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DYNAMIC THOUGHT BY HENRY THOMAS HAMBLIN Harmony, Health, Success, Achievement, Self-Mastery, Optimism, Prosperity, Peace of Mind, Through the Power of Right Thinking This Edition Contains The Advanced Postgraduate Lesson [1923] NOTICE OF ATTRIBUTION Scanned at sacred-texts.com, November 2005. This text is in the public domain in the United States because it was published between 1923 and 1964 and its copyright was not renewed in a timely fashion at the US Copyright Office as required by law at the time. These files may be used for any non-commercial purpose, provided this notice of attribution is left intact in all copies This text is taken from the tremendous web page, http://www.sacred-texts.com/, 2007-09-07, as an html text and then converted to a pdf file. You will find this pdf file at www.warriorprincess.org, for free download. If you like this ebook, please pass it on. p. 3 THINGS TO OBSERVE Do not worry because you cannot follow the course exactly to the letter. Do what you can of it, adapt it to your life, and do the best you can in present circumstances. The principal thing is to get twice daily into what is called the Silence, to quieten the senses, and get in touch with the Unseen, i.e., God, Divine Mind, the Infinite, Principle of Good, First Cause, the Absolute, the name does not matter, they all mean the same. Another vital thing is to use affirmations and denials, these will be explained more fully later. Yet another is meditation, for you gradually grow into the likeness of that upon which you meditate. Still another is visualizing. Always visualize the good, the beautiful, and true, and p. 4 your life will reflect these things. Incidentally, the practice of visualization greatly increases one's powers of concentration. Also while you are receiving this course and for some time after, refrain from all hazardous speculation. Do not launch out in business without sufficient capital and then expect everything to turn out all right. Instead wait until the way is made clear. Guidance and help will come in time, therefore do not try to force things. Remember that although as soon as you start right thinking, you begin to build up your life, yet it takes time to manifest. At first things may seem to be worse, if so keep on and they will soon settle down. You cannot fail in the long run if you will persist and persevere. p. 5 I want you to realize: That within you are infinite power and possibilities. That the inward Power can be aroused and brought into expression by holding high ideals in the mind and by affirmations and meditation. That it is necessary to spend a short time in the Unseen both night and morning. That by so doing you can enter a super-conscious realm where your word is creative. That what you speak comes to pass, that what you mentally picture must come true. That it is only by following high ideals that true success can be achieved. Therefore, picture a higher life--the highest you can conceive, and affirm that it is yours. Remember that this higher life is without sickness, disease, forward with joy--you can never fail. p. 7 DYNAMIC THOUGHT Success and Character Building PART I THE objects of this course are: (1) To alter your mental attitude, and (2) To direct your thoughts into those channels which lead to success, achievement, health, happiness and perfect good; (3) The arousing of the inward POWER, and (4) The overcoming of bad habits; (5) The building up of character, and (6) The discovery and development of the creative faculty. How these are accomplished will be explained to you in their proper place and at the proper time, but first of all I want you to consider, thoughtfully, what is before you. It is not exactly an easy road which you have chosen. No path that leads upward p. 8 ever is. The path of victory is always thorny; but when the thorns hurt the feet most, we can console ourselves with the thought that the path really does lead somewhere, and we know definitely that it leads to Success, Achievement, Happiness and Satisfaction. Difficulties there will be, disappointments, failures and set-backs, but to him who sets his face towards the light, and will keep steadily onward, there must come success and accomplishment and victory, above all expectation. If now you merely read this and pass on, the amount of good that it will do you will be none at all. This course is useless if you do not "do" it, reading it will do you little or no good, it is the doing of it that will change your character and your life. Therefore, stop now and think carefully over the path that lies before you; estimate its difficulties, do not think lightly of them, be prepared for difficulty, and make up your mind, here and now, to conquer. You may have failed in the past, but this time you must, you will, and you shall overcome p. 9 every difficulty and weakness, and achieve dominion over yourself, victory over your circumstances and complete control over your life. THERE MUST AND SHALL BE NO FAILURE THIS TIME. THIS TIME YOU ARE GOING TO SUCCEED THROUGH THE POWER THAT IS WITHIN YOU. Now close your eyes, and mentally picture yourself, radiant, strong, successful, happy, full of the joy and zest of life. See yourself treading a path that leads ever upwards. Behind you the air is murky and gloomy, but in front is increasing brightness and loveliness. See yourself progressing, climbing, winning. See yourself trampling old habits and weaknesses under your feet. See yourself meeting difficulties in your path, and see yourself, sustained by a mighty inward power, brushing all obstructions aside, and never faltering in your upward climb. Concentrate with all your powers upon p. 10 this mental imagery. Persevere until you can see yourself radiant, sublime, shorn of all weaknesses and imperfections, the perfect image of your perfect self. See yourself full of vitality and health, see yourself successful, attracting both people and affluence to you. Make a concrete, sharply defined image in your mind of yourself as you desire to be; see yourself master of circumstances, attracting all good things by the power of your mental forces. WHATEVER YOU CREATE, IN THIS MANNER, IN YOUR MENTAL WORLD, WILL LATER BE MANIFESTED IN YOUR OUTWARD LIFE. In other words, by mental imagery you are creating your future self. You will gradually grow into the likeness of the image that you are now creating. Therefore create the right image. Let your ambition be a high one; do not picture yourself as a common man, satisfied with vulgar pleasures, instead, create a perfect man, the most perfect of which you can conceive. In the same way when you throw your mind forward and foresee the task before p. 11 you and "will" that all difficulties shall be overcome, and that if you get weary of well doing, you will not give up but will persevere, and arouse fresh interest in the task of self culture and achievement, then you are already winning the battle in advance, you are making your ultimate success doubly sure. I want you to realize that this journey of yours is not a walk over, I want you to understand that it is a fight all the way, but at the same time to realize that it is a winning fight all the time; for although difficulties are real, yet you have within you the Powers which make difficulties and obstacles melt away. Great and omnipotent is the Power within you. Nothing can stay your upward climb, there is nobody who can prevent you succeeding except yourself; there is nothing that can stop your progress but your own doubt and fear. All things are possible if you believe that they are possible. Unbounded confidence, the keynote of Success. YOU cannot fail, YOU, yourself, are Success. p. 12 Another word for "unbounded confidence" is "faith." Every successful man is a confident man. He believes wholeheartedly in his own power to succeed. This is not vanity or being too "cock-sure," instead it is either conscious, or unconscious, or sub-conscious realization of the Inward Power. This is why so few men are really successful, so few men ever arouse the mighty powers that are within them, so few men think the kind of thoughts that bring these powers into life and action. Every successful man is a man of "faith," every successful man is a man who cultivates "hope." A successful man is always hopeful, is never a pessimist and he brings that which he hopes for, into being and reality, by the strength of his faith. Therefore I want you first of all to cultivate Hope and Faith for without those qualities no one, no matter how gifted or clever, can ever succeed. That you have these two qualities is proved by the fact that you are reading this course. You have had the hope of winning your way to a life of Success, and Power, p. 13 and you have had the Faith to believe that within you are the powers and forces which make this possible. Without Hope a man is as good as dead, without Faith he is like a rudderless ship drifting hither and thither with every wind and current. On the other hand all things are possible to the man who has both these qualities. Cast your eyes over the lives of all men of great achievement, and you will see that they were all animated by Hope and sustained by Faith. They hoped for success and believed that they had it in them to achieve that success. In their darkest hours they hoped on, believing that soon the reaction would come, which would carry them on to the accomplishment of their ambitions. Nothing has ever yet been accomplished by man on this planet without the inspiration of Hope and the tenacity of Faith. Hope reaches forward and claims success, faith holds on until success is attained. Therefore seek to develop these qualities to their fullest extent. It is a well known fact that when a man turns his face round and determines to fight p. 14 his way to success, or to overcome evil habit, or to raise himself in any way either mentally, morally, physically or spiritually, then everything seems to happen to thwart his new intention and to throttle his new desires. So long as he goes on in his old way, drifting with the tide, floating about helplessly, the sport of fate and the prey of outside circumstances, so long as this goes on, nothing unusual happens. But directly a start is made in an upward direction, then all kinds of psychic powers seem to be let loose, whose object appears to be to prevent the student from making any progress in his new life. When a man realizes his own interior powers and understands the vastness and wonder of his subliminal forces, and determines to make use of them, and thus become a king among men instead of a slave, then such a disturbance takes place that unless he possesses Hope and Faith he will be tempted to turn his back on the new life and to sink back again into the old sluggish drifting existence, which leads to disappointment and despair. Those people variously known as Christian p. 15 [paragraph continues] Scientists, Mental Scientists, Spiritual Scientists, etc. (no matter what they call themselves, they all deal with the powers of the mind) all experience the same thing. Even the health is affected in a curious way, friends are peevish and irritable, little things go wrong in business, and generally one is out of sorts and all things awry. When this experience comes to one, then is the time to exercise Hope and Faith. First of all remember that the condition is only temporary. After a few days, in some cases it may be weeks, the health will improve, friends will become genial and harmony will again reign in your life. When the entities that cause the disturbance realize that you mean to keep on, and that you cannot be bullied into going back to the old life, they will quickly leave you. In any case there is nothing to be afraid of, because these entities are helpless if one does not fear them. In other words, if you have Hope and Faith you can win through. Hope for better times although the present may be discouraging. Faith in the sure belief that soon all the disagreeable symptoms will disappear. p. 16 Hope on; by Faith, hang on, and keep hanging on and you will win through. Do not be discouraged by seeming failure, nothing was ever won without effort. What can be had without effort is not