you
will readily see that wonderful possibilities are open to you. The
acquirement of these qualities is key to the situation.
You know just what these necessary qualities are: Energy,
Ambition, Determination, Courage, Confidence, Perseverance,
Patience, Prudence, and the rest of the list.
All persons possess some of these qualities, and lack others.
Some are strong in some of these qualities, and weak in others. And
every man instinctively knows in just what respect he falls short.
He may not admit it to his friends, or even to his wife, but deep
down in his inner consciousness lurks the knowledge of the truth. If
he could acquire the missing qualities by a mere wish, he would know
just what to wish for. No doubt about that.
But he lacks the confidence and perseverance thought to be
necessary for the acquirement of that which he knows he needs. He is
not willing to pay the price of attainment. If some great scientist
would announce to the world that he had discovered some wonderful
chemical combination, or some new "serum," that would develop the
shrunken and atrophied faculties of the mind, and which would render
a man stronger in the qualities wherein he had been weak, what a
rush there would be for the new "regenerator." Thousands would want
it, and every man would be able to tell just what brand of serum he
needed. He would need the diagnosis or prescription for that. Every
man would be able to diagnose his own case and order the serum
indicated by his symptom. One would want triple extract of Energy;
another, the "Stick-to-it" brand; another, the vial bearing the
confident "I CAN" label; and so on. They would be able to round out
their characters, and command success. Now, there is no drug that
will produce this result. And there never will be. But the desired
result can be obtained by the operation of the law of Mental
Control.
I can give you but a general idea of the workings of this great
law, but if you will pay attention to what I have to say on the
subject, you will grasp the principle, and will be able to work out
your own salvation. The first point to remember is that we are all
creatures of habit, bodily and mentally. Our characteristics are
largely the result of habits of thought. We may have inherited
impulses which made it easier to form certain habits, and more
difficult to form certain habits of thought, and more difficult to
form others, and we consequently move along the lines of the least
resistance; but the character is, after all, the result of certain
acquired habits. We follow well worn mental paths, in preference to
making new paths through the woods, even though we know that the new
path would be the better, by far, and that is would be as easy to
travel over as the present one, when it was finally formed. We know
all this. It is an old story. Then why do we not start in to make
the new path? Simply because "it is too much trouble." We lack the
will power, determination and persistency to do it. I admit that it
is no easy task, but think of the reward.
These things are "ancient history" to you, of course, but I have
something else to say to you on the subject that is not so
"antiquated." I propose to make you a present of a labor saving
"path maker," which is guaranteed to clear away the underbrush and
rubbish in but a fraction of the time, and with much less labor,
that the old plodding clearing away process.
This new plan is very simple, but very effective, and will enable
you to "make yourself over" without the ripping apart process
dependent upon the other method. I will tell you about it in as few
words as possible. I have already explained to you that your mind
possess two planes of effort, two functions, the Active and the
Passive. The Active function does the volitional, original thinking,
whilst the Passive function does only what it is told to do by the
Active function (or by others). The Passive function is the
easygoing partner of the firm, to whom I introduced you in a
previous lesson. It is this part of the mind upon which hypnotists
operate, after lulling to sleep the Active function, the critical
partner. The Passive function, although in a sense the inferior,
really rules us, unless we know how to manage it. It is the
habit-function, the beaten-track function, of whose existence we are
all conscious. It is easily influenced, but nevertheless is "set" in
its ways. Tell it a thing over and over - something, which you wish
it to believe - and it will end up accepting the new thought and
being as "set" in the new notion as it was in the former one. This
is the secret of breaking up the habits of thought; action;
disposition; and character. The suggestion upon which the Passive
function acts may come from your own Active mind, or from the mind
of another. This is the explanation of the beginning of a habit,
good or bad. To break up old thought habits, and to replace them
with new habits of thinking, one or more of several plans may be
used. One may accomplish the results by sheer force of will; another
by hypnotic suggestion from an experienced qualified operator; to
your Passive mind, a fourth by that which I will term Thought
Absorption. Breaking up thought-habits by sheer force of will is a
most difficult task, as most of us know, for we have all tired it.
