CHARACTER BUILDING.
method of
sub-conscious character building. The teachings are to the effect that
"ideals" may be built up by the bestowal of
attention upon them. The student is given the example of a rose bush. He is
taught that the plant will grow and flourish in the measure that care and attention is bestowed upon it and vice
versa. He is taught that the ideal of some desired characteristic is a mental rosebush, and that by careful attention it will grow and put forth
leaves and flowers. He is then given some minor mental trait to develop, and is taught to dwell upon it
in thoughtto exercise his
imagination and to mentally "see" himself attaining the
desired quality. He is given mantrams or
affirmation to repeat, for the pur* pose of giving him a mental center
around which to build an ideal. There is a
mighty power in words, used in this
way, providing that the user always thinks of the meaning of the words, and makes a mental picture of the
quality expressed by them, instead of merely repeating them parrot fashion.
The Yogi student is trained gradually, until he acquires the power of
conscious direction of the subconscious mind in the
building up process, which power comes to
anyoneOriental or Occidental who will take the trouble
to practice. In fact, nearly everyone possesses and
actively uses this power, although he may not be aware of it. One's
character is largely the result of the quality of thoughts held in the mind, and of the mental pictures or ideals
entertained by the person. The
man who constantly sees and
thinks of himself as unsuccessful and downtrodden
is very apt to grow ideals of thought forms of these
things until his whole nature is dominated by them,
and his every act works toward the objectification of the thoughts. On the
contrary, the man who makes an ideal of
success and accomplishment, finds
that his whole mental nature seems to work toward that resultthe objectification of the ideal. And so it is with every other ideal. The person who
builds up a mental ideal of Jealousy
will be very apt to objectify the
same, and to unconsciously create condition that will give his Jealousy food upon which to feed. But this particular phase of the subject,
properly belongs to our next
lesson. This Eleventh Lesson is
designed to point out the way by which people may mould their characters in any way they desire supplanting undesirable characteristics by
desirable ones, and developing
desirable ideals into active characteristics. The mind is plastic to
him who knows the secret of its manipulation.
The average person recognizes his strong and weak points of character,
but is very apt to regard them as fixed
and unalterable, or practically so. He thinks that he "is just as the Lord
made him," and that is the end of it. He fails to
recognize that his character is being unconsciously
modified every day by association with others, whose
suggestions are being absorbed and acted upon. And he fails to see that he is
moulding his own character by taking interest in
certain things, and
allowing his mind to dwell upon them. He
does not realize that he himself is really the maker of himself, from the raw
and crude material given him at his birth. He makes himself negatively or
positively. Negatively, if he allows himself
to be moulded by the thoughts and ideals of others, and positively, if he
moulds himself. Everyone is doing one or the otherperhaps both. The
weak man is the one who allows himself to be made by others, and the strong man
is the one who takes the building process in his own hands.
The
process of Character-building is so delightfully simple that its importance is
apt to be overlooked by the majority of
persons who arc made acquainted with it. It is only by actual practice
and the experiencing of results that its wonderful possibilities are borne
home to one.
The Yogi student is early taught the lesson of the power
and importance of character building by some strong practical example. For
instance, the student is found to have certain tastes of appetite, such as a
like for certain things, and a corresponding dislike for others. The Yogi
teacher instructs the student in the direction of cultivating a desire and
taste for the disliked thing, and a dislike
for the liked thing. He teaches the student to fix his mind on the two
things. but in the direction of imagining
that he likes the one thing and dislikes the other. The student is
taught to make a mental picture of the desired conditions, and to say, for
instance, "I" loathe candyI dislike even the sight of it," and, on
the other hand, "I" crave
tart thingsI revel in the taste of them," etc., etc. at the same time
trying to reproduce the taste of sweet
things accompanied with a loathing, and a taste of tart
things, accompanied with a feeling of delight. After a
bit the student finds that his tastes are actually changing in accordance with his thoughts, and in the end
they have completely changed places. The truth of the theory is then borne home
to the student, and he never forgets the lesson.