worth having. Take encouragement from the fact that this disturbance in your life proves that vital changes are taking place within, that the vast powers of your subliminal mind are beginning to awaken, and that the entities of your old erroneous beliefs and habits are taking their departure. Believe now that you can conquer and win through, and you will conquer and win through. What you believe you can do, you can do, because all power is within you. There is nothing in all the world that can stop you, except your own doubt and fear. I want you to trust me to the extent of doing something, the underlying principle of which cannot be explained in this first lesson. I want you to make what is known as an "affirmation," I want you to affirm the following: "THE OLD LIFE IS DEAD p. 17 AND BURIED. I HAVE SEVERED MYSELF FROM IT ONCE AND FOR ALL. HENCEFORTH I LIVE THE NEW LIFE OF SUCCESS AND POWER, OF SELF- MASTERY AND ALL ACCOMPLISHMENT." First of all memorize these words. Keep repeating them over until they sink deeply into your memory, and their meaning finds a place in your consciousness. If you can get a few moments to yourself during the day, practice making the affirmations. The right way is as follows: Go into a quiet place, whether you sit, stand, or lie down is immaterial. Now close your eyes and say the words over very earnestly. Strive to realize all that they mean and address the words to your inner mind. It is your submerged mind that you are influencing, so address the affirmation very earnestly to it. Do this for several minutes, and finish by making the affirmation into space. Hurl it out as a message to the Universe and by so doing you will come into harmony with innumerable invisible forces, who will help and strengthen you. p. 18 Do not make the affirmation while in a state of strain and nervous tension. Relax yourself, take a deep breath, and as you exhale let your muscles go limp; smooth out your nerves until your whole body is in a peaceful easy state. Concentrate your thoughts on what you are doing. If they wander bring them back and begin again. The more you concentrate the better will be the result. The most important, in fact the time above all times for making the affirmation is just as you are falling to sleep. There is a great psychological reason for this. If you can fall asleep while making the affirmation, or while visualizing it, so much the better. Therefore take no food or stimulants (it is better to avoid the latter altogether) just before retiring. The reason cannot be given here because it would take too long, but it is an important one. In the early morning immediately on waking is the next best time, both times should be made use of, and on no account be missed, but of the two the one just before sleep is by far the more important. p. 19 The influence of these two affirmations will be felt during the day, they will have an effect upon your mental outlook, and upon the way in which you will deal with the problems of your day's work; but this influence can be intensified and buttressed up, as it were, by "retiring into yourself" at intervals, during the day, and mentally repeating the affirmation. This will give you a sense of power and confidence and hope, such as you have never experienced before. This is not "imagination," it is your hitherto unsuspected interior powers being aroused into activity. When you have finished making the affirmation, again close your eyes and make a mental picture of yourself in the manner already taught. Endeavor to see yourself a radiant being, with the old life and its murkiness and imperfections left far behind you. Picture yourself pressing forward to higher and better things, meeting difficulties, it is true, but overcoming them, trampling old habits, weaknesses and imperfections under your feet. Try and realize that you have the power to raise yourself above the ordinary things of life, that p. 20 you can breathe a rarer and purer atmosphere. Picture yourself as a new being, happier, healthier, brighter and more radiant than ever you have been even at your most sublime moments. This will not be easy. It requires concentration and perseverance. You will find it difficult to see yourself as you wish to see yourself, or you will find it not easy to see yourself clearly at all, also you will find it difficult to keep your mind concentrated upon the making of the image. There is only one thing to do and that is to keep on trying. Thus in the first lesson do you come face to face with a battle royal. With most students this visualizing is a great difficulty, but no matter how difficult it may be, it has to be overcome. If you fail to overcome this difficulty then you fail in this course of lessons; if you fail to overcome now, you will fail in the larger things of life. The best way to overcome a difficulty is by getting interested in it. When you have developed interest, enthusiasm is aroused, and after that concentration becomes comparatively p. 21 easy, and this commands success. Therefore get interested in this problem of visualizing. Remember that all men of great achievement have had this power greatly developed, therefore if you wish to be great and successful you must first develop this same faculty. There has never been a great act or achievement in the world's history that was not first visualized in this manner. Everything is first created in the unseen before it is manifested in the seen. When you, by dint of practice, can visualize clearly and distinctly, you will have developed creative power, not figuratively, but literally so. Whatever you create in your mental world by means of visualizing will in time be manifested in the outer physical world. The outer world of matter is subservient to the inner world of mind. This is a great occult truth which has been withheld from ordinary people and has been until recently the closely guarded secret of certain secret orders. It is now given into your hands, you are put upon your honor not to reveal it to others. When they have reached a p. 22 certain stage of their development, the knowledge will come to them by some channel or other, and in the meantime it does more harm than good to try to impart occult knowledge to those who are not interested or ready to receive it. I hope enough has been said to arouse your interest in, and enthusiasm for, visualizing. The more clearly you can visualize, the more clean cut will be the results in your daily life. This creative power can be so highly developed that a sick man can make himself well, a poor man can change his circumstances from poverty to prosperity, and a miserable and despondent pessimist can change himself into a cheery, optimist. By visualizing, and by denials and affirmations (which will be explained later), by meditation and by the exercise of Hope and Faith the life, character and circumstances can be transformed. The results are so extraordinary that it is very difficult to get people to believe them, but they are none the less real. Therefore practice your affirmations and persevere with your visualizing, they will lead to results of p. 23 which you can at present form but a faint conception. To obtain the best results from this course it is necessary to set apart a special time every day for meditation and concentration. The reason man is so weak and unhappy is because he lives the whole of his time in the objective life, the shallow material life of the senses, and neglects the deeper, grander and transcendental life of the inner mind. It is the inner life that gives power and peace and satisfaction. The outer material life of the infinite mind of the senses only bring worry and care, the inner life of the deeper mind brings strength, wisdom, understanding and ability to accomplish and achieve. It is a proved scientific fact that you grow into the likeness of that upon which you meditate. If you meditate upon evil then evil will come into your life; if you meditate upon revenge, your life will be turned into an inferno of trouble; on the other hand, if you meditate upon happiness and other higher mental states, then happiness p. 24 will be yours, and if you let your thoughts dwell upon "peace" then peace of mind will result. All these states and many others are within you; they can be called forth by meditation. You can call forth either good or evil, success or failure, strength or weakness, happiness or woe, everything is in your own hands. p. 25 MEDITATION I To be used every day and twice a day if possible, between the hours of 6 and 9 a.m. and 9 and 11:30 p.m. Other times are suitable, but those mentioned will be found especially valuable to students, as between these hours their teacher is meditating upon the same thoughts, and the vibrations from his mind will be helpful to all who are "tuned to receive them." Try and arrange to spend half an hour in meditation before retiring for the night. Sit in a quiet place, relax your body and concentrate upon these words: Within me are infinite powers seeking expression. In the past, because I did not know of their existence, they have been stifled and suppressed. Now I "will" that they shall be called into activity, and find perfect and full expression in my body in the form of perfect health, in my life in the p. 26 form of success and achievement, in my heart in the form of a mighty upwelling of joy and happiness. Now that I have discovered this hidden and inexhaustible store of power and energy, my life is transformed; weakness gives place to strength, sorrow to happiness, morbidness to radiant joy, pessimism to divine optimism, despair to hope, failure to success, poverty to prosperity, sickness to health. Henceforth only the highest good can come into my life. Now by the power of my thought-forces I am allied with and joined to the Infinite Principle of Good, and we have become one. Henceforth for me there is, and can be, no evil, only Infinite Good. All evil is now cast out of my life, because I am one with the Infinite Good. "No evil can come nigh my dwelling"; "nothing can harm or destroy." Henceforth by scientific thinking I control my life, for my life is the result or effect of my thoughts. When evil thoughts, or weak thoughts, or impure thoughts, or failure thoughts, or fear thoughts, or poverty thoughts, or hate thoughts, or disease thoughts assail me, I will cast them out and think only of thoughts of love, and strength, p. 27 of health and prosperity, of success and achievement, and of the Infinite Perfection with which I am now allied, and of which I form a part. ______________ When meditating upon the above, take each thought separately in turn and concentrate all your thoughts upon it. Not only grasp its meaning, but try and picture what it means. For instance: "My life is transformed." When you think upon these words, try and see your life being transformed, see your weaknesses falling away from you like an old garment, and instead, strength, success and noble qualities being born in their place. Practice and concentrate and FEEL the power of this meditation. This ends the metaphysical part of this week's lesson, the following are some brief hints of great value to the student beginning the study of Scientific Thought: (1) Everything works according to Law, we each of us have what we deserve. (2) Covet no man's goods, possessions or happiness; p. 28 he deserves them, let him alone. Realize that the Universe holds all that you can possibly desire--for you. (3) Hate no man. Hatred will come back like a boomerang and hurt you far more than it can the object of your hatred. Ignore what you cannot like, and concentrate your mind on pleasant things. (4) Be true, be honest, be faithful. All these create vibrations which will bring back blessings and happiness to you. You have entered a life, the power and possibilities of which you at present have no conception. If I described it now you would not understand. But, believe me, it is a life of Power to accomplish and Victory over all weaknesses. It is a life of Prosperity and true Success. It is a life of transcendent Joy. It is a life of peace and blessing to your fellows. Look up. Keep looking up. Keep on affirming. Keep on visualizing. Keep on meditating. Keep on believing. Keep on hoping. What