RAJA YOGA /PART 10
THE TENTH LESSON.
SUB-CONSCIOUSING.
In
the Ninth Lesson we called your attention to the fact that Reasoning was not
necessarily conscious in its operations, and that, in fact, a large part of the
rational processes of the mind are performed below or above the field of
consciousness. And in the Eighth Lesson we gave you a number of examples
illustrating this fact. We also gave you a number of cases in which the
sub-conscious field of the Intellect worked out problems, and then after a time
passed on to the conscious field of the Intellect the solution of the matter.
In this lesson we purpose instructing you in the methods by which this part of
the Intellect may be set to work for you. Many have stumbled upon bits of this
truth for themselves, and, in fact, the majority of successful men and men who
have attained eminence in any walk of life have made more or less use of this
truth, although they seldom understand the reason of it.
Very
few Western writers have recognized the work of this plane of the mind. They
have given us full and ingenious theories and examples of the workings of the
Instinctive Mind, and in some cases they have touched upon the workings and
operations of the Intuitional planes, but in nearly every case they have
treated the Intellect as something entirely confined to the Conscious plane of
mentation. In this they have missed some of the most interesting and valuable
manifestations of sub-conscious mentation.
In
this lesson we will take up this particular phase of mentation, and trust to be
able to point out the way to use it to the best advantage, giving some simple
instructions that have been given by the Hindu teachers to their students for
centuries past, such instructions of course, being modified by us to conform to
the requirements and necessities of the Western student of today.
We
have taken the liberty of bestowing a new title upon this phase of mentation—we
have thought it well to call it "Sub-consciousing." The word
"Sub," of course means "under; below;" and the word
"Consciousing" is a favorite term employed by Prof. Elmer Gates, and
means receiving impressions from the mind. In a general way,
"Sub-consciousing," as used in this lesson, may be understood to mean
"using the subconscious mind, under orders of the conscious mind."
By
referring to our Eighth Lesson, we see mention made of the case of the man who
indulged in "unconscious rumination," which happened to him when he
read books presenting new points of view essentially opposed to his previous
opinion. You will note that after days, weeks, or months, he found that to his
great astonishment the old opinions were entirely rearranged, and new ones
lodged there.
On
the same page you will see mentioned the case of Sir William Hamilton, who
discovered an important law of mathematics while walking with his wife. In this
case he had been previously thinking of the missing link in his chain of
reasoning, and the problem was worked out for him by the sub-conscious plane of
his Intellect.
On
the same page, and the one following, is found the case of Dr. Thompson, who
gives an interesting account of the workings of this part of his mind, which
caused him at times to experience a feeling of the uselessness of all voluntary
effort, coupled with a feeling that the matter was working itself clear in his
mind. He tells us that at times he seemed to be merely a passive instrument in
the hands of some person other than himself, who compelled him to wait until
the work was performed for him by some hidden region of the mind. When the
subconscious part of the mind had completed its work, it would flash the
message to his conscious mind, and he would begin to write.
On
page 178 mention is also made of the great French chemist Berthelot, who relates
that some of his best conceptions have flashed upon him as from the clear sky.
In fact, the Eighth Lesson is largely made up of examples of this kind, and we
ask the student to re-read the same, in order to refresh his mind with the
truth of the workings of the sub-conscious mentality.
But
you will notice in nearly all the cases mentioned, that those who related
instances of the help of the sub-conscious mind had merely stumbled upon the
fact that there was a part of the mind below consciousness that could and would
work out problems for one, if it could somehow be set in operation. And these
people trusted to luck to start that part of the mind in operation. Or rather,
they would saturate their conscious mind with a mass of material, like stuffing
the stomach with food, and then bid the subconscious mind assort, separate,
arrange and digest the mental food, just as does the stomach and digestive
apparatus digest the natural food—outside of the realm of consciousness or
volition. In none of the cases mentioned was the subconscious mind directed specially
to perform its wonderful work. It was simply hoped that it might digest the
mental material with which it had been stuffed—in pure self defense. But there
is a much better way, and we intend to tell you about it. The Hindu Yogis, or
rather those who instruct their pupils in "Raja Yoga," give
their students directions whereby they may direct their
sub-conscious minds to perform mental tasks for them, just as one may direct
another to perform a task. They teach them the methods whereby, after having
accumulated the necessary materials, they may bid the sub-conscious mentality
to sort it out, rearrange, analyze, and build up from it some bit of desired
knowledge. More than this, they instruct their pupils to direct and order the
sub-conscious mentality to search out and report to them certain information to
be found only within the mind itself—some question of philosophy or
metaphysics. And when such art has been acquired, the student or Yogi rests
assured that the desired result will be forthcoming in due time, and
consequently dismisses the matter from his conscious mind, and busies himself
with other matters, knowing that day and night, incessantly, the
sub-consciousing process is going on, and that the sub-conscious mind is
actively at work collecting the information, or working out the problem.
