How The Mind Works
	The Secret Of The Master Mind <  Previous Contents Next  >

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Every object that is seen will produce an impression upon the mind according to the degree of mental susceptibility. He will, in consequence, be a reflection of the world in which he lives. He will think, speak and act as his surroundings may suggest. He will flow with the stream of his circumstances and he will be more or less of an automaton instead of a well-individualized character.

However, every person who permits himself to be largely and continually affected by suggestions is more or less of an automaton, and accordingly is more or less in the hands of fate. So, therefore, in order to reverse matters and place fate in his own hands he must proceed to make intelligent use of suggestions instead of blindly following such desires and thoughts as his surroundings may suggest.

We are all surrounded constantly by suggestions of every description, because everything has the power to suggest something to us, provided we are susceptible. But there is a vast difference between permitting ourselves to be susceptible to all sorts of suggestions and by training ourselves to use intelligently all those impressions that suggestions may convey. The average student of suggestion not only ignores this difference, but encourages susceptibility to suggestion by constantly emphasizing the belief that it is suggestion that controls the world.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Use your imaging faculty in determining what you want to think or do, what you are to desire and what your tendencies are to be. Know what you want, then image those things upon the mind at all times. This will develop the power to think what you want to think. And he who can think what he wants to think can be what he wants to be.

In this connection it is most important to realize that the principal reason why the average person has not realized his ideals is because he has not learned to think what he wants to think. He is too much affected by the suggestions that are all about him. He imitates his environment too much, following desires and tendencies that are not his own, and therefore he is misled and misplaced.