you hope for, and believe, and affirm, and visualize, is yours. Remember also that you grow into the likeness of that which you meditate upon. p. 29 The brain is a very delicate instrument; it is the vehicle through which the mind finds expression. The mind cannot manifest its power if the brain is clouded by grossness of body. The one who would improve his or her mind, who would awaken the mighty powers within, must give up hurtful physical habits. It is useless to attempt to eradicate bad mental habits while the body is suffering from indulgence of any kind. For instance, it would be waste of time to affirm all or any of the higher qualities of the mind and then to go to bed intoxicated or full of pork chops and fried onions. Let your diet be on the light side, always rise from the table slightly hungry rather than repleted, and never eat later than three hours before retiring to bed. For instance, if you go to bed at 11 p. m. do not eat at a later hour than 8 p. m. This is a most important point, the affirmations have more power if made when fasting, therefore the last thing at night and the time of waking in the early morning are the best times at which to perform them. There are physical and psychological reasons for this. p. 30 Bathe the body every day and follow by rough towelling. Do not wear too much clothing. Avoid tight collars and neck bands. Take a fair amount of exercise, walking is the best form for most people. When walking keep the shoulders fairly well back, the back hollow and the body well balanced over the hips. Above all keep the head up. Do not look down, but LOOK UP. There is a reason for this. As regards diet, eat the food that agrees with you best, but eat if you can digest them one or two raw things every day; raw ripe fruit, salad, water cress, etc.; again there is a reason. Masticate each mouthful of food until it becomes liquid. Get into the habit of breathing deeply and through the nose. Keep the mouth firmly closed. Keep your windows open night and day, fresh air is cheap. Lastly, try always to maintain a cheerful frame of mind. p. 31 APPENDIX It will be helpful for you to think of your subliminal Mind as another person, one who is always listening, listening, listening. He hears all that you say, and ACTS UPON all the thoughts that you let pass the threshold of the inner mind. "Hush! he is listening," should be the watch-word of your life. Let no thought of evil, of impurity, of weakness, of ill-health, of failure, of hate, of anger, of fear, enter your Subliminal Mind, for he will receive them as orders which he will obey, and being all-powerful, great and terrible will be the results. Therefore let only thoughts of good, purity, strength, health, success, love, self-control, courage and determination enter this greater mind of vast intelligence and power. Do this, and your Subliminal Mind will take these thoughts as orders, and will shape your life and health accordingly. Thus in a general way your Subliminal p. 32 [paragraph continues] Mind will be led to develop your life on healthful and successful, noble and harmonious lines. The visualizing taught in this course, also the denials (explained later), affirmations, meditations and other exercises, all have a very strong, deep, scientific purpose in view, and this is the training of the Subliminal Mind. The Affirmation and the Visualizing taught in this lesson are given you in order to make a definite impression upon your Subliminal Mind. The main object of this lesson is to make a dent or impression on the Subliminal Mind and to make it realize that the old life is dead and that you have now entered a new life of health, success and power. Your Subliminal Mind will accept this if you persevere with the visualizing and affirmations, and will thus be prepared for the more advanced training which is to follow. Let "Hush! he is listening" be the watch-word of your life. p. 33 DYNAMIC THOUGHT Success and Power Building PART II GAZE up into the sky at night and sense the infinite majesty of the Universe. Get mentally into touch with those patient stars that flash and twinkle like gems of purest water. Realize that they are suns, situated millions of miles away. Then think of our own little spot in the Universe--the Solar System. Think of the majestic Magnetic Sun; the planets all following certain paths guided by a wonderful system of Universal Law. Observe the precision of the rising and setting of the Sun, the lunar periods, p. 34 the rhythmic ebb and flow of the tidal sea. Let your mind grasp what all this means, let it sweep right from the grandest aspect of Nature down to the atom itself and what does it see? A Power expressing itself in an infinite variety of ways, in everything, and through everything. There is nothing, not a grain, not an atom, not an electron, that does not contain this wondrous Power. Man has been described as an epitome of the Universe; an atom clairvoyantly observed has been described as a replica of the Solar System; therefore we have universe within universe, solar system within solar system, and all animated, controlled and directed by the Universal or Infinite Mind. Therefore the Power that animates man is an Infinite Power--in man the Infinite Mind finds its highest expression on the visible plane. At one time man was thought to be an animal with a soul. Now he is known to be an indestructible Ego with an imperishable Mind finding expression in a temporary physical body. p. 35 The cause of all man's weakness, mistakes and failures, has been that he has not realized the Power within; instead, he has thought himself to be separate and friendless, weak and helpless, adrift, without chart or compass upon the sea of life. He has thought himself to be the victim of circumstance, the sport of fate, and the puppet of forces outside himself. He has called himself a worm instead of looking upon himself as a king. He has though, himself to be worthless and insignificant instead of realizing his wonderful interior. POWERS and the grandeur of his being. Instead of being a worm, man is a king. Potentially all the powers of the Infinite Mind are his. Instead of being the victim of circumstances he can control them. Instead of being the puppet of forces outside himself, he has within him the Power to be what he will; to do what he will; to accomplish all that he desires. Now at last the darkness is being pierced and man realizes that he is a mental creature, and that he is MIND as well as matter, that is, as Mind, is one with the Universal p. 36 or Infinite MIND. That the difference between him and the Infinite or Universal MIND is not one of kind, but of degree. Like a traveller lost in the bush, who, almost dying, at last finds his way to a permanent spring of water, and drinks and drinks again, knowing that he can never exhaust the everlasting supply; so does man after long wanderings, at last realize, that within him is a fountain of never failing Power and Wisdom, and that his subliminal mind is linked up with, and forms a part of, the Infinite Mind of the Universe. This is the greatest discovery in the history of the World; this is the crowning revelation of all the ages; this is the blinding knowledge that dwarfs every other knowledge THAT WITHIN MAN DWELLS THE INFINITE AND UNFATHOMABLE MIND OF THE UNIVERSE. Call how he may on these hidden forces, they can never fail to respond, for they are infinite and inexhaustible. Man stands alone and apart from all other creatures, p. 37 in this visible world around him, in that he has the power to govern his own actions, choose right or wrong, to mould his own fate, and create his own life and circumstances. To other creatures, life and the visible world are fixed quantities. To man, life and the world are reflexes of inward mental states. Thus, can he make life what he will; thus can he live in a world of his own creating. Man alone has the power to realize and recognize the inward Power of the Infinite, and to consciously bring It into objectivity. The inward powers of the mind are potentially illimitable, but they lie dormant and unexpressed, until they are recognized, and aroused into action, by the individual. This is why the majority of people are so worried and distressed. Why they either fail to make life worth living or achieve only partial success, and that with great difficulty. They try to achieve without the power to achieve. They marvel at their own weakness, not realizing that within p. 38 them lie immeasurable powers which are patiently waiting to find expression. Until man calls these powers into activity they can never act. Within him is that which is connected with the Power-House of the Universe, yet he never feels its power. Within him is Infinite Wisdom, Knowledge, Inspiration, Creative Power and driving Force, yet he slumbers on, unconscious of their existence. But to those who realize their own interior Powers. what a mine of inexhaustible treasure do they find, what force and energy for all accomplishment When you, dear reader, enter into the realization of the mighty Power within you, you enter into possession of all good and perfect things. You cease to strive, and squabble, and snatch, with selfish anxious hand, the bread from another's mouth. You leave off striving, with palpitating heart and careworn face, to push your way in front of the one next to you. Instead, you set your ambitions high, and sustained and carried forward by invisible forces, enter into possession of all that you desire. p. 39 Work? Yes, you will work, for right thinking--and this realization of the Power within you is the result of right thinking--is the inspiration of all right action. You will work hard enough-- and no one is happy who does not work--but the difference will be that your work will be the greatest joy in your joyful life. Joy! there is no joy like the joy of work well loved and well done, and which leads to accomplishment and victory. Work! yes, you will work, but not with the feverish haste or with the fear of failure and bankruptcy ever before you. Instead, you will work with confidence and power, sure in the knowledge, that your efforts lead definitely to Success. When you have realized the inward Power, you will feel it pushing you in the back and impelling you forward, you will feel yourself borne along to the goal of your endeavor. Whereas formerly you were chasing Success, and waiting on it cap in hand; in future you will realize that you are master; that you command and Success obeys. p. 40 You realize that instead of as in the past, running after fame and fortune, which, like a will o’ the wisp, constantly eluded you, you have now the power to attract all desirable things to you. Instead of feverish anxiety and joyless quest, you possess calm confidence and the power to accomplish everything that you desire. There will be no anxiety, no care for the morrow; instead--the confidence of exact knowledge- -the knowledge that the results will be exactly as arranged. Just as today is the result of past thinking, so the future will be the result of what is built today. Therefore you do certain things today and you KNOW with mathematical certainty what the future results will be. Like John Burroughs you can say: "I stay my haste, I make delays, For what avails this anxious pace, I stand amid eternal ways, And what is mine shall know my face." p. 40 "What is mine shall know my face," that is the basis of all success, the confidence, the exact knowledge that what you are sowing now will be reaped a hundredfold; that in the future you will enter into occupation of that which you are building now, that what you claim as your own NOW, out of all the riches of the Universal Store House, will be yours in the future. It is yours NOW, you enter into possession in the days to come. ______________ You will now begin to see why I ask you to use affirmations. In succeeding lessons will be explained what affirmations are, their object and the manner in which they work. In the meantime make use of the same affirmation that you have been using in the past week, but with something added. It will now read: p. 42 The old life is dead and buried. I have severed myself from it once and for all. Henceforth I live the new life of Success and