You
will see at once the great superiority of this method over the old
"hit-or-miss," "hope-it-will-work" plan pursued by those
who have stumbled upon bits of the truth.
The
Yogi teacher begins by impressing upon his students the fact that the mind is
capable of extending outward toward an object, material or mental, and by
examining it by methods inherent in itself, extracting knowledge regarding the
object named. This is not a startling truth, because it is so common, everyone
employing it more or less every day. But the process by which the knowledge is
extracted is most wonderful, and really is performed below the plane of
consciousness, the work of the conscious mind being chiefly concerned in holding
the Attention upon the object. We have spoken of the importance of
Attention in previous lessons, which it will be well for you to re-read, at
this time.
When
the student is fully impressed with the details of the process of Attention,
and the subsequent unfoldment of knowledge, the Yogi proceeds to inform him
that there are other means of obtaining knowledge about an object, by the
employment of which the Attention may be firmly directed toward the object and
then afterwards held there unconsciously—that is, a portion of the
Attention, or a sub-conscious phase of mentation, which will hold the
sub-conscious mind firmly upon the work until accomplished, leaving the
conscious Attention and mentality free to employ itself with other things.
The
Yogis teach the students that this new form of Attention is far more intense
and powerful than is the conscious Attention, for it cannot be disturbed or
shaken, or distracted from its object, and that it will work away at its task
for days, months, years, or a lifetime if necessary, according to the
difficulty of the task, and in fact carries its work over from one life to
another, unless recalled by the Will. They teach the student that in everyone's
life there is going on a greater or less degree of this sub-conscious work,
carried on in obedience to a strong desire for knowledge manifested in some
former life, and bearing fruit only in the present existence. Many important
discoveries have been made in obedience to this law. But it is not of this
phase of the matter that we wish to speak in this lesson.
The
Yogi theory is that the sub-conscious intellectual faculty may be set to work
under the direction of orders given by the Will. All of you know how the
sub-conscious mentality will take up an order of the Will, or a strong wish,
that the person be awakened at a certain hour in order to catch a train. Or, in
the same way how the remembrance of a certain engagement at, say, four o'clock,
will flash into the mind when the hands of the clock approach the stated hour.
Nearly every one can recall instances of this sort in his own experience.
But
the Yogis go much further than this. They claim that any and all faculties of
the mind may be "set going," or working on any problem, if ordered
thereto by the Will. In fact, the Yogis, and their advanced students have
mastered this art to such a surprising extent that they find it unnecessary to
do the drudgery of thinking in the conscious field, and prefer to relegate such
mental work to the sub-conscious, reserving their conscious work for the
consideration of digested information and thought presented to them by the
sub-conscious mind.
Their
directions to their students cover a great deal of ground, and extend over a
long period of time, and many of the directions are quite complicated and full
of detail. But we think that we can give our students an abbreviated and
condensed idea in a few pages of the lesson. And the remaining lessons of the
course will also throw additional light on the subject of sub-conscious mental
action, in connection with other subjects.
The
Yogi takes the student when the latter is much bothered by a consideration of
some knotty and perplexing philosophical subject. He bids the student relax
every muscle,—take the tension from every nerve—throw aside all mental strain,
and then wait a few moments. Then the student is instructed to grasp the
subject which he has had before his mind firmly and fixedly before his mental
vision, by means of concentration. Then he is instructed to pass it on to the
sub-conscious mentality by an effort of the Will, which effort is aided by
forming a mental picture of the subject as a material substance, or
bundle of thought, which is being bodily lifted up and dropped down a
mental hatch-way, or trap-door, in which it sinks from sight. The student is
then instructed to say to the sub-conscious mentality: "I wish this
subject thoroughly analyzed, arranged, classified (and whatever else is
desired) and then the results handed back to me. Attend to this."
The
student is taught to speak to the sub-conscious mentality just as if it were a
separate entity of being, which had been employed to do the work. He is also
taught that confident expectation is an important part of the
process, and that the degree of success depends upon the degree of this
confident expectation.