In
order to reassure readers who might object to having
the student left in this condition of reversed tastes,
we may add that the Yogi teachers then teach him to
get rid of the idea of the disliked thing, and teach him
to cultivate a liking for all wholesome things, their
theory being that the dislike of certain wholesome
eatables has been caused by some suggestion in childhood,
or by some prenatal impression, as wholesome eatables arc made
attractive to the taste by Nature. The idea of all this training, however, is not the cultivation of taste, but
practice in mental training, and the
bringing home to the student the
truth of the fact that his nature is plastic to his Ego, and that it may be moulded at will, by concentration
and intelligent practice. The reader of this
lesson may experiment upon himself along the lines of the elementary Yogi practice as above mentioned, if he so desires. He will find it possible
to entirely change his dislike for
certain food, etc., by the methods
mentioned above. He may likewise
acquire a liking
for heretofore distasteful tasks and duties, which he
finds it necessary to perform.
The
principle underlying the whole Yogi theory of Character
Building by the sub-conscious Intellect, is that the Ego is Master of the mind,
and that the mind is plastic to the commands of
the Ego. The Ego or "I" of the individual
is the one real, permanent, changeless principle of
the individual, and the mind, like the body, is
constantly changing, moving, growing, and
dying. Just as the body may be developed and moulded
by intelligent exercises, so may the mind be developed
and shaped by the Ego if intelligent methods are followed.
The majority of people consider that Character is a
fixed something, belonging to a man, that cannot be
altered or changed. And yet they show by their everyday actions that at heart
they do not believe this to be a fact, for
they endeavor to change and mould the
characters of those around them, by word of advice, counsel, praise or condemnation, etc.
It
is not necessary to go into the matter of the consideration
of the causes of character in this lesson. We will
content ourselves by saying that these causes may be
summed up, roughly, as follows: (1) Result of
experiences in past lives; (2) Heredity; (3) Environment;
(4) Suggestion from others, and (5) Auto-suggestion. But no matter
how one's character has been formed, it
may be modified, moulded, changed,
and improved by the methods set forth in this lesson, which methods are
similar to what is called by Western
writers, "Auto-suggestion."
The underlying idea 0! Auto-suggestion is the "willing" of the individual that the changes take place in
his mind, the willing being aided by intelligent and tried
methods of creating the new ideal or thought-form. The
first requisite for the changed condition must be
"desire" for the change. Unless one really desires
that the change take place, he is unable to bring his Will to bear on the task.
There is a very close connection between Desire and Will. Will is not usually brought to bear upon anything unless
it is inspired by Desire. Some
people connect the word Desire with
the lower inclinations, but it is equally applicable to the higher. If one fights off a low inclination or Desire, it is because he is possessed
of a higher inclination or Desire.
Many Desires arc really compromises
between two or more conflicting Desiresa sort of average Desire, as it
were.
Unless one desires to change his character he will not make any move
toward it. And in proportion to the
strength of the desire, so will be the amount of will-power that is put in the task. The first thing for one
to do in character building is to "want to do it." And if he finds that the "want" is not sufficiently strong to enable
him to manifest the perseverance and
effort necessary to bring it to a successful conclusion, then he should deliberately proceed to "build up
the desire."
Desire may be built up by allowing the mind to dwell
upon the subject until a desire is created. This rule works both ways, as many people have found out to their sorrow and
misery. Not only may one build up a commendable desire in
this way, but he may also build up a reprehensible one. A little
thought will show you the truth of this statement. A young man has no desire to
indulge in the excesses of a
"fast" life. But after a while he hears, or reads something about others leading that sort of
life, and he begins to allow his
mind to dwell upon the subject,
turning it around and examining it mentally, and going over it in his imagination. After a time he begins to find a desire gradually sending forth
roots and branches, and if he
continues to water the thing in his imagination, before long he will find
within himself a blossoming
inclination, which will try to insist
upon expression in action. There is a great truth behind the words of
the poet:
"Vice is a monster of so
frightful mien,
That to be hated needs but to be
seen.