Power, Self-Mastery and all Accomplishment. This I do, not in the strength of my feeble will and surface mind of my ordinary consciousness, but by the Infinite Power of my deeper inner MIND which is one with, and forms a part of, the Infinite Universal Mind. Make the affirmations earnestly. Think of what you are saying. Enter into all that the words mean. Try and feel their power. Do not, however, screw yourself up to a nervous tension, instead let yourself relax. First your body with its muscles and nerves--let them all go limp, then your mind--let that unbend also. Now affirm calmly and confidently as instructed, and then visualize a picture of yourself, radiant, calm, and possessed of a new power. See yourself master of all weaknesses and passions, directing yourself, guiding your life with unerring wisdom, shaping your course to a glorious destiny. Practice and keep on practicing the art of visualizing. Remember p. 43 that you are dealing with finer matter than that which is discerned by the senses, but it is none the less real; in fact, it is far more real. The fact that you can see with your mind's eye that which you have created by your mental processes, is proof that what you have created exists. If it did not exist you could not see it, If, therefore, you create in your mental realm a picture of yourself, radiant, successful, self disciplined, master of your life and destiny, then you are creating a new YOU which in process of time will become objectified in your outward life. In other words, the new YOU, the radiant being of your mental imagery, will later manifest itself in a new outside physical YOU. Whatever is created in the Unseen, later becomes manifested in the Seen. This is an immutable Law. By mental imagery you create in the Unseen. Be careful what you create, whatever it is, good or bad, will find its way into your life and be read and known of all men. Whenever you meet with temptation or difficulty or if you let yourself get flustered at business, just "retire into yourself" tor a moment and make the affirmation p. 44 mentally, and "realize" that you are a new creature. You will then become conscious of THE INWARD POWER. MEDITATION NO. 2 Sit very quietly and relax nerves and muscles, and concentrate your thoughts upon a conception of an ideal world. Picture a world of indescribable beauty, without pain, sickness or care; without hate, unkindness or selfishness; without poverty, want or any lack. Picture mentally a world in which love and good will reign supreme, where beauty, joy, happiness, plenty and profusion of all good things are unstinted and for all. Picture a world where there is no limitation, where you can know everything, possess all the wisdom, and where you can be everywhere at the same time. In this world the colors of the flowers and of the sky are more beautiful and transparent than anything you have seen before, the singing of the birds more ravishing than anything yet heard. The inhabitants are all comely and gloriously healthy and strong, they are all animated by good p. 45 will and indescribably happy. This is the perfect World of MIND. Now concentrate upon this image. You will most probably find worry thoughts intruding. Thoughts of the rent, of the mistake one of your clerks has made in your business, of threatened competition, or of some slander or unkind imputation that may have been made against you. Whenever a thought tries to enter your mind dismiss it at once and concentrate your mind upon your ideal world. This will not be easy, but continue to persevere. It is most important that you should master this, as by so doing you are cultivating one of the most wonderful faculties of your mind. Therefore keep on dismissing the unwelcome thought by denying it. For instance, you are disturbed by the thought that something grossly unfair has been done to you, it makes your blood boil when you think of it. Immediately this thought comes to you, say at once, "in this perfect world of Mind there is no unfairness, in justice or unkindness, all is truth and honor and good will," and raise your thoughts p. 46 above this imperfect material life, and concentrate your mental gaze upon your ideal world. Again, a thought may come suggesting that the new competition in your business will ruin you. Immediately deny it by saying, "in this perfect world there is no competition, there is no failure; I am a perfect mental creature gifted with Infinite Powers, and I am above competition, I am success." Keep your mental vision on your ideal world the whole time and keep denying all your troubles one by one, and affirming their opposites. By your denials you "kill" the worry thought and by affirming its opposite you build up a character and mental outlook that are superior to worry and incapable of failure. NOT ONLY DO YOU KILL THE THOUGHT OF EVIL, YOU ALSO DESTROY THE EVIL ITSELF. This may sound fantastic to you, but E. is ABSOLUTELY TRUE. Later on you will be able to PROVE the truth of this beyond the shadow of a doubt. p. 47 APPENDIX It was seen in last week's Appendix that in a general way the Subliminal Mind could be influenced for good by allowing only thoughts of good, courage, health, success, etc., to pass the citadel of the mind. This is the foundation of all happiness and harmony in one's life, but if it is desired to arouse your latent powers, and to train your Subliminal to solve all your problems, to give you true inspiration and supply you with original ideas, other methods must be employed. Your great Subliminal Mind is not going to yield up its wonderful store of knowledge, neither is it going to act as the solver of all your problems, in response to a mere pious wish. What is necessary is, that very strong, concentrated, forceful directed thoughts should be sent down into this greater mind, continuously and persistently. Whatever message you keep sending down into your Subliminal Mind, provided it is not changed or altered, and that it is sufficiently p. 48 strong and concentrated, will be obeyed--in time. Some students will be longer than others, but every one sooner or later, who follows these instructions, will develop the power of directed Subliminal thinking. The first step is to impress very powerfully upon the Subliminal Mind that it is capable of solving all your problems. At present unless you are a very rare exception, your Subliminal Mind is hypnotized into the belief that it cannot solve your problems. So long as it believes that it cannot solve your problems it never will attempt the task, but once you can convince your Subliminal Mind that it has the power, the wisdom and knowledge to do so, then you will at once pass from weakness to power. You will have at your disposal a mind so vast and wonderful that the finite mind of the senses will be unable to grasp its full significance. In order to convince your Subliminal Mind that it can solve all your problems you must (1) believe yourself that it can do so, (2) have a strong desire to use your p. 49 hidden powers, (3) make strong affirmations that your Subliminal Mind can think constructively and drawing upon the All-knowledge solve every perplexity and problem, and (4) visualize yourself meeting with problems and having them solved immediately by referring them to your greater mind within. Within you are limitless powers, but they only become available when you consciously call upon them and make use of them. Therefore carry this thought strongly in your mind, "My Subliminal Mind can draw upon the Universal Intelligence and solve all my problems." When seeking to impress the Subliminal Mind it is necessary to get alone and to still the objective mind and the senses. When all thoughts of worry, business and material life, have been dismissed from the mind and perfect mental calm obtained, then you will be in a state favorable to (1) the sending of directions to the Subliminal Mind, and (2) receiving inspiration from it. p. 50 HEALTH We have seen in this lesson that within man dwells the Universal Mind, and that when he looks within he finds infinite power. In the same way man is also animated by the Infinite Life. So long as man ignores the infinite nature of his life, so long will he be weak, diseased, ill and miserable. The animal health of our fathers is passing away, and man is becoming more sensitive, more mental, more spiritual, and therefore depends more and more upon mental and spiritual forces for his life and health. Everyone is getting more nervous and highly strung, more imaginative, more sensitive to the power of thought and other spiritual and psychic forces. Therefore, man must look more and more to the one Source of all Life for his health, energy and vitality. Those who seek perfect health, and who does not these days, should deny every p. 51 thought of and belief in sickness, illness and disease and constantly affirm and visualize a state of perfect health and well-being. Always before your mental vision let this idea of health be dominant, let it be a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, leading you ever out of the land of bondage and sickness into the promised land of perfect radiant health. p. 52 The Unseen is greater than the Seen, therefore to work in the Unseen is to deal with the "cause" of which the outward life is the "effect." By working in the Unseen by means of meditation, affirmation, visualizing and by holding in our mind the highest ideals we arouse the Power that lies hidden within us. The Power that is within us is the power of the Universal Mind or Spirit, therefore it is infinite and illimitable; the only limit there can be is the limitation we place upon it by our lack of faith. Therefore in all your difficulties and battles remember that the Power within you is infinite. You are one with the Infinite if you will only believe it, if you can only realize it. Rise up and go forward with confidence, your highest ideals can. be attained too, if you will believe and have faith and reach upward to higher and better things. I affirm for you the inward knowledge of these things. p. 53 DYNAMIC THOUGHT Success and Character Building PART III WHILE the existence of the subliminal mind is a modern discovery to Western minds, it is ancient knowledge in the East. For centuries this knowledge has been treasured by certain orders of mystics. Dating right back to the earliest times we find evidence of signs and wonders being worked through the power of the subliminal mind. In the West, however, there has always been a tendency toward materialism. A materialist believes in matter. He wants to see, touch and handle before he will believe. Literally he will only believe what he sees through the senses, p. 54 Modern science has, however, knocked the ground from under the materialist's feet, because it is constantly proving that there is far more in the unseen than there is in the seen. Science, in spite of all its achievements, realizes that, up to the present, it has only been paddling on the edge of a mighty ocean of mystery. Science has, slowly and with huge and clumsy effort, now proved the existence of many things which scientists would not believe before, but which were known to the ancients, and have been known in the East for centuries. One of these is the existence of the subliminal mind. Mesmerism and Hypnotism have proved that man is composed of more than one MIND. There is the surface or outside mind of the senses. This mind reasons, learns from books and other outside sources, and function generally, on the physical plane. It is only a minute fraction of the total mind of man. Like the iceberg which only shows one-twelfth of itself above the surface of the sea, the other eleven-twelfths being submerged, the objective mind of man is only an infinitesimal portion of the whole. p. 55 The surface or objective mind is the finite mind, the Subliminal is joined up with the Universal Mind of the Universe, therefore it can never be measured, it is beyond comprehension. Sufficient for us to know that its power is limitless, and that we can use this power in creating our lives anew, and for the realization of all our desires. The Subliminal Mind is (1) inspiratory, (2) intuitive, and (3) creative. It is a store-house of knowledge and the power-house of