How The Mind Works
	How Mental Pictures Become Realities <  Previous Contents Next  >

Every thought is patterned after the mental image that predominates at the time the thought is created. This is another great metaphysical law and its importance is found in the fact that thoughts are things, that every thought produces an effect on mind and body, and that the effect is always similar to the cause. According to these facts we can therefore produce any effect desired upon mind or body by producing the necessary thought or mental state, so that when we have learned to control our thinking we can control practically everything else in life, because in the last analysis it is thinking that constitutes the one great cause in the life of the individual.

To control thinking, however, we must understand the process of thought creation. To think is to create thought, and to control thinking is to create any thought we like at any time and under any circumstance. When we analyze the process of thinking we find three factors involved; that is, the pattern, the mental substance and the creative energy. The pattern is always the deepest impression, the clearest image, or the predominating idea.

The quality of the mental substance improves with the quality of the mind; and the quantity increases with the expansion of consciousness, while the creative energies grow stronger the less energy we lose and the more we awaken the greater powers from within.

When an idea or image is impressed upon the mind the mental energies will proceed to create thought just like that image; and will continue while that image occupies a permanent position in consciousness. When the mind is very active a great deal of thought is created every second, though the amount varies with the activity of the mind. It is therefore more detrimental for an active mind to think wrong thought than for a mind that is dull or stupid; proving the fact that responsibility always increases as we rise in the scale. It is the function of the creative energies of the mind to create thought that is just like every image impressed upon mind and to continue to create thought in the likeness of that image while it lasts. The creative energies do this of their own accord and we cannot stop them. But we can make them weak or strong, or give them better patterns.

Mind is an art gallery of many pictures, but only the most prominent are selected for models in thought creation. Only those pictures that are sufficiently distinct to be seen by consciousness without special effort are brought before the creative energies as patterns. We thus find that the art of controlling one's thinking and the power to determine what kind of thought is to be created is acquired largely through the training of the mind to impress deeply only such mental pictures as are desired as models for thinking. The law, however, is very simple because as the picture in the mind happens to be at this moment so will also be the thoughts created at this moment, and the mental pictures are in each case the ideas and impressions that we permit in mind.

Whatever enters the mind through the senses can impress the mind, and the result will be a picture or mental image that will become a pattern for the creative energies. What takes shape and form in your mind through your own interior thinking will also impress the mind and become an image or pattern. It is therefore possible through this law to determine what kind of thoughts you are to create by impressing your mind with your own ideas regardless of what environment may suggest to you through your senses, And it is by exercising this power that you place the destiny of body, mind and soul absolutely in your own hands.

As we proceed with this process we find another vital law that may be stated as follows: What we constantly picture upon the mind we shall eventually realize in actual life. This law may be spoken of as a twin sister to the one stated above as they are found to work together in almost every process of thought creation and thought expression.

The one declares that all thought is patterned after the predominating mental pictures while the other declares that the entire external life of man is being daily recreated in the likeness of those mental pictures. The fact is, as the mental tendencies are, so is thought; as thought is, so is character; and it is the combined action of character, ability and purpose that determines what we are to attain or accomplish, or what is to happen to us.

Through the law of attraction we naturally meet in the external world what corresponds to our own internal world, that is, to what we are in ourselves. The self constitutes the magnet, and like attracts like. This self who constitutes the magnet is composed of all the active forces, desires, tendencies, motives, states and thoughts that are at work in mind or personality. When we look at everything that is alive throughout our whole being and put all those things together we have what may be termed our present active self. And this self invariably attracts in the external world such conditions as correspond to its own nature. This self and all its parts in the person correspond to the thoughts that we have been creating in mind. In fact the nature of the self is actually composed of thought, mental states and mental activities. We realize, therefore, that when we change our thought, the nature of the self will change, and this change will be good or otherwise depending upon the change of thought.

