How The Mind Works
	The Leading Metaphysical Law <  Previous Contents Next  >

Whatever enters the consciousness of man will express itself in the personality of man. This is one of the most important of all the laws of life, and when its immense scope is fully comprehended thousands of perplexing questions will be answered. We shall then know why we are as we are and why all things about us are as they are; and we shall also know how all this can be changed. When we examine the principle upon which this law is based we find that our environments are the results of our actions and our actions are the results of our thoughts. Our physical and mental conditions are the results of our states of mind and our states of mind are the results of our ideas. Our thoughts are mental creations patterned after the impressions that exist in consciousness and our ideas are the mental conceptions that come from our conscious understanding of life. Thus we realize that everything existing both in the mental field and in the personality, as well as in surrounding conditions, have their origin in that which becomes active in human consciousness.

We may define consciousness by stating that it is an attribute of the Ego through which the individual knows what is and what is taking place. Consciousness may usually be divided into three phases, the objective, the subjective and the absolute. Through absolute consciousness the Ego discerns its relationship with the universal that phase of consciousness that is beyond the average mind and need not necessarily be considered in connection with this law. Through subjective consciousness the Ego knows what is taking place within itself, that is, within the vast field of individuality. And through objective consciousness the Ego knows what is taking place in its immediate external world. Objective consciousness employs the five external senses, while subjective consciousness employs all those finer perceptions which, when grouped together are sometimes spoken of as the sixth sense.

In our study of this law we shall deal principally with subjective consciousness because it is this consciousness that rules over real interior action. The subjective plane is the plane of change and growth so that there can be no change in any part of life until the cause of the desired change has been found or produced in the subjective. What enters objective consciousness will not produce any effect upon the personality unless it also enters subjective consciousness, because it is only what becomes subjective that reproduces itself in the human entity.

In our present state of existence the center of conscious action is largely in the subconscious mind, that is, the interior or finer mental field, and in consequence all the actions of consciousness are directly connected with the subjective. In this connection it is well to state that the terms subjective and subconscious mean practically the same.

Whatever enters consciousness and is deeply felt will impress itself upon the subjective so therefore in order to control the results of this law we must avoid giving deep feelings to such impressions, thoughts, ideas or desires as we do not wish to have reproduced in ourselves. There are many impressions and experiences that enter objective consciousness to a degree, but never become subjective since they are not accompanied with depth of feeling. We may be conscious of such experiences or impressions, but we are not affected by them. For this reason we need not give them our attention, which is well because the majority of the impressions that enter the conscious mind pass off, so to speak, without affecting life in any way.

Whatever actually enters consciousness is always felt by the finer sensibilities of mind, and whatever enters into the finer state of mind is taken up by the creative energies; and impressions are accordingly produced. From these impressions will come similar expressions, and it is such expressions that determine thought, character, conduct and life. To state this law in a slightly different manner we may state that whatever enters subjective consciousness will produce an impression just like itself, and every subjective impression becomes a pattern for thought creation while it lasts.

Therefore whenever an impression is formed in the mind, thoughts will be created just like that impression. And so long as that impression remains in subjective consciousness thought will continue to be formed after its likeness. Then we must remember that every thought created in the mind goes out into the personality, producing vital and chemical effects according to its nature.

Thus we understand the process of the law. First, the impression is formed upon subjective consciousness. Second, the creative energies of the mind will produce thoughts and mental states just like those impressions, and all such thoughts and mental states will express themselves in the personality, producing conditions in the personality similar to their own nature. To illustrate this process from everyday life we may mention several experiences with which we are all familiar.

When you view a very peaceful scene and become wholly absorbed in it your entire being will become perfectly serene almost at once, and this is the reason: The scene was peaceful and produced a peaceful impression upon your mind. This impression entered your subjective consciousness because you became deeply absorbed in the scene. If you had simply viewed the scene in a superficial way you would have felt no change because then the impression would not have entered your subjective mind; but you responded to the impressions that entered the mind through the organ of sight and thus admitted those impressions into the deeper or subjective state. In other words, the scene actually entered into your consciousness, the serenity of it all was impressed upon the subjective; and as explained in the process above, the creative energies of your mind at once began to create thoughts and mental states containing the same serene and peaceful life. These thoughts entered into your entire personality, as all thoughts do after being created, thus conveying the life of peace to every atom in your being.

When you view an exciting scene and are carried away by it you lose your poise and may even become uncontrollable. The reason is you admit confusion into your mind, and according to the law, confusion will be produced in yourself; that is, discord has entered your consciousness and has become the model for the creative processes of the mind. The mental energies will enter such states and create thoughts and mental states that are just as confused as the confusion you saw in the without. And when these confused states go out into the personality, as they do almost at once, your entire nervous system will be upset, disturbed and in a state of inharmony. Thus you have produced the same confusion in your own mind and body that you saw in your environments. However, if you had prevented the confused scenes from entering your mind, you would have been perfectly calm in the midst of it all; but by permitting the excitement to enter your consciousness it was reproduced in yourself, and the discord that entered your consciousness from the without was thereby expressed in your own personality.