energy. It is much more than all this, how much no one knows. In this lesson we will consider the first three descriptions in the order named. (1) Inspiration. It is through the subliminal mind that all inspiration has come to men. It was through this channel that Wordsworth, Shakespeare, Milton, Emerson and all great teachers, preachers and leaders have drawn their inspiration. All the good that has ever come into this world has been through inspiration; and all inspiration comes through the subliminal mind. All who have ever accomplished anything worth accomplishing have done so p. 56 through the inspiration of their subliminal mind. That some are giants in their accomplishments and others pigmies is simply due to differing degrees of expression. Some express more of the Power within them, some express less. The Power is there, it is for us to express it. We cannot all be Shakespeares and Miltons, neither is it possible for all men to be Gladstones or Lincolns, but there is a niche somewhere in the world where we can each find a useful field of congenial work. We can, if we will, be guided by inspiration, find somewhere a field of labor where we can pour out our pent up passion for achievement, where we can command success beyond our wildest dreams. You, dear reader, have not been sent into this world for a joke, you have been sent to achieve a certain purpose, to accomplish something which no one can do but you. There is no one in all the world just like you, and all that you do is colored by your individuality. No one in all the world could do your work just as you do it; there are fields of conquest in front of you which no p. 57 one out you can conquer. Therefore listen to the voice of inspiration. (2) Intuitive. Those who learn to recognize the voice of intuition are brought into touch with infinite wisdom. They do by intuition that which other people can only do by cumbersome effort, if indeed they can do it at all. One who has developed this power has no perplexities, because all his problems are solved for him by his subliminal mind. He listens to the inner voice of wisdom, acts accordingly, and the result always justifies his faith in this inward power. President Lincoln, when confronted by a perplexing problem. used to make a habit of dismissing it to his inner mind; and then going for a short walk. During his walk he would interest himself in the birds and trees and other things around him and then give no thought to the perplexity which was demanding an answer. When he got back from his walk the answer would be ready--his subliminal mind had solved the problem. Others, puzzled by an intricate matter, may go to bed with the problem still unsolved, and awake in the morning with p. 58 the solution of their difficulty already formed in their conscious mind; or it may come to them, like a flash, while they are dressing; the subliminal mind has solved their problem. In the subliminal mind is all wisdom and understanding. You, too, can use this wisdom and understanding if you develop the faculty of inward hearing. (3) Creative. The subliminal mind is creative. Being one with the Universal Mind, which is the Creative Power of the Universe, it partakes of the same nature. The difference is not one of kind but of degree. As in the macrocosm, so in the microcosm. Just as Infinite Mind is absolute through the whole Universe, so is man king of his life, master of his fate, captain of his soul, creator of his life and circumstances. Man cannot create a planet, but he can consciously form an image or picture in his creative mind, a picture of better circumstance, different environment or definite achievement, and holding that image persistently compel it to materialize in his life and circumstances. This is not a fairy tale p. 59 [paragraph continues] --it is a hard, common sense fact. There is nothing that has ever been accomplished by man that has not first been created and imaged in his mind. It is always the vision first, and afterwards the accomplishment. The difference between men is a difference of vision. The difference between their vision is the difference between their accomplishment. Some men create more than others--it is because theirs is a greater vision. All the great ones of the earth, leaders of men and nations, artists, poets, inventors, financiers, have been what they were because of their "vision," because they were men of "imagination." People who pride themselves on being "practical" look askance at imagination, thinking it to be something impractical and shadowy; something belonging to the realm of dreams. They confuse constructive imagery with day dreaming. Now, the imagination of which I am speaking is the very antithesis of day dreaming. Day dreaming is the aimless frittering away of the mental powers; creative imagination, on the other hand, gathers together the mental forces, and by focusing the powers p. 60 of the hidden mind bring into being a definite image. This definite image is the vision which all men of accomplishment possess. This vision is the basis of all achievement. It is impossible to name a single great man or woman who has not been inspired and guided by it. The reason that here and there in the world's history there have been great characters who have achieved the noblest ends is because theirs have been the noblest visions. It is impossible to create a poor, puny, low kind of image in the mind, and then to win great success in life. As the image is, so your life will be. Therefore if you hold in your mind the vision, or mental picture, of great success or noble endeavor, then in your life these things will become manifested. It cannot be otherwise-- because what is held in the mind is later manifested in the life. Thus it is that a person of poor powers of concentration cannot hold a definite image in his mind, but must be always changing and modifying it, with the result that he gets nothing but confusion and lack of achievement manifested in his life. p. 61 What you are inwardly, what you think inwardly, what you visualize inwardly, is what your future life will be. Your outward life is modeled on your inward life--it is an exact replica of the life within. Therefore your subliminal mind is not only the source of inspiration and intuition, it is creative also. Your life is in your own hands, you can make it what you will. Your future is yours entirely, you can build it up with mathematical precision into any form you please. You are free to make or to mar, to build up or destroy. You can climb to the highest heights or descend to the lowest depths. You can be weak or strong, filthy or pure, miserable or happy, unsuccessful or successful, poverty stricken or prosperous, ill or healthy, hated or loved: It is all a matter of Thought-control and Scientific Thinking. It is now time that you begin to apply some of the things you have learned. Therefore add to your affirmation at night the following: MINE IS A LIFE OF OVERCOMING AND POWER. p. 62 Henceforward I will cease doing ...... and will instead do ...... I do this by the Infinite Power within me which can never fail. Where I have left blanks I want you to fill in with (1) whatever bad habit you most wish to eradicate, and (2) to insert the virtue which you wish to put in its place. For instance suppose you have been in the habit of getting up late, swallowing your breakfast hurriedly and rushing to business, getting all behind with appointments and correspondence, developing indigestion, headache and peevishness in consequence. Supposing this is the case (of course I only use this as an illustration), you will fill in the words to suit, so that the sentence will read something like this, supposing your proper time for rising to be 7 a. m.: Henceforward I will cease getting up late and will instead get up punctually at 7 a. m or better still, you can command yourself to wake at 6:30 and spend half an hour in meditations and the saying of affirmations, p. 63 [paragraph continues] You will then be quite ready to rise at 7 o'clock. Immediately following the affirmation, visualize a picture of yourself waking in the morning. "See" yourself open your eyes and look at the clock. "See" that the time is 6:30. "See" yourself engaged in concentration, meditation and making of affirmations. "See" yourself look at the clock again, and at 7 o'clock "see" yourself get up and go to the bath room. The more clearly you can picture this scene the easier will you find the task of getting up to be. You may not be successful the first morning or two, but if you persevere you will find that you have by the use of affirmations complete control over yourself. The more successful you become the stronger does your Will-power grow. If you are in the habit of going to bed too late you can add to your morning affirmation the following: "Henceforward I will cease going to bed late. I will instead go to bed at 10. At 10 o'clock tonight I shall feel sleepy and tired. I will then go to bed." p. 64 After making this affirmation, visualize yourself as you will appear at 10 p. m. You are, we will say, sitting reading or working. You "see" yourself look at the clock. You "see" yourself put your book or work away and go to bed. Persevere with the visualizing until you can see every detail with great vividness and distinctness. Make this affirmation and create this mental picture and you will find that what you have affirmed and visualized will come to pass exactly as desired. Before you is unfolding a life of perfect self-control and overcoming. When you have become master of yourself, first in small things and then in the greater, you will have become master over your life, your circumstances and your destiny. Not only is it necessary that you should overcome habits in this way by reversing them, but it is also necessary that you should reverse all your wrong ideas of life and the Universe, replacing wrong and harmful ideas by Truth. One of the objects of this course is to dispel old erroneous beliefs, and thus to change your mental outlook. p. 65 In addition it is necessary that you should reverse every thought and suggestion of a harmful character directly it comes to you. A thought may come to you such as: "You will fail, you can never succeed." Now if you allow that thought to enter your mind it will weaken you, paralyze your efforts and bring failure into your life, just as surely as day follows night. Therefore as soon as it comes to you you must kill it by denial. In this case you would raise yourself in thought to your perfect mental world and say, "There is no failure. I am a perfect Mental creature living in a perfect Mental World, all the potentialities of the Infinite Mind are mine. I cannot fail." Say this over several times and then affirm: "I am Success, within me are Infinite Powers; I am success in all that I undertake." Every time that you do this you drive failure further and further away and establish success more firmly in your life. The oftener you do this, provided that you get a clear concept of your perfect Mental World, and, as it were, breathe its atmosphere. the more rapidly you will progress. Do not, however, strain and worry after results, instead p. 66 seek to adopt and maintain a calm, serene, confident attitude, above the worries and cares of life. Again, the thought may come to you, "there is that pain again, I am going to have one of my bad attacks." If you allow this thought to enter your mind you will have that bad "attack"; it will surely come and nothing will be able to keep it away. The "attack" is only effect, the cause is the thought within your mind, and no amount of medicine will be able to help you because it cannot touch the "cause," and can only tinker about with the "effect." Such efforts are on a par with trying to keep the ocean back with a broom. Therefore when the pain and thought come and seek admittance at the door of your mind, immediately deny their existence, They have no real existence. You, the real YOU, are a perfect mental creature in a perfect mental world, where there is no such thing as pain or "attacks," and if you realize this you can never be ill. It is only when you let thoughts and suggestions of pain and illness come into the mind p. 67 that pain and illness