Direct Psychic Influence
Influence in a personal interview - The three great
methods - Direct suggestion - Thought waves - The adductive quality
of thought - What is suggestion? - The Dual Mind -Hypnotic
Suggestion - The Active and Passive functions - The qualities of the
two functions - Human sheep - The two brother partners - The Passive
brother - The active brother - Their respective traits - The
"dead-easy" man - The "hard-as-nails man - How to elude the vigilant
partner - Never take No! for an answer, in business or in love -
Fortune is feminine - Love laughs at locksmiths - Confidence will
win the day.
In this and the next lesson I will endeavor to make plain to you
the process whereby an individual exerts and influence over his
fellow men, in a personal interview, and interests them in his
schemes and plans; enlists their aid and support; secures their
patronage; and influences them generally. We all know men who are
able to accomplish these results, and yet we content ourselves with
wondering about their strange power, without endeavoring to acquire
it.
The art of influencing men or women whilst we are in their
presence, of necessity includes the other several methods of mental
influence mentioned in the preceding lessons, and partakes of the
nature of each. It is difficult to speak intelligently of this phase
of mental influences, without covering the entire grounds that will
be explained in subsequent lessons. I must content myself with a
general reference to these several different branches of the
subject; as you will meet them later on, at which time I will take
them up at greater length. I would suggest that after completing
this series of lessons you take up this particular lesson again, and
go over it carefully a second time. You will have a much clearer
idea of this subject, and many things which now seem more or less
vague and unsatisfactory, will appear clear and easily understood.
In influencing men who we meet face to face, we affect them in a
number of ways, which may be roughly summed up in three forms, viz.:
1. By direct suggestion through the voice, manner, appearance and
eye. This includes not only voluntary suggestions on our part, but
also the suggestions made involuntarily by every earnest man.
2. By thought waves directed to the other person by a voluntary
effort of our mind.
3. By the adductive quality of thought, resulting from the
process of controlled thought, of which I spoke in the preceding
lesson. This force, once generated, operates involuntarily and
constitutes the most striking phase of what we call Personal
Magnetism.
In this lesson I shall confine myself to the first mentioned form
of personal influence, and will take up the succeeding forms in
subsequent lessons.
It is a most difficult task to give an intelligent comprehensive
idea of the subject of Suggestion, in the limited space at my
disposal. If the student has acquainted himself with the principles
underlying Hypnotism or Hypnotic Suggestion, he will readily
understand just what I mean when I say "Suggestion." To those who
have not had this advantage, I will say that a suggestion is "an
impression, consciously or unconsciously received through any of our
senses." We are constantly accepting or rejecting suggestions, the
acceptance or rejection depending upon the degree of suggestibility
in ourselves, the degree being caused by the development or
cultivation of the non-receptive qualities of the mind. We cannot
attempt to go deeply into the subject of what is known as the Dual
Mind in man, which has been variously designated as the Objective
and Subjective minds; the Voluntary and involuntary minds; the
Conscious and Subconscious minds, etc. If the student is desirous of
acquainting himself fully with this subject, I would suggest that he
take up some good work on Hypnotism or Hypnotic Suggestion. There
are several good books on this subject, but I would suggest the
occult books published by The Library Shelf (known as Series A, B,
C, and D), which are courses of instruction in the basic principles
of personal magnetism, hypnotism, suggestion and kindred branches of
psychic research.
In order that the student may grasp the idea that I wish to
convey regarding the use of suggestion as a means of exerting
personal influence, I would have him understand that the mind has
two general functions, which (following the terms used by me in my
other writings) are known as the Active Function and the Passive
Function, respectively. The Active function does the voluntary,
volitional thinking, and also manifests what we call "will power."