There may be indications of threatening failure in your work and you may begin to fear that such failure will come, but so long as you do not feel the inner dread of failure the impression of failure will not enter your consciousness; and accordingly conditions of failure will not be produced in your own mind. But if the fear continues until you actually feel fearful deep down in your heart, the idea of failure has entered your consciousness, and if not prevented will be deeply impressed in the subjective.

When failure is impressed upon your subjective mind, a condition of mental failure will permeate all your faculties, and in consequence they will fail to do their best. And we all know very well that the very moment our faculties begin to go back on us, doing less work and less effective work, we are on the down grade to failure and loss.

Failure means going down to the lesser, and if you have admitted thoughts of failure into your mind you have given your creative energies bad models. These energies will create thoughts and mental states just like those models, no matter what those models may be. If those models are based upon the idea of failure all the thoughts created will contain the failing attitude, or the losing ground attitude. When such thoughts express themselves in the system they will produce weakening conditions and disturbances everywhere in mind and personality. Your faculties will not be able to do their best; they will begin to fail in their work because they are being permeated with a losing ground tendency, and you will make many mistakes on account of the increasing confusion.

The result will be inevitable failure unless you are able to check this tendency or retrace your steps upward before it is too late. We have all noticed that the man on the down grade makes more mistakes than anyone else, and also that his genius or his talents become weaker the further down he goes. The above explains the reason why.

We are all familiar with the folly of judging from appearances and permitting temporary conditions to impress and govern our thinking, the reason being that our object is not to follow the whims of circumstances or the uncertainties of fate, but to carry out our purpose in life regardless of what happens. On the other hand when we do not judge according to external indications, but proceed to impress the subconscious mind with the determination to succeed, we are placing in consciousness an idea that stands for growth, advancement and increase. Immediately the creative energies of mind will proceed to create thoughts and states that have advancing, up building and constructive tendencies. Such thoughts will give push, power, life and added talent to your faculties, and you will very soon begin to do better work; the superior forces will build up your mind, make your mind more brilliant, and add constantly to your capacity.

Thus you will become a success within yourself; that is, your own forces and faculties will begin to work successfully which is the first essential to the gaining of success in the external world. You will be moving forward in your own being and you will be gaining in worth in every respect. The results will be better work, better impressions upon the world, and fewer mistakes. And when the world discovers that there is success in you they will want your service with recompense according to your full worth. When we understand this process of the mind we realize how we can bring upon ourselves almost anything simply through permitting the corresponding impressions to enter consciousness. Therefore we should learn to prevent all such things from entering consciousness as we do not wish to see reproduced in ourselves and expressed through our personality. Then we should learn to impress permanently in consciousness the image and likeness of all those things that we do wish to develop and express.

The workings of this law are very well illustrated in conditions of health and disease, because when we are constantly thinking about disease and fearing disease we permit the idea of disease to impress itself upon consciousness. In other words, we become more and more conscious of disease, and cause the image of sickness to get a firm foothold in the subjective. The result is that the creative forces of mind will create thoughts, mental states and conditions just like the image of disease, and that which is just like the image of disease actually is a disease. Therefore since every mental state conveys conditions similar to itself to every part of the body, such thoughts will constantly carry diseased conditions into the body, tending thereby to produce the very ailment that we feared, thought of, or impressed upon consciousness in the first place.

Nature may resist these adverse conditions for a while if the body is full of vitality, but when the vital forces run low these sickly mental conditions will have full sway, and the result will be a siege of illness which may be prolonged, and even result in death, which happens thousands of times under just such conditions.

The law, however, works both ways. We can just as easily impress the idea of perfect health upon subjective consciousness and thus give the creative forces a better image as a model for their creative processes. At such times all thoughts and mental states will be wholesome and health producing, and will constantly carry better health, more harmony and greater strength to the body. This is how the law works, and as anyone can understand the process, further details are not required. Briefly stated, the law is this: That everything entering subjective consciousness will impress itself there and become a pattern for the creative energies of the mind. These energies will proceed to create thoughts and conditions just like the impression formed, which will carry their own conditions to every part of the human system.

In this way conditions are produced and expressed in the personality just like the original idea, thought or impression that entered subjective consciousness. Everything that enters the mind through the various senses may also enter subjective consciousness, that is, if deeply felt, and thus produce a permanent impression. In like manner, all our own concepts of things will become impressions, that is, if they are inner convictions. For this reason we must not only watch all those things that enter the mind through the senses, but we must also govern our own thinking so that every mental conception formed will be one of quality, worth, wholeness, health, growth and advancement.

To employ this law properly nothing must be permitted to enter the subjective unless we wish to have it reproduced in ourselves. We should refuse therefore to take into consciousness that which we do not wish to see expressed through mind or body. We should train consciousness to respond only to those external impressions that are desirable; and we should train our own imaging faculties to impress deeply and permanently in consciousness every good thing or desirable quality that we wish to see reproduced in ourselves and expressed through our personality.