become possible in your body, because what happens in your body and life is an exact reflex of what you hold in your mind. Therefore if you deny pain and sickness in your perfect Mental World, then at once the pain will cease. In lesson 2 I told you that by denying evil you not only killed the thought of evil, but that you also destroyed the evil itself, and that later you could prove the truth of this. This you can do with pain. If, when in pain, you will rise into your perfect Mental World and deny pain, then the pain will go away almost immediately. After denying pain and sickness, affirm perfect health. The denial will kill the harmful thought and cleanse the mind, and the affirmation will heal and build up and make all future attacks weaker. By this method you can "reverse" every harmful thought, belief and emotion. It is necessary when you deny any evil, no matter what it may be, that you clearly realize that you are denying apparent evil to exist in the material world. For instance, if you have a carbuncle as big as your fist at the back of your neck it is foolish p. 68 to deny that it exists, because it does exist as much as anything can he said to exist in this transient world. There are, however, two YOUS. There is the material YOU, and there is the sublime mental and spiritual YOU. The material YOU is a transient fleeting material person, the real YOU is a glorious mental and spiritual creature, imperishable and eternal. When you (the real YOU) raise yourself into your Perfect World of Mind, you leave the imperfect and coarse material body behind, and it is the sublime YOU, the perfect Mental and Spiritual YOU who, in a perfect World of Infinite Good, Purity and Perfection, deny that there is a carbuncle. You, the sublime YOU, have no carbuncle, it is only the material YOU which you have left behind which has a carbuncle. By raising yourself into your Perfect World of Mind you transfer your consciousness from the material world to that Transcendental World of Infinite Perfection which our greatest philosophers and thinkers have always realized to exist around us and above us. This is why, as gnu raise yourself into your Perfect World p. 68 of Mind, your pain disappears like the sound of a band dying away in the distance; it is because you have transferred your consciousness from a material world to a mental or spiritual one. If, when you have entered this Perfect World of Mind you deny the evil that is troubling you (by this you do not deny that it exists in your material body but only in your radiant mental body) and if you then meditate upon the Infinite Perfection Boundless Life, Perfect Good, Unsullied Purity and Immeasurable Power of the Infinite Mind which rules this Perfect Mental World; if you will bask, as it were, in the sunshine and happiness of Infinite Perfection and Love of this Transcendental World, then you open your life and your physical body to the action of the Universal Mind, and your material life, circumstances and body become more like the life of the Perfect World of Mind, and your body more like your sublime mental body. Thus if it is a carbuncle that is troubling you, then it will disperse and your body become quite healthy. The clearer your concept of the p. 70 [paragraph continues] Perfect World is the more rapid and certain are the results in your life, body and circumstances. Every time you rise to your Perfect Mental World and deny evil, every time you realize and bask in the infinite Perfections of the ideal world, each time that you do this, evil is destroyed in your life and body, and good is installed in its place. Therefore, the more you live in your Perfect World the more perfect will your life and circumstances become. Remember, therefore, to always retire into yourself and to rise into your Perfect World of Mind before making a denial and an affirmation. MEDITATION NO. 3 To be pondered over between the hours of 6 a. m. and 9 a. m. and 9 p. m. and 11 p. m. Especially just before retiring is recommended. In the past I have listened to the distracting voices of this imperfect unsatisfying Life of the senses. I have been pulled this way and that, by desire, by impulse, by uncontrolled emotions, and have been influenced p. 71 by the advice of those who have had no inward knowledge. Henceforth I turn a deaf ear to all these voices and listen only to the inward voice which always speaks with perfect wisdom. No more shall I be perplexed and worried not knowing which way to turn or what to do, instead I shall be guided perfectly by the inward voice of inspiration. I raise my mind above this life of the senses and dwell in the perfect World of Mind. All thoughts and suggestions and states that are not in harmony with the highest good, I reverse into their opposites. Thus do I cleanse my mind, my thought, my life, my circumstances, my world, and build up my life anew. When perplexed or faced with difficult problems, I retire into my inner self, and, by thought control, I keep out, or "reverse," the unwanted thought, until my inner mind is stilled and calmed, and I car hear the inner voice of wisdom. This voice of wisdom never errs, never leads astray, but always guides me toward the highest good. Therefore I have no worry or care or perplexity, because I always know how p. 72 to act even in the most perplexing circumstances, being guided perfectly by the inner voice of wisdom. Henceforth there is for me no care, anxiety or worry, because I am guided into all good. Every good and perfect thing is mine NOW. Health, prosperity, happiness, peace of mind, all are mine here and now. APPENDIX Having for this week past impressed on your Subliminal Mind that it CAN think constructively and drawing upon the All-Knowledge, solve your every problem, it is now necessary for you to tell your Subliminal Mind that it DOES solve all your problems. This week's meditation indicates the way--to retire into yourself--this is the secret. To most students it is a difficult task to still the senses and inhibit unwanted thought, but it is comparatively easy, if, instead of trying to inhibit all thought and keep on concentrating upon it and dismissing every thought of care, worry, business, or anything to do with the senses which comes to you. It must be a thought which p. 73 will draw you away from the life of the senses to the greater life of the mind and spirit. For instance, the Bible student might with advantage concentrate upon some such words as these: "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee." Another might say with Emerson: "I am the owner of the Sphere, of the seven stars and the Solar Year," and so on according to what your religion or philosophical views may happen to be. Or you can concentrate upon a mental image of infinite beauty and perfection, the future Golden Age, Paradise, Heaven or whatever is to you the highest, MOST PLEASING and most inspiring. Continue to dismiss all other thought until all worry is killed and the mind and Spirit are at rest. Then say in your own words, something like this: My Subliminal Mind draws upon the All-Wisdom and solves my every problem and difficulty. p. 74 The life that lies before the student of Truth is one of great glory--of infinite expansion and unfoldment. It does not, however, always appear thus to him. In order to test his mettle, it often appears drab and hopeless. Everything seems to go wrong, and voices whisper "Go back, why trouble any longer, the pursuit is hopeless." If the student does go back he proves that he is not worthy, and for him there can never be the steep ascent to God. But the one who will keep on in spite of all discouragements and opposition, and who proves his worth, passes on to a life of indescribable joy, of victory and achievement, of abundant health and peace of mind. I affirm for you the life of true freedom. "Ye shall know the Truth, and the Truth shall set you free." DYNAMIC THOUGHT Success and Character Building PART IV WE now have to deal with that part of your Mind which is the center of all action and the seat of all memory. Not only the memory of this life, but the race memory of all mankind. This division of the mind we will call the sub-conscious mind, we will do so in order to distinguish it from the mind of creation, intuition, and inspiration, which we have already considered, and also from the objective or conscious mind which will be described later. This sub-division is not orthodox according to the ordinary teachings of psychology. The usual practice is to term the whole of the submerged mind sub-conscious. That this is not correct must, if we p. 77 think for a moment, be apparent. The sub-conscious mind acts only according to instruction and instinct. Thoughts and commands flow from the seat of the Will through the conscious mind down into the sub-conscious mind and are immediately acted upon. The sub-conscious mind is a blind intelligence. It cannot reason--it can remember, it can act--but it cannot think, plan or reason. Yet we have a mind within us that can inspire, create, and bring forth the most wonderful thoughts. A mind which can solve our most complicated problems, that can guide us through the most difficult situations if we will but trust it. This cannot be the sub-conscious mind because we have already seen that this is a blind intelligence acting only upon instruction, suggestion and animal instinct. Therefore, there must be a mind or minds other than the sub- conscious, and this I have termed, for the want of a better word, the subliminal. The sub-conscious mind is a kind of a sleepy giant, or a slumbering volcano. It p. 77 only requires arousing to cause it to manifest extraordinary power. It is a vast and wonderful intelligence, so wonderful that our consciousness cannot form any conception of its wonders. All that we know is that this wonderful center of life and action is as far above our understanding as our own consciousness is beyond the comprehension of a beetle. Yet this sub-conscious mind of ours is subject to our will and guidance. Within us is this wondrous power--the almost infinite intelligence; yet its use and control are in our own hands. Unto us is given the ability to govern a power whose extent we cannot gauge, to direct an intelligence so great that it is impossible for us to grasp its full significance. The sub-conscious mind is the center of all action. It is by this mind that everything that we do is accomplished. It is the personification of tireless energy. It works constantly, it never sleeps; for while WE sleep the sub-conscious mind is busily engaged in repairing and rebuilding the body. p. 78 Whatever thought we allow to pass into the sub-conscious mind is translated into action. This is why a thought has been described as "an action in the process of being born." The great lesson for you, dear reader, to learn is this, that if the sub-conscious mind translates each thought into action, then thought control is the one great transcendental fact of life. If you possess the power to control your thoughts, you have at once the power to control your actions. If you can control your actions what a life of possibility opens before you! One of the principal causes of failure in life is due to inability to control the thoughts. Wrong thoughts each the sub-conscious mind, these are translated into wrong actions and these bring failure and disaster in their train. When the thoughts are uncontrolled, then the sub-conscious mind will act upon any thought or suggestion that may "float" in. Now thoughts and suggestions are born p. 79 not only within the consciousness, they are also received from without. Like a wireless apparatus which receives messages through vibrations in the ether, so does the human mind receive impressions from without. Thoughts are things, are entities, have form and substance and are eternal. Thoughts impinge upon your consciousness and unless you are able to reject them they will enter the sub- conscious mind and bring forth action in your life and conduct. If therefore the thought be evil, then evil will result, if of weakness then failure will follow, you cannot prevent the action once you have entertained the thought. In the same way if you entertain a noble thought, a noble action will result. If