It is the function used frequently by the active, energetic,
vigorous, wide-awake man, in his busy moments. The Passive function
does the instinctive, automatic, and involuntary thinking,
exhibiting no "will power" and manifesting on entirely contrary
lines from the Active function. The Passive function is a most
valuable servant on man, and really performs the greater part of his
mental work, doing all the drudgery and fulfilling its allotted task
without receiving praise or thanks. It works uncomplainingly, and
apparently without any effort, and never seems to tire. The Active
function, on the other hand, works only at the promptings of the
will, and uses up a greater amount of nervous force than its Passive
brother. It does the energetic active work of the mind, and tires
after a great deal of effort and cries out for rest. You are
conscious of, more or less, the effort when you employ the Active
function, but not so when you use the easy going, faithful, good
natured Passive function. I think that you will understand the
distinctive features of these two functions, from this brief
explanation.
Some persons do nearly all their thinking along Passive lines.
Such persons find it too much of a task to do their own thinking,
and prefer the "ready-made" thought of others, to that of their own
production. They are practically human sheep. They are very
credulous and will accept almost any statement made to them in an
earnest, positive manner. These people are very suggestible and are
practically at the mercy of those of a more active mind. They find
it hard to say "No," and are inclined to say, "Yes," if it is easier
and requires less thinking. Others are not quite so suggestible, and
some are scarcely suggestible at all, at times. But the latter, when
they relax and give their Active functions a rest, are much more
suggestible than at other times.
To enable you to form a mental picture of the two functions, for
the purpose of carrying out the instructions given in this course, I
will ask you to imagine a pair of twins who are associated as
partners in a business enterprise. They look exactly alike, but have
very different qualities, and each one is well fitted for the
performance of the special duties, which he has undertaken. They
share equally in the profits and losses of the business. The Passive
brother attends to receiving goods; filling orders; packing goods;
keeping the stick in order, etc., while the Active brother
financiering; pushing things along, and, in short, is the executive
of the concern and its active spirit. When it comes to the buying of
goods, however, both brothers take a hand.
The Passive brother is a good-natured, easygoing, "dead-easy"
sort of fellow; a plodding, automatic, mechanical sort of man. He is
somewhat "set" in his notions, rather superstitious and bigoted, but
very credulous and apt to believe almost anything one may tell him,
providing the new statement does not directly conflict with some of
his preconceived notions. To get a radically new idea into his head
it is necessary to "insinuate" it into him, by degrees. He is in the
habit of deferring to the opinions of his brother, when the latter
is around, and, in his brother's absence, to the opinions of other
people. He will be apt to grant you any favor, to give you almost
anything you ask, providing you make the request in a firm,
confident manner. He is afraid of hurting your feelings by a
refusal, and will promise you anything to get rid of you, and to
avoid giving you a positive refusal. You can sell him almost
anything if his brother is not watching him, if you go about it
right. All you have to do is to put on a bold, confident front, and
take things for granted. You know the type.
The Active brother, however, is a very different sort of a
fellow. He is a suspicious, watchful, wide-awake, "hard as nails"
sort of individual. There is no nonsense about him. He finds it
necessary to keep a close watch on his Passive brother in order that
the interests of the firm do not suffer. The Passive brother is
always getting "stuck" by somebody, or on something, and really
needs some sort of a guardian, and if the Active fellow happens to
take a nap or be too busy with his work to keep an eye on the
Passive brother, something is sure to happen to the latter. The
Active partner, accordingly, is not inclined to allow you to meet
the Passive brother, until he knows you pretty well, or thinks that
you have no designs on the easy fellow. He watches you carefully and
inquires into your business, and tries to find what you are up to,
before he will allow you to see the other partner. If he thinks that
you have designs on the easy fellow, he will tell you that his easy
brother is out, etc. Even if he allows you to see his brother, he
will watch every motion and listen to every word, and in the case he
thinks that you are trying to play some sort of a game on the easy
man, he will put his foot down on the scheme and call the deal off.