It is a plan by which only the strongest succeed whilst the weaker
are defeated and relinquish the effort, experiencing additional
discouragement and despair. We accomplish this result by the
"strengthening of the will," or more correctly by the strengthening
of the Active Function of the mind by the will, enabling it to step
in and simply command the Passive function to drop the old
thought-habit and adopt the new in its place. It is a magnificent
feat, but very difficult of performance. The same result can be
obtained by an easier plan. The very habit of making the Passive
mind more amendable to the commands of the Active function can be
acquired by the easier plan of which I will speak in this lesson.
The second plan, the changing of the thought-habit by Hypnotic
Suggestion, has been followed by many, with excellent results,
provided, always, that the operator was a proper person, thoroughly
understanding his profession, and being fully acquainted with the
latest methods of eradicating undesirable thought-habits. In this
connection, I would say that one should be very careful in whose
hands they place themselves for treatment of this sort. One should
not trust their case to a person just because that person could give
hypnotic suggestion; one would not employ a man as cashier of a bank
just because the applicant could keep books, and count money
rapidly.
The third plan, which of producing the result by autosuggestion
is good, especially when accompanied by Thought Absorption. In
autosuggestion you simply keep on repeating to the Passive mind the
statement that the new habits exists (ignoring the old on), and the
Passive mind, although inclined to be a little rebellious at first,
will eventually accept what you say as thought. It will adopt the
new thought-habit as its own thought just as do some people under
like circumstances. Autosuggestion is practically self-hypnosis of
the passive mind by the Active mind. It is a case of "every man his
own hypnotist."
The third plan, taught Absorption, consists in the placing of
yourself in a perfectly passive condition, at frequent intervals and
fixing the mind intently upon the idea or mental statement, that the
new habits exist; picturing yourself, by an effort of the
imagination, as being a man possessed to the desired qualities. You
should "carry the thought" with you continually, picturing yourself
as possessing the desired habit, in every leisure moment, day and
night, an din other ways acting out the belief. This is purely an
action of the Passive mind, assisted by the imagination. It seems
very simple, but the results, which have been attained by it, seem
little short of marvelous. It is by far the easiest, and one of the
most effective methods of making over your character. The imagined
thing becomes a reality in a comparatively short time, and action
follow close upon he heels of thought.
In my opinion the combination of autosuggestion and Thought
Absorption afford the ideal treatment in Character Building. If
persisted in, it will accomplish the most marked results in a
comparatively shore space of time, the effect being felt from the
very first. Do not pass over this lightly; because it seems so
simple. It is a secret worth thousands of dollars to you, and one,
which you would not part with for any money, once you have
experienced its benefits.
I will now give you a brief explanation of the several methods
above referred to. Let us take the Fear (worry) thought-habit, as an
illustration. It affords an excellent illustration of the bad habits
of the rest of the bad thought, for it does more to unfit one for
the duties of life than all the rest of the bad thoughts combined,
and also brings with it the vile brood of miserable weakening
thought-habits of which it is the parent. The man who has torn out
by the roots the vile Fear thought (worry thought) has progressed a
long distance on the road to Freedom. Fear thought never helped
anyone, and never will; but it has wrecked the careers of thousands
of men and women, paralyzing their energies, preventing their
progress, enfeebling their minds, and diseasing their bodies. We
have all felt it, and those of us who have banished it would not
return to its thralldom under any consideration. Life is an entirely
different thing to the man who has rooted out this noxious weed. He
becomes an entirely different order of being. Most of the things we
fear never occur; and the few that do occur can be rooted by a bold
front, aided by the strength, which the absence of Fear and Worry
imparts. The energy and vital force wasted on Worry is more that
sufficient to enable us to conquer our real troubles when they
occur. You remember the tale of the old man on his deathbed, giving
his son good advice, who said: "John, I have lived eighty years and
have had many troubles, the majority of which never occurred." The
old man merely voiced the experience of all men or women who have
lived to old age. The moral is obvious.