Yet seen too oft, familiar with
her face,
We first endure, then pity, and then embrace."
And the
follies and crimes of many a man have been due to
the growing of desire within his mind, through this plan
of planting the seed, and then carefully watering and
tending to itthis cultivation of the growing desire. We have thought it
well to give this word of warning because it will throw light upon many things
that may have perplexed you, and because it may serve
to call your attention to certain growing weeds of the mind that you
have been nourishing.
But
remember, always, that the force that leads downward
may be transmuted and made to lead upward. It
is just as easy to plant and grow wholesome desires
as the other kind. If you are conscious of certain
defects and deficiencies in your character (and who is
not?) and yet find yourself not possessed of a strong enough desire to make the
changes necessary, then you should commence by
planting the desire seed and allowing it to grow by
giving it constant care and attention. You should picture to yourself the advantages
of acquiring the desirable traits of character of which
you have thought. You should frequently go over
and over them in your mind, imaging yourself in imagination as
possessing them. You will then find that
the growing desire will make headway and
that you will gradually begin to "want to" possess that trait of character more and more. And when
you begin to "want to"
hard enough, you will find arising in your consciousness a feeling of the
possession of sufficient Will-power
to carry it through. Will follows the Desire. Cultivate a Desire and
you will find back of it the Will to carry
it through. Under the pressure of a very
strong Desire men have accomplished feats akin to miracles.
If
you find yourself in possession of desires that you feel
are hurtful to you, you may rid yourself of them by
deliberately starving them to death, and at the same
time growing opposite desires. By refusing to think
of the objectionable desires you refuse mem the
mental food upon which alone they can thrive. Just as
you starve a plant by refusing it nourishing soil and
water, so may you starve out an objectionable desire
by refusing to give it mental food. Remember this, for
it is most important. Refuse to allow the mind to dwell upon such desires, and resolutely turn aside
the attention, and, particularly, the imagination, from the subject. This may call for the manifestation of
a little will-power in the beginning, but it will become
easier as you progress, and each victory will give you
renewed strength for the next fight But do not
temporize with the desiredo not compromise with
itrefuse to entertain the idea. In a fight of this
kind each victory gives one added strength, and each defeat weakens one.
And
while you are refusing to entertain the objectionable
guest you must be sure to grow a desire of an
entirely opposite naturea desire directly opposed to
the one you are starving to death. Picture the
opposite desire, and think of it often. Let your mind
dwell upon it lovingly and let the imagination help to
build it up into form. Think of the advantages
that will arise to you when you fully possess it, and let
the imagination picture you as in full possession
of it, and acting out your new part in life strong and
vigorous in your new found power.
All this will gradually lead you to the point where you will "want to" possess this power. Then you must be
ready for the next step which is "Faith" or "Confident
Expectation."
Now,
faith or confident expectation is not made to order in
most persons, and in such cases one must acquire it
gradually. Many of you who read these lines will have
an understanding of the subject that will give you this faith. But to
those who lack it, we suggest that they practice on some trivial phases of the
mental make-up, some petty trait of character,
in which the victory will be easy and simple. From this stage they should work up to more difficult tasks, until at last they gain that
faith or confident expectation that
comes from persevering practice.
The
greater the degree of faith or confident expectation that one carries with him
in this task of character building, the greater
will be his success. And this because of well
established psychological laws. Faith or confident
expectation clears away the mental path and renders the work easier, while
doubt or lack of faith retards the work, and acts as obstacles and stumbling
blocks. Strong Desire, and Faith, or confident expectation are the
first two steps. The third is Will-power.
By
Will-power we do not mean that strenuous, clenching-of-fist-and-frowning-brow
thing that many think of when they say "Will." Will is not
manifested in this way. The true Will is called into play by one realizing the "I" part of
himself and speaking the word of
command from that center of power and strength. It is the voice of the "I.'' And it is needed in this work of
character building.