thoughts of success and power are dwelt upon, then success and power to accomplish will be manifested in your life, and circumstances. It is thought that rules your life, therefore if you govern your thoughts you control your life. Suggestion meets you at every turn. Kind friends with the best of motives "suggest" p. 80 ill-health to you when they remark on your pallor. Their well meant remarks of "How ill you look" send a suggestion of sickness to your sub-conscious mind, which later manifests itself in real sickness in the body. Articles in your daily paper on diet, Influenza and other topics again suggest illness to you; even the advertisements suggest that you have Kidney disease or worse, and that to save your life it is necessary for you to take certain tablets or pills. The newspapers themselves do their best to suggest evil to you. The columns are full of the seamy sordid side of life. If any man commits a crime, it is reported in the papers. If however he resists temptation and instead does a good deed, no notice is taken. Therefore newspapers give an entirely false presentation of life. The press closes its eyes to the good and presents the evil and thus suggests evil to you, which if you do not watch it, will produce evil in your life. For every bad deed reported in the papers, a thousand good actions go unrecorded. p. 81 [paragraph continues] The world is full of noble deeds and gracious thoughts, and they can be seen and realized by those who look for them. Therefore be very careful what newspapers you read and how you read them. Avoid reading of the evil, seamy side of life; instead, look for the good, and you will find it. When reading your paper devote your attention to the large things, those which will go down in history. Avoid that which is mean and petty--thus will you avoid unwholesome and dangerous suggestion. Newspapers, periodicals and some books would have you believe that life is an unlovely thing. Even some hymn writers have dared to describe the world as a vale of tears and life as a long drawn out woe. Do not believe these wicked suggestions. Life is a gracious and lovely thing. It is full of beauty and love and peace and happiness. Life is what we make it, we can make it sublime or we can make it savor of Hell. It is in our own hands. Therefore do not read either papers, books or p. 82 magazines that do not present life in a joyous and optimistic way. Avoid low class scrappy reading. Read instead good books by great minds. Imbibe noble thoughts. Read good poetry if you can. Seek the beautiful, the noble, the true, in your reading and in your fellow men, and you will find them and be richly blest thereby. "How then," you ask, "can I escape all this harmful suggestion'? I am conscious of evil in my life. I do not know what to expect next. How then can I cast out evil and avoid all these harmful suggestions that impinge upon my consciousness from a thousand different sources?" The answer is, BY DENIALS First of all I want you to understand that your life consists only of that which is in your mind. Your world also is really nothing more than a ref action of your own mind and what is in your own mind. It is because of this that two people in precisely the same circumstances will each find life and the world very different. One will see In life great joy and much cause for thankfulness, p. 83 and the other may experience only unhappiness and disappointment. The difference is not in circumstances but in the mind. The mind is the real thing, the world is transient and fleeting, and has, philosophically speaking, no REAL existence, but MIND endures. The natural or "mortal mind" view of life and the world is almost always the exact opposite of what is the real spiritual truth and fact. Metaphysics tell us that the visible world is an inverted reflection of the real. If then it is inverted, it is natural, until our spiritual or inner eyes are opened to the truth, for us to see things as the exact opposite of what they really are. Therefore it is not surprising to find that, whereas the mortal or animal mind of the senses, thinks the world is the real thing and the mind only a shadow, the real TRUTH is, that mind and spirit are real and eternal, and the visible world but a transient and impermanent thing which has no actual reality. Such being the case then the only thing that really matters is what is in the mind p. 84 or what is not in the mind. If we have a belief in evil, and thoughts of evil, in our mind, then we have evil in our life. If, however, we can cast the thought of, and belief in, evil out of our mind then it will cease to appear in our life. By raising ourselves above the sensuous life and realizing our permanent world of Mind and there denying evil, poverty, failure, pain, sickness, unhappiness, or whatever our trouble may be, we kill the thought which is the cause of all our troubles. Then whatever we affirm will take their place. If we deny "evil," then we follow by affirming "good," if we deny sickness, then we affirm prosperity and affluence. By denials we can take out all the evil, care, fear and worry out of our lives and build up in their place by means of affirmations, perfect good, success, affluence, happiness, health, love, peace and courage. Everything being in the mind, then everything that is taken out of the mind is taken out of the life, and everything that is put into the mind, comes into the life. p. 85 Thus it is possible with mathematical accuracy and certainty to recreate the life, to cast out all the undesirable and to build up in its place only the beautiful, the good, the true. Life is what we like to make it. We can make it like heaven itself, full to the brim with all that is good and beautiful, or we can turn it into a perfect hell. Therefore do not accept the suggestions of those, who having failed in life, proceed to call it hard names. We can make life a continual joy, if we create a heaven within us by the quality of our thinking and mental processes. All that we see in life, all that we experience, yea, even life itself, is but the outward expression of the life within. The life within is built up by our thinking. You will have seen by this time the purpose and value of affirmations. Affirmations are concentrated thoughts. Back of each affirmation is a strong emotion and this gives it tremendous driving force. Not only do affirmations impress the sub-conscious mind thus producing action in p. 86 accordance with the Will, but they project outwards from the mind into space, attract forces and help from other sources and bring them to minister and to bless. Not only so but they also arouse the subliminal mind to inspire, to create, to impart wisdom. By the use of affirmations all the finer forces are aroused to action and the life is transformed from weakness or ineffectiveness to strength or purposefulness. By the use of affirmations, the Will is strengthened until it becomes so strong all else has to bend to it. By the use of affirmations, the body is strengthened and made healthy, and exercise and body culture become a pleasure instead of a duty. By the use of affirmations difficult tasks and unpleasant duties become easy of accomplishment. By the use of affirmations it is possible to break bad habits of a life-long standing, and replace them with good ones. By the use of affirmations we can build up character, mould our circumstances, p. 87 shape our destiny, captain our soul, we can be what we will, do whatever we desire attain to all our ideals. Therefore it is of the utmost importance that you should be most diligent in practicing the affirmations--always. Never let a single night or morning pass without spending several minutes in quiet concentration on the affirmation given you in this course. Reading this course through will do you but little good, it is DOING what it teaches that is going to make you strong and successful. Mental and Physical lethargy must be overcome. It is by sustained action that you can accomplish, you cannot dream yourself to success, you have to win it. Therefore you must concentrate, concentrate, concentrate, upon the affirmations and visualizing exercises. The latter are form of affirmation and are of equal importance. A WORD OF WARNING Do not keep changing your affirmations. Do not affirm one thing one day and another p. 88 the next; it causes confusion in your mental World, and makes "confusion worse confounded" in your life. Of course as you overcome weaknesses and bad habits you will alter your affirmations accordingly. You will always find some defect that wants eradicating. Otherwise keep to the affirmations given in these lessons. By this l: do not mean that you are not to make denials, reversions and affirmations at all times adapted to all the varying circumstances and difficulties of life, because these are, for your own protection, necessary. Thus, if you see a sight that suggests evil to you, a drunken man, an act of hate, a quarrel, an act of immorality; or if you read that which is lowering and depressing and suggestive of lower things, then, for your own protection, you must reverse it. For instance if you see an angry violent man, if you do not reverse this, the suggestion of evil conveyed to you by this sight will sink into your sub-conscious mind and cause cells to vibrate in sympathy, thus p. 89 making YOU more susceptible to anger thoughts, besides lowering the tone of your mind generally. Therefore you must raise yourself to your perfect Mental World and deny anger, by saying, "Man being a perfect mental creature, can never be angry. There is no anger in this perfect world of Mind, all is love and goodwill." By so doing not only will you stop the suggestion of evil from harming you, you will also at the same time make yourself stronger than ever before, and, strange as it may seem to you now, you will reduce the anger in the mind of the angry man. The reason of this is, that there is really only one Mind, we are all inlets of the same sea, and if we cast evil out of our own mind, then we also make the world and the minds of others the better by so doing. Thus by purifying himself does man become a savior of the world. These reversals of denials and affirmations, made in your perfect World of MIND, must be taking place all day; it is in this way that every evil is transmuted into good, every difficulty into accomplishment, every threat of failure into success, p. 90 and every pain or sickness or disease thought changed into perfect health. This must go on continually, thus will you grow in power daily. But apart from this you will doubtless have some plan towards which you are moving. You have some ambition to be realized, some creative purpose in your mind which you wish to accomplish. To attain to this end you deny failure, you affirm success, you visualize a picture of that which you wish to achieve. That being so, and having made up your mind, now STICK TO IT. Do not change your affirmation, do not alter your mental image. KEEP IT UNCHANGED until it is accomplished. If you vary it and change it you will bring the utmost confusion into your life. Therefore do not change, modify or alter the main creative plan of your life, see to it that the image remains unimpaired, getting clearer and more sharply defined from day to day. If you do this you will see it working out with mathematical precision in your life. This course has been prepared so as to p. 91 guide students by a sure and safe path to the goal of their ambitions. It will guide you if you follow the lessons exactly. Therefore while taking this course, do not read any other metaphysical literature. Concentrate on this teaching, persevere with the "doing" of this teaching, and you will be able, like the writer, to prove and demonstrate its truth in yaw life and circumstances. I want you to start seriously to develop your visualizing powers. By this you will improve your memory out of all knowledge, but that is quite a minor matter. What is of importance is that what you create in the form of a mental vision, if persistently held in the mind, will assuredly manifest itself in your life. Thus you have two methods by which you can alter your life, create better circumstances, and achieve success. 