In
obstinate cases, the student is taught to use the Imagination freely, until he
is able to make a mental image or picture of the sub-conscious mind doing what
is required of it. This process clears away a mental path for the feet of the
sub-conscious mind, which it will choose thereafter, as it prefers to follow
the line of least resistance.
Of
course much depends upon practice—practice makes perfect, you know, in
everything else, and sub-consciousing is no exception to the rule.
The
student gradually acquires a proficiency in the art of sub-consciousing, and
thereafter devotes his time to acquiring new facts for mental digestion, rather
than bestowing it upon the mechanical act of thinking.
But
a very important point to be remembered is that the Will-power back of the
transferred thought-material, which Will-power is the cause of the subconscious
action, depends very greatly upon the attention and interest given to the
acquired material. This mass of thought-material which is to be digested, and
threshed out by the sub-conscious mind, must be well saturated with interest
and attention, in order to obtain the best results. In fact interest and
attention are such important aids to the Will, that any consideration of the
development and acquirement of Will-power is practically a development and
acquirement of attention and interest. The student is referred to previous
lessons in this course in which the importance of interest and attention is
explained and described.
In
acquiring the mass of thought-material which is to be passed on to the
sub-conscious digestion, one must concentrate a great degree of interest and
attention upon each item of thought-material gathered up. The gathering of this
thought-material is a matter of the greatest importance, and must not be
lightly passed by. One cannot hastily gather together all sorts of
thought-material, and then expect the subconscious mind to do its work
properly—it will not, in fact, and the student proceeding upon any such
erroneous supposition is doomed to disappointment.
The
proper way to proceed, is to take up each bit of thought-material in turn, and
examine it with the greatest possible interest, and consequently the greatest
attention, and then after having fairly saturated it with this interested
attention, place it with the pile of material which, after a while, is to be
passed on to the sub-conscious mentality. Then take up the next bit of
material, and after giving it similar treatment, pass it along to the pile
also. Then after a while when you have gathered up the main facts of the case,
proceed to consider the mass as a whole, with interest and attention, giving it
as it were a "general treatment." Then drop it down the trap-door
into the sub-conscious mind, with a strong command, "Attend to this
thought-material," coupled with a strong expectant belief that your order
will be obeyed.
The
idea underlying this treatment of the thought-material with interest and
attention is that by so doing a strong "Mental Image" is created,
which may be easily handled by the sub-conscious mind. Remember that you are
passing on "thoughts" for the sub-consciousness to act upon, and that
the more tangible and real these thoughts are, the better can they be handled.
Therefore any plan that will build these thoughts up into "real"
things is the plan to pursue. And attention and interest produce just this
result.
If
we may be pardoned for using a homely and commonplace illustration we would say
that the idea may be grasped by the illustration of boiling an egg, whereby the
fluid "white" and "yolk" becomes solid and real. Also the
use of a shaving brush by a man, by which the thin lather is gradually worked
up into a rich, thick, creamy mass, is an illustration. Again, the churning of
butter is a favorite illustration of the Hindus, who thus call the attention of
their students to the fact that thought-material if worked upon with attention
and interest become "thought-forms" that may be handled by the mind
just as the hands handle a material object. We ask you to think of these
illustrations, for when you once grasp the idea that we wish to convey to you,
you will have the secret of great thinking powers within your grasp.
And
this power of sub-consciousing is not confined alone to the consideration of
philosophical questions. On the contrary it is applicable to every field of
human thought, and may be properly employed in any and all of them. It is
useful in solving the problems of every-day life and work, as well as to the
higher flights of the human mind. And we wish every one of our students to
realize that in this simple lesson we are giving them the key to a great mental
power.
To
realize just what we are offering to you, we would remind you of the old fairy tales
of all races, in which there is to be found one or more tales telling of some
poor cobbler, or tailor, or carpenter, as the case may be, who had by his good
deeds, gained favor with the "brownies" or good fairies, who would
come each night when the man and his family were asleep, and proceed to
complete the work that the artisan had laid out for the morrow. The pieces of
leather would be made into shoes; the cloth would be sewed into garments; the
wood would be joined, and nailed together into boxes, chairs, benches and what
not. But in each case the rough materials were prepared by the artisan himself
during the day.