So now you are
ready for work, being possessed of (1) Strong Desire; (2) Faith or Confident Expectation; and (3) Will-power. With such a triple-weapon nothing but Success is possible.
Then
comes the actual work. The first thing to do is to lay the track for a new
Character Habit. "Habit?" you may
ask in surprise. Yes, Habit! For that
word gives the secret of the whole thing. Our characters are made up of inherited or acquired habits. Think over this a little and you will see
the truth of it. You do certain
things without a thought, because
you have gotten into the habit of doing them. You act in certain ways because you have established the habit.
You arc in the habit of being truthful, honest,
virtuous, because you have established the habit of being so. Do you
doubt this? Then look around youor look
within your own heart, and you will see that you have lost some of your
old habits of action, and have acquired new ones. The building up of Character is the building up of Habits.
And the changing of Character is the
changing of Habits. It will be well
for you to settle this fact in your own mind, for it will give yon the secret of many things connected
with the subject.
And,
remember this, that Habit is almost entirely a matter of the sub-conscious
mentality. It is true that Habits originate
in the conscious mind, but as they
are established they sink down into the depths of the
sub-conscious mentality, and thereafter become "second nature,"
which, by the way, is often more powerful than the original nature of the person.
The Duke of Wellington said that habit was as strong
as ten natures, and he proceeded to drill habits into his army until they
found it natural to act in accordance with the habits
pounded into them during the drills. Darwin relates an interesting instance of the force of
habit over the reason. He found that his
habit of starting back at the sudden approach of danger was so firmly
established that no will-power could
enable him to keep his face pressed up against the cage of the cobra in the Zoological Gardens when the snake struck at him, although he knew the
glass was so thick that there could
be no danger, and although he
exerted the full force of his will. But we venture to say that one could overcome even this strongly ingrained habit, by gradually training
the sub-conscious mentality and
establishing a new habit of thought and action.
It
is not only during the actual process of "willing" the new habit that
the work of making the new mental path goes on. In fact, the Yogis believe
that the principal part of the work goes on
sub-consciously between the
intervals of command, and that the real progress is made in that way, just as the real work of solving the problem is performed sub-consciously,
as related in our last lesson. As an example, we may call your attention to some instances of the
cultivation of physical
habits. A physical task learned in the
evening is much easier to perform the following morning than it was the night
before, and still easier the following Monday morning than it was on the Saturday afternoon previous. The Germans have a saying
that "we learn to skate in summer, and to swim in
winter," meaning that the impression passed on to the sub-conscious mentality deepens and broadens during the interval of rest. The best plan is to make frequent, sharp impressions, and then to allow reasonable periods of rest in order to give the sub-conscious mentality the opportunity to do its work. By "sharp"
impressions we mean impressions given under strong attention,
as we have mentioned in some of the earlier lessons of this
series.
A writer has well said: "Sow an act, reap a habit; sow
a habit, reap a character; sow a character, reap a destiny," thus
recognizing habit as the source of character. We
recognize this truth in our training of children,
forming good habits of character by constant repetition,
by watchfulness, etc. Habit acts as a motive when established, so that while
we think we are acting without motive we may be
acting under the strong motive power of some well
established habit. Herbert Spencer has well said:
"The habitually honest man does what is right, not
consciously because he 'ought' but with simple satisfaction; and is ill at ease
till it is done." Some may object that mis idea of Habit as a basis of
Character may do away with the idea of a developed moral
conscientiousness, as for instance, Josiah Royce who says:
"The establishment of
organized habit is never in itself enough to ensure the growth of an enlightened moral conscientiousness," but
to such we would say that one must "want to" cultivate
a high character before he will create the habits
usual to the same, and the "want to" is the sign
of the "moral conscientiousness," rather than the habit. And the same
is true of the "ought to" side of
the subject. The "ought to" arises in the conscious mind in the beginning, and inspires the
cultivation of the habit, although
the latter after a while becomes automatic, a matter of the sub-conscious
mentality, without any "ought
to" attachment. It then becomes a matter of "like to."