1st, by Denials and Affirmations, and, 2nd, by Meditation, Concentration and Visualizing. The two should work together. For instance, you make an affirmation, preceded by a denial, next, you conjure p. 92 up a mental picture of what you have affirmed yourself to be. You wish to be successful, therefore first of all you must deny evil and affirm Good, because evil is the general cause of all your troubles and lack of success; next you will affirm Success and follow this by visualizing either yourself in your perfect mental world, radiant and successful, or else dwell only on the perfect world of MIND where there is no failure or limitation of any description. First you clear away the mist of evil which clouds your vision and numbs your faculties and crowds your life with difficulty, this you do by killing it by the use of the denial "There is no evil." Use this denial until the mist clears away and you get a clear view of your perfect world of Mind, then affirm "There is only Infinite Good." Then deny poverty and failure, because they have no part in a perfect world, neither can they affect you, who are in essence, a perfect mental creature. Having killed failure and poverty by denial, then affirm "I am Success, I am a perfect p. 93 mental creature, one with the Source of all Good, part of the Universal Mind." "I am Success, like a magnet I attract to me all that I need." "A thousand invisible forces hasten to do my bidding." I am carried along by an irresistible power, I am Success, Success, Success. Make this affirmation preceded by the denials, night and morning, always making the affirmation in "Your perfect mental world," buttress it up by repeating it during the day, each time raising yourself to your higher world; do this, and you will revolutionize your life. ______________ In order to increase your powers of mental imagery, do the following exercise: Take a simple flower, or picture, and gaze at it very attentively for several minutes. Examine it in every possible way. Impress every detail upon your mind, then close your eyes and call up an exact mental image of the thing you have been looking at. If the image is crisp and sharply defined with no details missing you will have p. 94 done well, if not, keep on trying until you succeed. When you go into a strange room or office examine carefully every detail; where each piece of furniture is, what pictures are on the walls, what is on the floor, the kind of fireplace and everything else that forms part of the furnishing. After you get home or when in the train, close your eyes and recall, by making a mental image, as much as you can, of what you saw. Practice this visualizing as much as possible during the coming week, and make affirmations to suit your growing developments. Whatever your need may be, you can make a denial and affirmation to supply that need. Whatever difficulty you have to face you can overcome it by denial and affirmation made in your perfect World of Mind. This course seeks first to build a firm foundation of character upon which you can later erect the superstructure of success. Seek first to eradicate all weaknesses of character and in their place install their opposites. For instance, if you have been a procrastinator, become instead noted for p. 95 your instant action. If you have been pessimistic, become cheerful and optimistic instead. If unpunctual, become the most punctual person who ever lived. If you have been sullen and morose, seek to be bright and cheerful. All this is possible and really quite easy of accomplishment, by the use of denials, affirmations and mental imagery. When you have built up your character, the road of success will become comparatively easy, because success is principally a matter of character. ______________ The elementary general affirmation has now served its purpose and must now be strengthened. You have progressed sufficiently to join us in the greatest denial and affirmation of all, which is There is NO EVIL Only INFINITE GOOD It is very difficult for the beginner to realize that "There is no evil." There are entities in your mind which prevent you p. 96 from understanding this truth, but they will be cast out by the denial. So powerful is this denial that it makes some people quite ill at first. But this only proves how great is the cleansing work that is going on in the depths of the mind. Keep on making the denial night and day; keep looking up into your perfect world of mind, and after a time you will suddenly realize that FOR YOU there is no evil, only Infinite Perfection and everything that is beautiful and true. Precede every other affirmation by this denial and affirmation. Before starting any important work make use of them; and previous to engaging in any meditation, always use them; raising, at the same time, your mind into its perfect world. By this means you will so cleanse and strengthen your mind that you will transform your life. ______________ For meditation this week think upon these words of James Allen: "The soul that is impure, sordid and selfish, is gravitating with unerring precision p. 97 toward misfortune and catastrophe; the soul that is pure, unselfish, and noble, is gravitating with equal precision toward happiness and prosperity. Every soul attracts its own, and nothing can come to it that does not belong to it. To realize this is to recognize the Universality of Divine Law." And also upon these words of Buddha: "All that we are is the result of what we have thought; it is founded on our thoughts; it is made up of our thoughts." And again, these further words of James Allen: "Your own thoughts, desires and aspirations comprise your world, and, to you, all that there is in the Universe of beauty and joy and bliss, or of ugliness and sorrow and pain, is contained within yourself. By your own thoughts you make or mar your life your world, your Universe." p. 98 Referring to page 92 of this lesson, third paragraph from the bottom, it should be stated that quicker results will be obtained if in addition to visualizing yourself radiantly successful, you will create a sharply defined picture of the exact success that you wish to achieve. If it is money that you want then "see" the money falling in showers upon your desk, if it is service to others that you desire, then "see" yourself nursing the sick and ministering to the broken- hearted, whatever you picture in this way persistently, will, in time, be brought to pass in your life. Nothing ever "happens," it is always "brought to pass." You cannot get what you want merely by a pious wish, you have to work for it by mental imagery, then in time the way will open for you in a most marvelous manner. Continue to practice concentration on one thought or mental image, inhibiting all ether thoughts until the senses are entirely stilled. Then say as before: "My Subliminal Mind draws upon the All-Wisdom and solves my every problem." p. 99 DYNAMIC THOUGHT Success and Character Building PART V THE Objective or Conscious Mind is the outer or surface mind of mind. It is the finite mind of very close limitations. It receives impressions through the organs of sight, hearing, taste, touch and smell. It learns from books, speech, experience and experiment. We have seen that the subliminal mind is one with the Infinite Mind of the Universe, differing only in degree and not in kind, yet this is useless if the objective mind does not make use of the potential powers lying dormant within. We have also seen that the so called sub-conscious mind is pregnant with tremendous power, and that it is a wonderful intelligence p. 100 far exceeding anything that the objective consciousness can grasp or understand. Further that this is regulated and controlled by thoughts, impressions and suggestions, coming through the conscious mind. Therefore this great intelligence is ruled and governed, or ought to be, by the objective mind. Yet of what use is all this if the mind of the senses does not govern wisely or does not govern at all, but lets the sub-conscious mind run amuck, as it were, and acting upon instincts and false impressions, untruths and harmful suggestions, turn the whole life into an inferno of trouble and difficulty? Therefore you will see that the objective mind, although very limited, is, in a way, the most important of all, at any rate as far as this life and consciousness are concerned, for through it the Ego governs or can govern the whole of the submerged mind. The Ego is the "I" part of man. It is his personal individual inner self. The real "YOU" is your individual Ego. p. 101 The real "YOU" within is seeking expression through your minds and then through your brain and body and outer life. It can only do this properly when the Will is strong enough either to carry out, or force your minds to carry out, the commands of the Ego. Suppose the real inner "YOU" says to the Will: I wish to succeed in this undertaking. We will imagine that "this undertaking" is a course of study which requires a great deal of application and perseverance, and a certain amount of sacrifice of pleasure for its accomplishment. It necessitates working while others are playing, the resisting of entreaties on the part of friends to join them in their pleasures. After receiving its instruction, the Will passes on the order through the conscious to the sub- conscious mind, but unless your Will is naturally very strong it does this in a half-hearted manner. Although this supposed course of study is of the utmost importance, for without it you cannot succeed p. 102 in your profession or calling, yet the Will is so weak it cannot impress this sufficiently upon the sub-conscious mind, with the result that there is very little driving force behind your efforts. For a time the studies go along successfully. For one thing the first lessons are always easy, and for another, there is the novelty and freshness of the new work, and the glow of self- satisfaction at having entered upon a self-appointed task. But after a time the tasks get more difficult and require more application and concentration, the calls of friends to join them in their pleasures become more insistent, and the Will not being strong can no longer deal with the situation. The Will, through weakness, allows suggestions such as "the task is too difficult," "others are enjoying life why should not you?" "others can get on in life without working themselves to death, so why not you?" to pass down into the sub-conscious mind. The latter knowing no better and acting entirely upon suggestion, responds accordingly, with the result that the lessons are flung aside, games p. 103 are indulged in instead, and another failure is written large on the scroll of your life. Suppose on the other hand that your Will has been reinforced by affirmations. First, the sub- conscious mind is deeply impressed. It realized that this self imposed task has to be accomplished somehow, no matter what the cost may be in hard work, perseverance, discomfort and self-sacrifice. Therefore from the very first there is great driving power put behind your efforts. A concrete well-defined image of the object of your endeavor, the successful ending of your studies, the pride of achievement, the pleasure it will give your friends, the great assistance it will be to you in your profession, the increased status, the enlarged income, the better house, the improved condition of living for those dependent upon you, all these combined in one sharply defined image, are impressed upon the sub-conscious mind so deeply that they form a pattern upon which the mind will concentrate all its intense energies, activities and powers. The energies and powers of the p. 104 mind working on definite lines laid down by the Will, create in the life a complete replica of the image which has been held in the mind. When studies become difficult, instead of faltering, the mind puts forth greater effort, generates more power, and overcomes the subject of difficulty. When friends try to entice you to leave your task and join them in their pleasure, then entreaties fall upon deaf ears. You reply, "I must complete this course of study," or "I must pass this examination," "when I have succeeded and won the position I seek, then, and not until then, I will unbend a little."