I will suppose that you are a victim to Fear thought (and I am
very likely correct) and that you are about to try the four plans of
ridding yourself of it. I will suppose that you will try them in
turn one after the other. You will first try the power of the Will,
and will say to yourself: "I will not Fear," "I command Fear to
depart." This is the heroic remedy. I shall not go into details of
this treatment. You know all about it, already. You have all tried
it. You will next try the effect of Hypnotic Suggestion, and will
employ a good suggestionist who will place you in an easy position;
cause you to relax every muscle; quiet every nerve and assume a
state of mental calm; and who, having secured your undivided,
concentrated attention, will give you strong, repeated suggestions
of Fearlessness, Courage, Hopefulness, Confidence, etc. The capable
suggestionist will study each case closely, and by carefully
selected, and properly administered suggestions, will plant the seed
of the new thought-habit with its designed to supplant and crowd out
the old one. Splendid results are obtained by this line of
treatment. The writer has cured many persons of undesirable
thought-habits in this way, when they felt that they preferred
outside help. He has also used this form of treatment in order to
get the patient started on the right mental path; to give him
confidence in himself and in the efficacy of this form of mental
development; and then instructed him in the theory and practice of
auto-suggestion and Thought Absorption, leaving him to finish the
fight himself. You will then try the power of autosuggestion by
constantly repeating to yourself the words: "I am Fearless"; "I am
Confident"; "I have abolished Fear"; "I Fear Nothing," etc. These
autosuggestions must be made earnestly, just as if you were
suggesting to another person, and you must endeavor to live up to
them.
Let your Passive mind see - that you believe what you say, and it
will have confidence in your statements, and, accepting them as
correct, will act accordingly. If you go about this practice in good
faith and in earnest, you will notice an improvement from the first.
You must remember, however, that if the Passive mind thrusts a Worry
thought upon your consciousness, you must double your assertion of
Fearlessness, until the intruder retreats. This may bother you at
the first, for the Worry thought is pretty confident of a friendly
reception, but like any other mangy cur it will soon learn that you
carry a club, and will bear a hasty retreat at the mere sight of it.
Carry this idea of the cur and the club in your mind, and you
will have but little trouble with the brute. You will learn to
despise the Worry thought as you do the snarling, snapping cur, and
will not hesitate to deal him a good sound whack with your mental
club, provided he stays long enough to be hit. He will soon retreat
with his tail between his legs, and will thereafter manifest a
wholesome respect for the club. Don't wait until he actually bothers
you, but get in the habit of reaching out for the club at the first
sight of the yellow hide of the mongrel.
And now you are ready to try the effects of Thought absorption.
In this case you place yourself in the suggestible, passive
condition, just as you did at the bidding of the suggestionist when
was preparing to give you helpful suggestions. The more passive you
become, the better will be the effect. In other words, you relax,
let go, and become perfectly passive, bodily and mentally. You thus
relieve the Active mind from duty and allow the Passive mind to have
undisputed control. You then carry the thought of "I am Fearless,"
and the others above given, calmly and firmly. You also picture
yourself, on your imagination, as being Fearless, acting fearlessly,
having moral and physical courage, and as driving away the Worry
mongrel with our mental club.
Give your imagination full scope, but hold it down to the desired
line of thought. You will find the exercises in concentration most
valuable here. You also will carry the thought of Fearlessness with
you all the time, and endeavor to act the part naturally. I mean
adjust what I say; act the part just as does the actor when he
assumes a role. The assumed character will soon become more real,
and in time will be the "real thing" with you. After a little
practice, it will become second nature to you; and eventually will
become your real nature.
