THE SECRET OF SUCCESS: How to Achieve Power, Success & Mental Influence (Complete William Walker Atkinson Collection). William Walker Atkinson
old thought-habit and adopt the new in its place. It is a magnificent feat, but very difficult of performance. The same result can be obtained by an easier plan. The very habit of making the Passive mind more amendable to the commands of the Active function can be acquired by the easier plan of which I will speak in this lesson.
The second plan, the changing of the thought-habit by Hypnotic Suggestion, has been followed by many, with excellent results, provided, always, that the operator was a proper person, thoroughly understanding his profession, and being fully acquainted with the latest methods of eradicating undesirable thought-habits. In this connection, I would say that one should be very careful in whose hands they place themselves for treatment of this sort. One should not trust their case to a person just because that person could give hypnotic suggestion; one would not employ a man as cashier of a bank just because the applicant could keep books, and count money rapidly.
The third plan, which of producing the result by autosuggestion is good, especially when accompanied by Thought Absorption. In autosuggestion you simply keep on repeating to the Passive mind the statement that the new habits exists (ignoring the old on), and the Passive mind, although inclined to be a little rebellious at first, will eventually accept what you say as thought. It will adopt the new thought-habit as its own thought just as do some people under like circumstances. Autosuggestion is practically self-hypnosis of the passive mind by the Active mind. It is a case of "every man his own hypnotist."
The third plan, taught Absorption, consists in the placing of yourself in a perfectly passive condition, at frequent intervals and fixing the mind intently upon the idea or mental statement, that the new habits exist; picturing yourself, by an effort of the imagination, as being a man possessed to the desired qualities. You should "carry the thought" with you continually, picturing yourself as possessing the desired habit, in every leisure moment, day and night, an din other ways acting out the belief. This is purely an action of the Passive mind, assisted by the imagination. It seems very simple, but the results, which have been attained by it, seem little short of marvelous. It is by far the easiest, and one of the most effective methods of making over your character. The imagined thing becomes a reality in a comparatively short time, and action follow close upon he heels of thought.
In my opinion the combination of autosuggestion and Thought Absorption afford the ideal treatment in Character Building. If persisted in, it will accomplish the most marked results in a comparatively shore space of time, the effect being felt from the very first. Do not pass over this lightly; because it seems so simple. It is a secret worth thousands of dollars to you, and one, which you would not part with for any money, once you have experienced its benefits.
I will now give you a brief explanation of the several methods above referred to. Let us take the Fear (worry) thought-habit, as an illustration. It affords an excellent illustration of the bad habits of the rest of the bad thought, for it does more to unfit one for the duties of life than all the rest of the bad thoughts combined, and also brings with it the vile brood of miserable weakening thought-habits of which it is the parent. The man who has torn out by the roots the vile Fear thought (worry thought) has progressed a long distance on the road to Freedom. Fear thought never helped anyone, and never will; but it has wrecked the careers of thousands of men and women, paralyzing their energies, preventing their progress, enfeebling their minds, and diseasing their bodies. We have all felt it, and those of us who have banished it would not return to its thralldom under any consideration. Life is an entirely different thing to the man who has rooted out this noxious weed. He becomes an entirely different order of being. Most of the things we fear never occur; and the few that do occur can be rooted by a bold front, aided by the strength, which the absence of Fear and Worry imparts. The energy and vital force wasted on Worry is more that sufficient to enable us to conquer our real troubles when they occur. You remember the tale of the old man on his deathbed, giving his son good advice, who said: "John, I have lived eighty years and have had many troubles, the majority of which never occurred." The old man merely voiced the experience of all men or women who have lived to old age. The moral is obvious.
I will suppose that you are a victim to Fear thought (and I am very likely correct) and that you are about to try the four plans of ridding yourself of it. I will suppose that you will try them in turn one after the other. You will first try the power of the Will, and will say to yourself: "I will not Fear," "I command Fear to depart." This is the heroic remedy. I shall not go into details of this treatment. You know all about it, already. You have all tried it. You will next try the effect of Hypnotic Suggestion, and will employ a good suggestionist who will place you in an easy position; cause you to relax every muscle; quiet every nerve and assume a state of mental calm; and who, having secured your undivided, concentrated attention, will give you strong, repeated suggestions of Fearlessness, Courage, Hopefulness, Confidence, etc. The capable suggestionist will study each case closely, and by carefully selected, and properly administered suggestions, will plant the seed of the new thought-habit with its designed to supplant and crowd out the old one. Splendid results are obtained by this line of treatment. The writer has cured many persons of undesirable thought-habits in this way, when they felt that they preferred outside help. He has also used this form of treatment in order to get the patient started on the right mental path; to give him confidence in himself and in the efficacy of this form of mental development; and then instructed him in the theory and practice of auto- suggestion and Thought Absorption, leaving him to finish the fight himself. You will then try the power of autosuggestion by constantly repeating to yourself the words: "I am Fearless"; "I am Confident"; "I have abolished Fear"; "I Fear Nothing," etc. These autosuggestions must be made earnestly, just as if you were suggesting to another person, and you must endeavor to live up to them.
Let your Passive mind see - that you believe what you say, and it will have confidence in your statements, and, accepting them as correct, will act accordingly. If you go about this practice in good faith and in earnest, you will notice an improvement from the first. You must remember, however, that if the Passive mind thrusts a Worry thought upon your consciousness, you must double your assertion of Fearlessness, until the intruder retreats. This may bother you at the first, for the Worry thought is pretty confident of a friendly reception, but like any other mangy cur it will soon learn that you carry a club, and will bear a hasty retreat at the mere sight of it.
Carry this idea of the cur and the club in your mind, and you will have but little trouble with the brute. You will learn to despise the Worry thought as you do the snarling, snapping cur, and will not hesitate to deal him a good sound whack with your mental club, provided he stays long enough to be hit. He will soon retreat with his tail between his legs, and will thereafter manifest a wholesome respect for the club. Don't wait until he actually bothers you, but get in the habit of reaching out for the club at the first sight of the yellow hide of the mongrel.
And now you are ready to try the effects of Thought absorption. In this case you place yourself in the suggestible, passive condition, just as you did at the bidding of the suggestionist when was preparing to give you helpful suggestions. The more passive you become, the better will be the effect. In other words, you relax, let go, and become perfectly passive, bodily and mentally. You thus relieve the Active mind from duty and allow the Passive mind to have undisputed control. You then carry the thought of "I am Fearless," and the others above given, calmly and firmly. You also picture yourself, on your imagination, as being Fearless, acting fearlessly, having moral and physical courage, and as driving away the Worry mongrel with our mental club.
Give your imagination full scope, but hold it down to the desired line of thought. You will find the exercises in concentration most valuable here. You also will carry the thought of Fearlessness with you all the time, and endeavor to act the part naturally. I mean adjust what I say; act the part just as does the actor when he assumes a role. The assumed character will soon become more real, and in time will be the "real thing" with you. After a little practice, it will become second nature to you; and eventually will become your real nature.
As I have said before, the combination of Thought Absorption and Autosuggestion forms the ideal treatment in Character Building. I will close this lesson with a few exercises designed to aid you in Thought Absorption. Do not forget to practice the Concentration exercises, but do not wait to master them before commencing your fight on the Fear thought cur. Commence this flight at once. Cut your club today, and just "lay" for