The Art And Science Of Personal Magnetism
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The mental phase of personal magnetism depends upon two coordinated manifestations of mental power, as follows:

(1) the holding of certain mental states until the mental atmosphere becomes charged with the vibrations of the particular mental states; and

(2) the conscious projection of the mental current from the brain centers, by the action of the will of the individual.

I shall now proceed to describe these two mental phases of manifestation in detail.

It is a fact known to all students of the subject that the character of the mental atmosphere of any individual depends entirely upon the character of the mental states held by him. The mental atmosphere of the hopeful, expectant individual is composed of vibrations of a hopeful, cheerful character, which tend to impress and affect other persons coming within the field of activity of his personal atmosphere. Likewise, the mental atmosphere of the gloomy, depressed individual is composed of vibrations of a gloomy, depressing character, which impresses and affects individuals coming in contact therewith. And, in the same manner, all of one’s mental states will become manifest in his mental atmosphere, and accordingly, will affect those with whom he comes in close contact.

The truth of the above statements will become apparent to anyone who will give the matter a moment’s careful consideration, remembering at the same time the impressions created upon him when he has come in contact with different individuals. He will remember that some individuals have left upon him the impression of gloom, inefficiency, failure, etc. Others have left with him a feeling of suspicion, distrust, and uneasiness. Others still have given him the impression of cheerfulness, friendliness, confidence, and good will.

The atmosphere of some persons is such that it causes us to let them alone, and to take no stock whatsoever in their business propositions. Others, instead, imbue us with confidence and trust, and give us the feeling that we would like to do business with them. Some persons leave upon us the impressions that we have been in the presence of a snaky thing, and we often can scarcely repress a shudder of disgust and dislike while others create in us the impression that the other person is a good friend and can be depended upon as a helper and comrade. Why?

It is not from anything these persons have said, for, as we all know, some of the slipperiest persons are often the best and smoothest talkers; and some of the best and most dependable persons are often very reticent, and even "short" in speech. The reason lies deeper than words. It is the "feeling" that we experience when we come in contact with persons, rather than any report of the reason regarding them. And this "feeling" is caused by the registry upon our sensitive brain organism of the thought-vibrations of the other person’s personal atmosphere. Not only are these things noticed in the person himself or herself, but even the very residences, stores or other places frequented by the individual are also affected by the continuous influence of the thought-vibrations of his or her personal atmosphere. Did you ever notice how some houses produce upon you a feeling of sadness or woe, or worse; while others seem to carry within them an air of health and good cheer, happiness and content? This is often true although the house may have been unoccupied for some time. So strong do the mental vibrations of the atmosphere of the person or persons formerly inhabiting them. In the same way some offices and places of business are so saturated with the vibrations of the personal atmospheres of their occupants, that one is forcibly impressed by the same upon entering the door. A man may disguise his thoughts by his words or his facial expression, but the mental vibrations of his personal atmosphere will frequently "give him away."

These are facts, which should require no further proof – your own experience should be proof enough to satisfy you but you should make mental note of this fact, and carry it in mind as we proceed. Many persons leave but little impression upon us, for the reasons that their mental states are so varied, inconstant and fleeting that they neutralize each other, and fail to impart a definite shade of thought-color to the personal atmosphere. The strongest personal atmospheres are those of persons of strong feelings, desires and emotions, good or bad, for such have strong and constant mental states which impress themselves forcibly upon their personal atmosphere, so strongly, in fact, that one who notices these things cannot fail to perceive them.

A moment's thought will inform you that if these things be true – and true you will realize they must be when you give the matter a moment's careful thought – then one should be very careful to avoid harboring mental states of a character likely to inspire undesirable feelings in other persons. And, at the same time, one should endeavor to cultivate mental states of a character likely to awaken feelings of a desirable character in those with whom we come in contact. In fact, a great portion of the following chapters will be used to teach how to cultivate just such mental states so as to rate the desired effect upon others, for in this lies one of the great secrets of personal magnetism.

One need not despair if he has been creating and carrying around with him a personal atmosphere of an undesirable kind. For these things may be remedied, and one may entirely change the character of his mental states, and thus transform his personal atmosphere from the very worst to the very best. These things require work, perseverance, and patience, it is true, but the reward is so great that it pays anyone to devote his attentions and time to it. The principle is very simple, indeed, but it requires determination and dogged will to obtain the best results, particularly in cases where very undesirable conditions have existed.

The second way in which the mental phase of personal magnetism operates, i.e., that of the conscious projection of the mental currents from the brain centers, by the action of the will of the individual, also demands work on the part of the student who wishes to create a strong personal atmosphere.

The principle of this second form of mental action consists in the use of the will in a conscious projection of thought-currents. This is true in the case of stimulating the personal atmosphere, and also in cases in which one endeavors to produce an effect upon the mind of some other person in whose presence he may happen to be.

While it is true that the character of the mental states of the person will color and give character to his personal atmosphere, which will, of course, produce an effect upon the other person or persons in his field of action, it is likewise true that the effect of such mental vibrations may be enormously increased by the use of the will in the direction of the conscious projection just referred to. The mental states produce and create the mental atmosphere, it is true, but the will serves to project them forth with force, and to generally energize the atmosphere and increase the effect.

It is just as if you had created a great store of mental magnetism in your brain, and given it the proper quality and color by the character of your mental states. This would naturally create a personal atmosphere or aura around you, which would be felt by others. But then imagine the increased strength and effect that would arise from the use of your will to project and force outward from your brain these mental vibrations. You will see at once how such an action of the will would tend to energize and increase the vibrations of your mental atmosphere, can you not? It would be like turning on an extra force of the power, would it not? Certainly it would, and you may gain this effect whenever you wish to do so, by using the methods, which will be given you in this book as we proceed.

Again, you will see, by a little thought, how much stronger will be the effect upon any special individual, if, in addition to the vibrations of our personal atmosphere, we add the force of a special current of mental force directed steadily and pointedly at his mind, by an effort of our will. Do you see the point? You first affect him by the effect of your energized personal atmosphere, and then just when he is in the proper receptive condition you discharge at him a psychic rifle-ball which hits him right in the bull’s eye of his mind with enormous force.

At first thought, this may seem to you like very strenuous proceedings, and one which would require the outlay of a great amount of will power on your own part. But, this is not so, for the thought-currents are very responsive to the action of the will, and the main thing is to hold the will firmly to the task, and the thought-currents will flow out over the channel thus made for them. It is like holding a rifle properly aimed, and then letting the force of the powder drive the bullet home; or, again, like holding the nozzle of a hose pointed exactly where you wish the current of water to go, and lo! When the water is turned on, it flies straight to the mark, long after it has left the tip of the nozzle of the hose.

The strong men of all times have employed the will in this way in the direction of creating a strong personal atmosphere, and also in the direction of producing strong impressions upon those who they wished to affect. In many cases they have not fully understood the character of the forces set into operation by themselves, but they understood the "how" part, even if they did not grasp the "why". The next time you come into contact with a strong individual, watch him or her, and see if you cannot almost see the operation of this direction of mental force of which I have just spoken. But, far more important than even studying others, is that of cultivating the art of doing the thing for yourself, and this is what I am trying to teach you to do. And you will succeed in it, too, if you will enter into the work fully with heart and mind. Get in earnest about it, and the power will develop in you to bring about success.