Your external life is the exact counterpart of this active self. This self is the exact likeness of your thought, and your thoughts are patterned after the pictures that are impressed upon your mind. Therefore we understand that whatever is pictured in the mind will be realized in external life. And the reason why is not only simply explained but can be proven along strictly scientific lines. However, to determine through the law of mind picturing what our external life is to be, every process of mind picturing which we desire to carry out must be continued for a sufficient length of time to give the creative processes the opportunity to make over the whole self.

When a certain picture is formed in the mind thought will be created in the likeness of that picture. This thought goes out and permeates the entire self and changes the self to a degree. But as a rule it takes some time to change the entire self; therefore we must continue to hold the desired picture in mind until the whole self has been entirely made over and has become just like the ideal picture. And you can easily discern when the self has been wholly changed because as soon as the self is changed everything in your life changes. Then a new self will attract new people, new conditions, new environments, new opportunities and new states of being. It is evident therefore that so long as there is no change in the outer life we may know that the self has not been changed. However, the changing process may be going on, but the new has not as yet become stronger than the old, and for the time being things continue as they were.

When the self has been changed to such an extent that the new becomes positive and the old negative we will begin to attract new things. We may therefore begin to attract new and better things for some time before the entire self has been completely changed. When we are changing only a part of the self that part will begin to attract the new while those parts of the self that have not been changed will continue to attract the old as usual. This explains why some people continue to attract trouble and adversity for a while after they have begun to live a larger and a better life.

In promoting the art of mind picturing we must not change ideas or plans at too frequent intervals for such changes will neutralize what has been gained thus far and here is the place where a great many people fail. The average person who wishes to change his life for the better does not hold on to his ideals long enough; that is, he does not give them a fair chance to work themselves out and bring the expected results.

When he does not receive results as soon as he expects he changes his plans and produces new pictures upon the mind. Thus he begins all over again, losing what he had built up through previous plans; but before long becomes discouraged once more, so tries still other ideas or methods. When our ideals are the highest we know we do not have to change them. They cannot be improved upon until we have so entirely recreated ourselves that we can live in a superior state of consciousness. It is therefore highly important to determine positively upon the ideals that we wish to realize, and to hold on to those ideals until they are realized regardless of what may happen in the meantime.

However, we must not infer that we can realize in the external the correspondence of every picture that we hold in mind, because the majority of the mental pictures that we form are so constituted that they can be worked out in practical action. We must therefore distinguish between such ideals, as can be made practical now and those that are simply temporary dreams, having no connection with real life here and now.

To be realized a mental picture must be constant, but only such pictures can be constant as are sufficiently elaborate to involve a complete transformation in yourself, and that are so high that they can act as an inspiration until all your present ideals are realized. When we form such pictures in the mind and continue to hold on to them until they are externally realized we shall certainly obtain the desired realization. At such times we can proceed with the perfect faith that what we have pictured will become true in actual life in days to come, and those days will not be far away. But to use this law the mind must never waver; it must hitch its wagon to a star and never cut the traces.

In scientific mind picturing it is not necessary to go into minor details, though we must not be too general. The idea is to picture all the essentials, that is, all those parts that are distinct or individualized. But we need not include such things as are naturally attracted by the essentials. In other words, apply the law, and that which will naturally come through the application of that law, will be realized.

If you wish to realize a more perfect body it is not necessary to picture the exact physical appearance of that body. You may not know at present what a perfect body should look like. Therefore picture only the quality of perfection in every part of the physical form and those qualities will develop and express themselves more and more throughout your personality. And if you wish to enter a different environment do not give your thought to some special locality, nor to persons and things that would necessarily be included in such an environment. Persons come and go and things are generally the way we wish them to be.

To proceed realize what constitutes an ideal environment and hold that picture in your mind. In analyzing an ideal environment we would find it to contain harmony, beauty, love, peace, joy, desirable opportunities, advantages, ideal friends, wholesome conditions and an abundance of the best of everything that the welfare of human life may require. Therefore we should picture those things and continue to hold them in mind with the faith that we will soon find an environment containing all those things in the highest degree of perfection. Gradually we shall find more and more of them coming into our life until we shall find an environment that comes up in every respect to our ideal.