As I have said before, the combination of Thought Absorption and
Autosuggestion forms the ideal treatment in Character Building. I
will close this lesson with a few exercises designed to aid you in
Thought Absorption. Do not forget to practice the Concentration
exercises, but do not wait to master them before commencing your
fight on the Fear thought cur. Commence this flight at once. Cut
your club today, and just "lay" for the brute. Once you get him out
of the way, you will be able to pursue the study of this subject,
without the annoyance of having him around, howling and yelping at
you. The treatment for lack of Energy, Confidence, Perseverance,
etc., is identical with that directed for Fear thought, the words of
the auto-suggestions and affirmations, of course, being, altered to
suit the particular case.
THE PRACTICE OF THOUGHT ABSORPTION
1. Find a secure, quiet place, as far as possible removed from
the scenes and sounds of the outside world. If the ideal conditions
cannot be secured, you must content yourself with the best
obtainable conditions. The idea is to shut out the distracting,
impression, and enable you to be alone with yourself.
2. Place yourself on a couch, bed or easy chair, obtaining a
position of absolute ease and comfort. Relax every muscle; withdraw
the tension from every nerve; allow yourself to be perfectly "limp"
all over, from head to feet. Breathe deeply and slowly, retaining
the breath for several moments before expelling it; continue the
deep breathing until a feeling of calm, restful quiet manifests
itself.
3. Concentrate your whole attention inwardly upon yourself,
shutting out all outside impressions. Concentration exercises will
enable you to do this.
4. Having obtained the proper conditions of bodily and mental
relaxation, fix your thought firmly, calmly and steadily upon the
word "FEARLESS," letting its outward form sink into your mind, as
they dive into the wax. Give yourself up to the thought and the
word. Then think of the meaning of the word, the characteristics of
a person possessing that, quality, etc.
5. Form the mental picture of yourself possessed of the desired
quality, act it out in your mind, as in a dream; think of yourself
doing certain things by reason of the possession of the woman, you
being possessed of the desired quality. In short, indulge in a
pleasant "day dream," having for its theme your possession of the
quality desired. Give your imagination full sway, merely insisting
upon it sticking to the text, and it's always showing you successful
the scenes and occurrences of the dream. Always conclude this
"dream" with a strong impression and thought of "I AM."
6. Repeat these exercises as often as possible. It is like the
dripping of the water on the stone. The repeated thought takes root
and grows rapidly. It is a good plan to practice this exercise when
you retire for the night, and also during your waking hours at
night, if you have any. The exercises will not keep you from
slumber, but will rather tend to induce the desire for sleep. If you
feel yourself dropping into a doze, do not resist it, as the
impression, which you carry with you into sleep, will dwell with
you, and will do its work even while you are slumbering.
In the above exercises, I have used the word "Fearless" and its
accompanying thought, to illustrate the process of inducing Thought
Absorption. You will understand that you are to use the word
expressing the quality of which you are desirous of acquiring. If
you wish to rid yourself of an undesirable quality, select the word
expressing the opposite thought. For instance, if you are inclined
to be indolent, select the word "Active" or "Energy," etc., and so
on. You must remember that when we wish to brighten a room, we do
not have to drive out the darkness first; we merely open the blinds
and admit the light, and lo, the darkness has departed. Do not
bother about the undesirable thought, but concentrate on their
opposites, and the positive will neutralize the negative. Do not
become discouraged if the results do not come as soon as you would
like. Remember, they are sure to come, in time. All that you require
is repeated practice. The mind can be developed just as can be the
muscles, and by the same process - continued practice.
You have been given the means of remedying your defects. If you
do not avail yourself of its benefits, it is simply because you do
not want to. If you have Desire strong within you, you will do it.
If you lack the strong desire, I cannot help you. If you prefer to
sell your glorious birthright of Mental Control for the mess of
pottage of present indulgence, that is your own business. You are
your own master. Make of yourself what you will.
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