Well,
that is just what we are trying to introduce to you. A clan of mental brownies,
loving and kindly disposed toward you, who are anxious and willing to help you
in your work. All you have to do is to give them the proper materials, and tell
then what you want done, and they will do the rest. But these mental brownies
are a part of your own mentality, remember, and no alien and foreign entities,
as some have imagined.
A
number of people who have accidentally discovered this power of the
sub-conscious mind to work out problems, and to render other valuable service
to its owner, have been led to suppose that the aid really came from some other
entity or intelligence. Some have thought that the messages came from friends
in the spirit land, and others have believed that some high intelligence—God or
his angels—was working in their behalf. Without discussing spirit
communication, or Divine messages, in both of which we believe (with certain
provisional reservations) we feel justified in saying that the majority of
cases of this kind may be referred to the sub-conscious workings of one's own
mentality.
Each
of us has "a friend" in our own mind—a score of them in fact, who
delight in performing services for us, if we will but allow them to do so. Not
only have we a Higher Self to whom we may turn for comfort and aid in times of
deep distress and necessity, but we have these invisible mental workers on the
sub-conscious plane, who are very willing and glad to perform much of our
mental work for us, if we will but give them the material in proper shape.
It
is very difficult to impart specific directions for obtaining these results, as
each case must depend to a great extent upon the peculiar circumstances
surrounding it. But we may say that the main thing needed is to "lick into
shape" the material, and then pass it on to the sub-conscious mind in the
manner spoken of a few moments ago. Let us run over a few cases wherein this
principle may be applied.
Let
us suppose that you are confronted with a problem consisting of an uncertainty
as to which of two or more courses to adopt in some affair of life. Each course
seems to have advantages and disadvantages, and you seem unable to pass upon
the matter clearly and intelligently. The more you try the more perplexed and
worried do you become. Your mind seems to tire of the matter, and manifests a
state which may be called "mental nausea." This state will be apparent
to any one who has had much "thinking" to do. The average person,
however, persists in going over the matter, notwithstanding the tired condition
of the mind, and its evident distaste for a further consideration of the
subject. They will keep on forcing it back to the mind for consideration, and
even at night time will keep thrashing away at the subject. Now this course is
absurd. The mind recognizes that the work should be done by another part of
itself—its digestive region, in fact—and naturally rebels at the finishing-up
machinery being employed in work unsuited for it.
According
to the Sub-consciousing plan, the best thing for the man to do would be for him
first to calm and quiet his mind. Then he should arrange the main features of
the problem, together with the minor details in their proper places. Then he
should pass them slowly before him in review, giving a strong interest and
attention to each fact and detail, as it passes before him, but without
the slightest attempt to form a decision, or come to a conclusion. Then,
having given the matter an interested and attentive review, let him Will that
it pass on to his sub-conscious mind, forming the mental image of dropping it
through the trap-door, and at the same time giving the command of the Will,
"Attend to this for me!"
Then
dismiss the matter from your conscious mind, by an effort of command of the
Will. If you find it difficult to do this, you may soon acquire the mastery by
a frequent assertion, "I have dismissed this matter from my conscious
mind, and my sub-conscious mind will attend to it for me." Then, endeavor
to create a mental feeling of perfect trust and confidence in the matter, and
avoid all worry or anxiety about it. This may be somewhat difficult at the
first trial, but will become a natural feeling after you have gained the
confidence arising from successful results in several cases. The matter is one
of practice, and, like anything else that is new, must be acquired by
perseverance and patience. It is well worth the time and trouble, and once
acquired will be regarded as something in the nature of a treasure discovered
in an unexpected place. The sense of tranquillity and content—of calm and
confidence—that comes to one who has practiced this plan, will of itself be
worth all the trouble, not to speak of the main result. To one who has acquired
this method, the old worries, frettings, and general "stewed up"
feeling, will seem like a relic of barbarism. The new way opens up a world of
new feelings and content.
In
some cases the matter will be worked out by the sub-conscious mind in a very
short time, and in fact we have known cases in which the answer would be
flashed back almost instantly, almost like an inspiration. But in the majority
of cases more or less time is required. The sub-conscious mind works very
rapidly, but it takes time to arrange the thought-material properly, and to shape
it into the desired forms. In the majority of cases it is well to let the
matter rest until the next day—a fact that gives us a clue to the old advice to
"sleep over" an important proposition, before passing a final
decision.