The law of mind picturing will also be found effective in changing physical conditions. Any physical malady must eventually disappear if we continue to hold in mind a perfect picture of health and wholeness. Many have eliminated chronic ailments in a few weeks and even in a few days by this method, and all would succeed if they never pictured disease but perfect health only. In the field of achievement we will find the same facts to hold good. Whenever we fear that we shall not succeed we bring forth the wrong picture -thus the wrong thoughts are created and wrong conditions are produced; in consequence the very thing we feared comes upon us. When we are positively determined to succeed, however, we picture the idea of success and attainment upon the mind, and. according to the law, success will be realized in external life.

Mental and spiritual attainments respond remarkably to mind picturing, principally because all true mind picturing draws consciousness up into the world of superiority. The same is true in the field of talent. If there is any talent that you wish to develop draw mental pictures of yourself in full possession of that talent and you will comply with the requirements of the steady growth of that talent. This method alone will accomplish much, but when it is associated with our processes of development the results desired will surely be remarkable.

In the building of character, mind picturing is of exceptional importance. If you continue to associate only with impure minds and continue to think only of deeds of darkness you will picture only the wrong upon your mind. Thus your thoughts will become wrong and wrong thoughts lead to wrong actions. The contrary, however, is also true. So therefore if we wish to perfect our conduct we must impress upon the mind only such ideas as will inspire us with desires and aims for greater and higher things.

We all admit that character can be influenced most decidedly by mind pictures, but everybody may not be ready to accept the idea that ability, attainment, achievement, environment and destiny can be affected in the same way. However, it is only a full analysis of the law of mind picturing that is necessary to prove this also to be an exact scientific fact. It is the way we think that determines the quality of the mind, and it is the quality of the mind that determines what our ability, mental capacity and mental force is to be. And we can readily understand that the improvement of ability will naturally be followed by increase in attainment and achievement as well as a greater control over fate and destiny.

Man is constantly increasing his ability, is making his own future and is making that future brighter and greater every day. Therefore, if mind pictures can affect mental quality, mental power and mental ability they can also affect environment and achievement, and in brief, the entire external life of man. In looking for evidence for the fact that mental pictures can affect ability, simply compare results from efforts that are inspired by high ideals and efforts that are inspired by low ideals, and you have all the evidence you need.

When your mind is filled with pictures of superiority you will think superior thoughts -thoughts that have more quality, power and worth, and such thoughts cannot fail to give power, quality and worth to your talents and faculties. We also find that tendencies, desires and motives originate largely from mental pictures and we also know that these factors exercise an enormous power in life. The active self of man is so dominated by desires and tendencies that it is absolutely impossible to change the self until tendencies and desires are changed. But tendencies and desires as well as motives cannot be changed without changing the mental pictures -a fact of extreme importance.

Through scientific mind picturing you can create or eliminate any kind of desire; you can produce or remove any tendency that you like. All that is necessary is to impress upon the mind the perfect picture of a desire or tendency that you wish and then continue to hold that picture in the mind until you have results. A mental picture, however, is not necessarily something that you can see in the same way as you see external, tangible things. It is an impression or idea or concept and is seen only by the understanding. In order to hold a mental picture constantly in mind keep all the essentials of that picture before your attention; that is, try to be conscious of the real nature of those powers and possibilities that are represented by the picture. In other words, enter into the very nature of those qualities which that picture represents.

The mind is very large. It is therefore possible to form mental pictures of as many ideals as we like, but at first it is best to choose only a few. Begin by picturing a perfect body, an able mind, a strong character and a beautiful soul; after that an ideal interior life and an ideal external environment. Thus you have the foundation of a great life, a rich life and a wonderful life. Keep these pictures constantly before your mind -in fact, train yourself to actually live for those pictures. And you will find all things in your life-changing daily to become more and more like those pictures. In the course of time you will realize in actual life the exact likeness of those pictures; that is, what you have constantly pictured upon your mind you will realize in actual life. Then you can form new and more beautiful pictures to be realized in like manner as you build for a still greater future.