[amazon-product align=”right” alink=”0000FF” bordercolor=”000000″ height=”240″ region=”us” tracking_id=”varsblah-20″]1602061386[/amazon-product]“There is no gradation between the most rapid undulations or trembling that produces our sensations of sound and the slowest of those which give rise to our sensations of gentlest warmth. There is a huge gap between them, wide enough to include another world of motion, all lying between our world of sound and our world of heat and light; and there is no good reason whatever for supposing that matter is incapable of such intermediate activity, or that such activity may not give rise to intermediate sensations, provided that there are organs for taking up and sensitising their movements.” – Professor Williams
The Law of Vibration
History contains many mysterious cases of one mind influencing another or even bending objects at will. While materialists have dismissed these hocus-pocus phenomena, brave proponents continue their quest to rescue this science from the category of “superstition, credulity, and ignorant phantasm”.
In Practical Mental Influence, William Walker Atkinson bridges both views: “[The] investigator is not compelled to resort to metaphysical explanations to account for the phenomena of Mental Influence… Although we know that the real solution lies in the metaphysical realm, still even physical science will corroborate the facts of its metaphysical sister science, and instead of contradicting the latter will actually go far toward furnishing analogous facts and principles basis for a theory of metaphysical facts.”
He begins explaining the idea of thought transference with accepted scientific facts. “Everything in the material world is in vibration,” Atkinson asserts. “Without vibration there would be no such thing as a material universe.” This applies to seen and felt phenomena (“light, heat, electricity, magnetism and the rest”) as well as those we cannot see or feel: “Science has every reason to believe that there are great fields of energy and force, the vibrations of which are far too high for even the delicate instruments of science to record, but which nevertheless exist and manifest effects.”
Thought Waves
“There can be no doubt that our physical force creates a movement in the ether which transmit itself afar like all movements in the ether, becomes perceptible to brains in harmony with our own.” – Camille Flammarion (astronomer)
Physiologists have shown that the brain’s temperature increases according to the intensity of feelings or thoughts. This is due to the highly intense vibrations that are generated when feelings and thoughts are manifested in the mind. And given that this energy has to go somewhere, it is projected outward in vibratory waves.
Unconscious and undirected thoughts creep “lazily and yielding”. They have little power and easily fade away when neutralised by stronger ones. But consciously directed thoughts “dart forth vigorously like an electric spark”. They maintain their energy as they travel great distances and influence others with a power proportional to their projected force.
Mental Induction
“Thoughts and feelings are contagious, by reason of the Law of Vibration and Mental Induction. When this law is understood the individual is enabled to protect and improve himself. Such knowledge brings strength.”
Induction in physics refers to the ability of one object to ‘reproduce’ its energy in another without direct contact between the two (e.g. the sun warming the earth). The same principle applies to thought, which is why we can be influenced by others regardless of who or where they are: “When you remember how this speaker swayed your feelings or how that actor made you weep with pity, shiver with fear, or laugh with joy, you will see how Mental Induction acts.”
But only the strong thoughts survive: “If two currents of mental energy meet, one being a thought of Love and the other Hate, they will neutralise each other if they are equal, or if one is stronger than the other, it will persist but robbed of much of its strength.” Despite this tendency for Nature to protect us, we need to shield ourselves from negative influences: “The predominant mental attitude serves to attract similar influences and to repel the opposing ones. Therefore watch carefully the character and nature of your thoughts.”
Mental Concentration and Mental Imaging
The two main factors in manifesting Mental Influence are concentration and imaging:
- Concentration
“In the degree that a man is able to concentrate, so is he able to manifest mental power. A man’s power of mental concentration is to a great extent his measure of greatness.”
Gunpowder. Electricity. Steam. These and many other cases demonstrate the power of concentrated energy. Yet most of us live with scattered minds running wild like bored and restless brats. Practising concentration requires us to focus the mind and hold it focused for a fixed time. Similarly, we must shut off and focus on something else when it’s time to rest. Involuntary daydreams (“a species of self-hypnotising”) occur when we’re absorbed in tasks we naturally enjoy and should be avoided because they do nothing to strengthen the will.
- Imaging
“You must master your imagination and make it your servant and not your master. You must make it do your bidding, instead of allowing it to dictate to you.”
Not knowing exactly what you want means you can’t take steps to get it. But a clear image acts as a framework, much like an architect’s blueprint or an explorer’s map. We must train our minds to see and feel exactly what we want to achieve as though it already exists. Most importantly, to avoid becoming “a dreamer of dreams and a doer of nothing”, we must follow it up with action. As Einstein remarked: “Nothing happens until something moves.” That something has to be you.
If you enjoyed this post, please remember to Like, Tweet, and Share it using the links at the top or bottom of the page. And remember to subscribe to free alerts or follow me on Twitter to be notified when the next instalment is released. For more on the subject, read my review of Character Building Thought Power.