Thus
we sec that the moulding, modifying, changing. and building of Character is
largely a matter of the establishing of Habits. And what is the best way to establish Habits? becomes our next question.
The answer of the Yogi is: "Establish a Mental Image, and then build your Habit around it." And in that
sentence he has condensed a whole
system.
Everything we see
having a form is built around a mental
imageeither the mental image of some man, some animal, or of the
Absolute. This is tin-rule of the universe,
and in the matter of character-building
we but follow a well established rule. When we wish to build a house, we first
think of "house" in a general way. Then we begin to think of
"what kind" of a house. Then we go
into details. Then we consult an
architect, and he makes us a plan, which plan is his mental image,
suggested by our mental image.
Then, the plan once decided upon, we consult the builder, and at last the
house stands completed an objectified
Mental Image. And so it is with every created thingall manifestation of
a Mental Image.
And so, when we wish to establish a trait of Character, we must form a
clear, distinct Mental Image of what we wish to be. This is an important step.
Make your
picture clear and distinct, and fasten it in your mind. Then begin to build
around it. Let your thoughts dwell upon the
mental picture. Let your imagination see yourself as possessed of the
desired trait, and acting it out. Act it out in your imagination, over and over again, as often as possible,
persevering, and continuously, seeing yourself manifesting the trait under a variety of circumstances and
conditions. As you continue to do this you will find that you will
gradually begin to express the thought in actionto objectify the subjective
mental image. It will become "natural" for you to act more and more
in accordance with your mental image, until at last the new habit will become firmly fixed in your mind, and will become your natural mode of action and expression.
This is no vague,
visionary theory. It is a well known and
proven psychological fact, and thousands have worked marvelous changes
in their character by its means.
Not only may one
elevate his moral character in this way,
but he may mould his "work-a-day" self to better conform to
the needs of his environment and occupation.
If one lacks Perseverance, be may attain it; if
one is filled with Fear, he may supplant it with Fearlessness; if one lack
Self-confidence, he may gain it. In fact, there is no
trait that may not be developed in this
way. People have literally "made themselves over" by following this method of character-building. The
great trouble with the race has been that persons have not realized that they could do these things. They have thought that they were doomed to remain just the creatures that they found themselves to be. They did not realize
that the work of creation was not ended,
and that they had within themselves a creative power adapted to the needs of their case. When man first realizes this truth, and proves it by
practice, he becomes another being.
He finds himself superior to environment
and traininghe finds that he may ride over these things. He makes his
own environment, and he trains himself.
In some of the larger schools in England and the United States, certain scholars who have developed and manifested the ability to control themselves and their actions
are placed on the roll of a grade called the "Self-governed
grade." Those in this grade act as if they had
memorized the following words of Herbert Spencer:
"In the supremacy of self-control consists one of
the perfections of the ideal man. Not to be impulsivenot
to be spurred hither and thither by each
desirebut to be self-restrained, self-balanced, governed
by the just decision of the feelings in council assembled * *
* that it is which moral education
strives to produce." And this is the desire of the writer of this
lessonto place each student in the "Self-governed
class."
We cannot attempt, in the short space of a single lesson, to map out a course of instruction in Character Building
adapted to the special needs of each individual.
But we think that what we have said on the subject
should be sufficient to point out the method for each
student to map out a course for himself, following the genera) rules given
above. As a help to the student, however,
we will give a brief course of instruction
for the cultivation of one desirable trait of character. The general plan of this course may be adapted to fit the
requirements of any other case, if intelligence is used by the student. The case we have selected is that of a student who has been
suffering from "a lack of Moral
Couragea lack of Self-Con-fidencean
inability to maintain my poise in the presence of other peoplean inability to say 'No!'a feeling of Inferiority to those with whom I come
in contact." The brief outline
of the course of practice given in this case is herewith given:
Preliminary Thought. You should
fix firmly in your mind the fact that you are the Equal of any and every man. You come
from the same source. You are an expression
of the same One Life. In the eyes of the Absolute you are the equal of any man,
even the highest in the land. Truth is "Things as God sees them"and in Truth you and the man are
equal, and, at the last, One. All feelings of Inferiority are illusions, errors, and lies, and have no existence in Truth.