If
the matter does not present itself the following day, bring it up again before
the conscious mind for review. You will find that it has shaped itself up
considerably, and is assuming definite form and clearness. But right here—and
this is important—do not make the mistake of again dissecting it, and meddling
with it, and trying to arrange it with your conscious mind. But, instead, give
it attention and interest in its new form, and then pass it back again to the
sub-conscious mind for further work. You will find an improvement each time you
examine it. But, right here another word of caution. Do not make the mistake of
yielding to the impatience of the beginner, and keep on repeatedly bringing up
the matter to see what is being done. Give it time to have the work done on it.
Do not be like the boy who planted seeds, and who each day would pull them up
to see whether they had sprouted, and how much.
Sooner
or later, the sub-conscious mind will, of its own choice, lift up the matter
and present it to you in its finished shape for the consideration of the
conscious mind. The sub-conscious mind does not insist that you shall adopt its
views, or accept its work, but merely hands out to you the result of its
sorting, classifying and arranging. The choice and will still remains yours, but
you will often find that there is seen to be one plan or path that stands out
clearly from the others, and you will very likely adopt that one. The secret is
that the sub-conscious mind with its wonderful patience and care has analyzed
the matter, and has separated things before apparently connected. It has also
found resemblances and has combined things heretofore considered opposed to
each other. In short it has done for you all that you could have done with the
expenditure of great work and time, and done it well. And then it lays the
matter before you for your consideration and verdict.
Its
whole work seems to have been in the nature of assorting, dissecting,
analyzing, and arranging the evidence, and then presenting it before you in a
clear, systematic shape. It does not attempt to exercise the judicial
prerogative or function, but seems to recognize that its work ceases with the
presentation of the edited evidence, and that of the conscious mind begins at
the same point.
Now,
do not confuse this work with that of the Intuition, which is a very different
mental phase or plane. This sub-conscious working, just mentioned, plays an
entirely different part. It is a good servant, and does not try to be more. The
Intuition, on the contrary, is more like a higher friend—a friend at court, as
it were, who gives us warnings and advice.
In
our directions we have told you how to make use of this part of the mind,
consciously and knowingly, so as to obtain the best results, and to get rid of
worry and anxiety attendant upon unsettled questions. But, in fact, every one
of us makes more or less use of this part of the mind unconsciously, and not
realizing the important part it plays in our mental life. We are perplexed
about a matter and keep it "on our minds" until we are forced to lay
it aside by reason of some other demand, or when we sink to sleep. Often to our
surprise we will find that when we next think of it the matter has somehow
cleared up and straightened itself out, and we seem to have learned something
about it that we did not know before. We do not understand it, and are apt to
dismiss it as "just one of those things." In these lessons we are
attempting to explain some of "those things," and to enable you to
use them consciously and understandingly, instead of by chance, instinctively,
and clumsily. We are teaching you Mastery of the Mind.
Now
to apply the rule to another case. Suppose you wish to gather together all the
information that you possess relating to a certain subject. In the first place
it is certain that you know a very great deal more about any subject than you
think you do. Stored away in the various recesses of the mind, or memory if you
prefer that term, are stray bits of information and knowledge concerning almost
any subject. But these bits of information are not associated with each other.
You have never attempted to think attentively upon the particular question
before you, and the facts are not correlated in the mind. It is just as if you
had so many hundred pounds of anything scattered throughout the space of a
large warehouse, a tiny bit here, and a tiny bit there, mixed up with thousands
of other things.
You
may prove this by sitting down some time and letting your thoughts run along
the line of some particular subject, and you will find emerging into the field
of consciousness all sorts of information that you had apparently forgotten,
and each fitting itself into its proper place. Every person has had experiences
of this kind. But the work of gathering together the scattered scraps of knowledge
is more or less tedious for the conscious mind, and the sub-conscious mind will
do the work equally well with the wear and tear on the attention. In fact, it
is the sub-conscious mind that always does the work, even when
you think it is the conscious mind. All the conscious mind does is to hold the
attention firmly upon the object before it, and then let the sub-consciousness
pass the material before it. But this holding the attention is tiresome work,
and it is not necessary for it to expend its energies upon the details of the
task, for the work may be done in an easier and simpler way.
The
best way is to follow a plan similar to the one mentioned a few pages back.
That is, to fix the interested attention firmly upon the question before you,
until you manage to get a clear, vivid impression of just what you want
answered. Then pass the whole matter into the sub-conscious mind with the
command "Attend to this," and then leave it. Throw the whole matter
off of your mind, and let the sub-conscious work go on. If possible let the
matter run along until the next morning and then take it up for consideration,
when, if you have proceeded properly you will find the matter worked out,
arranged in logical sequence, so that your conscious attention will be able to
clearly review the string of facts, examples, illustrations, experiences, etc.,
relating to the matter in question.