He considers every proposition, and accepts it, if reasonable, or
rejects it if not. He grows less suspicious when he becomes
accustomed to your presence, and may even grow to have considerable
confidence in you. He also may be entertained and amused, at which
times he relaxes his vigilance and grows less suspicious. If his
suspicions are once allayed, you may be able to get in a word with
the other brother, in which case you have made a great advance, for
the easy brothers, once acquainted with you, will himself contrive
to make the next meeting easier. He feels lonesome and chafes under
the restraint imposed upon him by his brother, and when he once
makes your acquaintance he will be on the lookout for another chance
to have a chat with you. The first step is the hardest.
Please remember that the mind of every man or woman is a
partnership, composed of functions represented by the two characters
with which I have just endeavored to acquaint you. There is a
difference however in firms. The Passive partner is pretty much the
same in all cases, although in some he manages to have his own way
more, and in others he is kept still further in the background, the
difference being caused by the degree of positive-ness in the Active
partner. There is a great difference in these Active partners. Some
of them are splendid examples of prudence, watchfulness and
sagacity, whilst others possess these qualities in a lesser degree,
and some are nearly as "easy" as their Passive brothers. Some of
them can be "bulldozed," others coaxed, others flattered; and others
tired out into relaxing their vigilance. Some of them get so
interested in something that they do not notice that the visitor is
getting well acquainted with the Passive brother, and may even allow
him to give an order for goods. Each one has his own peculiarities,
his weaknesses. As a man is no stronger that his weakest point, to
obvious rule is to find that weakest point and direct the attack
right there. You will readily see that the main thing to be
accomplished is to elude the vigilance of the Active partner. There
are many ways of doing this - the thing to do is to find out the
best way. If one way does not work, try another. If you keep at it
you will win eventually. "Faint heart never won fair lady." It can
be done if it is gone about properly. It is done every day. It is
easy with some, and hard with others, but it can be done with all of
these watchful partners if you will only keep pecking away at it.
Never take "No" for an answer. Pursue the same plan in business
that you would if you were courting the girl you loved. In the
latter case, a "No" or two, or a dozen for that matter, would not
count. Pursue the same tactics in your business, and you will win
the day. Fortune is feminine, you know, and possesses all of the
characteristics of the sex.
Suggestions gain force by repletion. A man may reject a
proposition when first made, but upon hearing the same thing over
and over again, he will come to believe it. No wonder, you believe
it yourself from the mere repletion of it, and why shouldn't he.
Moreover, a suggestion may produce no apparent effect at the time it
is given, but may be like the seed planted in fertile soil, which
will have sprouted by the time you come again. By talking properly
to the Active partner and getting him interested you have enabled
the passive brother, actuated by curiosity (of which he has a full
share) to draw near and overhear your conversation. He will often
think over the overheard words after you have gone, and the next
time you come he will manage to get an interview with you, in spite
of his stern brother. "Love laughs at locksmiths," and so does the
Passive fellow at his brother - sometimes. You should carry the
above mental picture of the two functions of the mind - the Active
partner and his Passive brother. With this picture in your mind, you
will be able to direct your suggestions to the best advantage, and
also to guard yourself against the suggestions of others.
In influencing a man with whom you come in personal contact, you
will not have to depend entirely upon the power of suggestion in
overcoming the watchfulness of the Active partner of his mind. You
will be aided by two powerful allies, i.e., direct thought waves
consciously projected by your mind, and by the involuntary adductive
qualities of thought. These powers can be highly developed by the
exercises, which will be given you during this course of lessons.
You will also learn how to acquire characteristics calculated to aid
you in making a good impression upon the Active brother, who is apt
to be impressed by external appearances.
There is one thing, which you must learn, however, and that is
Confidence and a belief in you ability to master this subject. It is
like a boy learning to swim. The swimming power is inherent in every
boy, but he doesn't believe it. As soon as he believes that he can
swim - he swims; but so long as he believes that he "can't"- he
cannot. He may improve in the art of swimming by practice, but he
had the swimming power in him from the beginning, and all he needed
was belief. You can do it, and have but to strike out. You can begin
on easy exercises at first, but you must have Confidences from the
start. Some men discover this by accident, and do not know the
reason for their success. You know the reason, now, and can do as
well and better than the man who has stumbled upon the truth.
|