When in the company of others remember this fact and realize that the Life Principle in you
is talking to the Life Principle in
them. Let the Life Principle flow
through you, and endeavor to forget your personal self. At the same time, endeavor to see that same Life Principle, behind and beyond the
personality of the person in whose
presence you are. He is by a personality hiding the Life Principle, just
as you are. Nothing morenothing less!
You are both One in Truth.
Let the conscious of the "I" beam forth and you will experience an uplift and sense of Courage,
and the other will likewise feel it.
You have within you the Source of Courage, Moral and Physical, and you have naught to FearFearlessness
is your Divine Heritage, avail yourself of it. You have Self-Conscience, for the Self is the "I"
within you, not the petty personality, and
you must have confidence in that
"I." Retreat within yourself
until you feel the presence of the
"I," and then will you have a Self-Confidence that nothing can shake or disturb. Once having
attained the permanent consciousness of the "I," you will have
poise. Once having realized that you
are a Center of Power, you will have no difficulty in saying "No!"
when it is right to do so. Once having
realized your true natureyour Real Self you will lose all sense of Inferiority, and will know that you are a manifestation of the One Life and
have behind you the strength, power,
and grandeur of the Cosmos.
Begin by realizing yourself, and
then proceed with the following methods of training the mind. Word Images. It is difficult for the mind
to build itself around an idea, unless that idea be expressed in words. A word is the center of an idea, just as
the idea is the center of the mental image, and the mental image the center of
the growing mental habit. Therefore, the Yogis always lay great stress upon
the use of words in this way. In the
particular case before us, we should suggest the holding before you of a few
words crystallizing the main thought. We
suggest the words "I Am"; Courage; Confidence; Poise; Firmness ;
Equality. Commit these words to memory, and then endeavor to fix in your
mind a clear conception of the meaning of each word, so that each may stand for
a Live Idea when you say it. Beware of
parrot-like or phonographic repetition.
Let each word's meaning stand out clearly before you, so that when you
repeat it you may feel its meaning.
Repeat the words over frequently, when opportunity presents itself, and
you will soon begin to notice that they act as a strong mental tonic upon you,
producing a bracing, energizing effect. And
each time you repeat the words, understandingly, you have done something
to clear away the mental path over which you wish to travel. Practice. When you are at leisure, and
are able to indulge in "day dreams" without injury to your affairs
of life, call your imagination into play and endeavor to picture yourself as
being possessed of the qualities indicated
by the words named. Picture yourself
under the most trying circumstances, making use of the
desired qualities, and manifesting them fully. Endeavor
to picture yourself as acting out your part well, and
exhibiting the desired qualities. Do not be ashamed to indulge in these
day-dreams, for they are the prophecies of the things to
follow, and you are but rehearsing your part before the
day of the performance. Practice makes perfect, and
if you accustom yourself to acting in a certain
way in imagination, you will find it much easier to play
your part when the real performance occurs. This
may seem childish to many of you, but if you have an
actor among your acquaintances, consult him about
it, and you will find that he will heartily recommend
it. He will tell you what practice does for one in
this direction, and how repeated practice and rehearsals
may fix a character so firmly in a man's mind that
he may find it difficult to divest himself of it after a
time. Choose well the part you wish to playthe
character you wish to be yoursand then after fixing it
well in your mind, practice, practice, practice.
Keep your ideal constantly before you, and endeavor
to grow into it. And you will succeed, if you
exercise patience and perseverance.
But,
more than this. Do not confine your practice to mere
private rehearsal. You need some "dress rehearsals"
as wellrehearsals in public. Therefore, after you
get well started in your work, manage to exercise
your growing character-habits in your everyday life.
Pick out the little cases first and "try it on them."