Now,
many of you will say that you would like this plan to work in cases in which
you have not the time to sleep over it. In such cases we will say that it is
possible to cultivate a rapid method of sub-consciousing, and in fact many
business men and men of affairs have stumbled upon a similar plan, driven to
the discovery by necessity. They will give a quick, comprehensive, strong flash
of attention upon the subject, getting right to the heart of it, and then will
let it rest in the sub-conscious mind for a moment or two, killing a minute or
two of time n "preliminary conversation," until the first flash of
answer comes to them. After the first flash, and taking hold of the first loose
end of the subject that presents itself to them, they will unwind a string of
information and "talk" about the subject that will surprise even
themselves. Many lawyers have acquired this knowledge, and are what is known as
"resourceful." Such men are often confronted with questions of
conditions utterly unsuspected by them a moment before. Practice has taught
them the folly of fear and loss of confidence at such moments, and has also
impressed upon them the truth that something within them will come to the
rescue. So, presenting a confident air, they will manage to say a few
platitudes or commonplaces, while the sub-conscious mind is most rapidly
gathering its materials for the answer. In a moment an opening thought
"flashes upon" the man, and as he continues idea after idea passes
before his conscious and eager attention, sometimes so rapidly that it is
almost impossible to utter them and lo! the danger is over, and a brilliant
success is often snatched from the jaws of an apparent failure and defeat. In
such cases the mental demand upon the sub-conscious mind is not voiced in
words, but is the result of a strong mental need. However, if one gives a quick
verbal command "Attend to this," the result will be heightened.
We
have known of cases of men prominent in the world's affairs who made a practice
of smoking a cigar during important business interviews, not because they
particularly cared for tobacco, but because they had learned to appreciate the
value of a moment's time for the mind to "gather itself together," as
one man expressed it. A question would be asked, or a proposition advanced
suddenly, demanding an immediate answer. Under the watchful eyes of the other
party the questioned party tried not to show by his expression any indication
of searching for an answer, for obvious reasons. So, instead, he would take a
long puff at the cigar, then a slow attentive look at the ashes on its tip, and
then another moment consumed in flicking the ash into the receptacle, and then
came the answer, slowly, "Well, as to that—" or some other words of
that kind, prefacing the real answer which had been rapidly framed by the
sub-conscious mind in time to be uttered in its proper place. The few moments
of time gained had been sufficient for the sub-conscious mind to gather up its
materials, and the matter to be shaped properly, without any appearance of
hesitation on the part of the answerer. All of this required practice, of
course, but the principle may be seen through it all and in every similar case.
The point is that the man, in such cases, sets some hidden part of his mind to
work for him, and when he begins to speak the matter is at least roughly
"licked into shape for him."
Our
students will understand, of course, that this is not advice to smoke cigars
during interviews of importance, but is merely given to illustrate the
principle. We have known other men to twirl a lead pencil in their fingers in a
lazy sort of fashion, and then drop it at the important moment. But we must
cease giving examples of this kind, lest we be accused of giving instructions
in worldly wisdom, instead of teaching the use of the mind. The impressive
pause of the teacher, before answering his pupil's question, is also an example
of the workings of this law. One often says "stop, let me think a
moment," and during his pause he does not really consciously think at all,
but stares ahead in a dreamy fashion, while his sub-conscious mind does the
work for him, although he little suspects the nature of the operation. One has
but to look around him to realize the importance and frequent application of
this truth.
And
not only may the sub-conscious mind be used in the directions indicated on
preceding pages, but in nearly every perplexity and problem of life may it be
called upon for help. These little sub-conscious brownies are ever at our
disposal, and seem to be happy to be of service to us.
And
so far from being apt to get us in a position of false dependence, it is
calculated to make us self-confident—for we are calling upon a part of ourselves,
not upon some outside intelligence. If those people who never feel satisfied
unless they are getting "advice" from others would only cultivate the
acquaintance of this little "home adviser" within them, they would
lose that dependent attitude and frame of mind, and would grow self-confident
and fearless. Just imagine the confidence of one who feels that he has within
him a source of knowledge equal to that of the majority of those with whom he
is likely to come in contact, and he feels less afraid to face them, and look
them fearlessly in the eyes. He feels that his "mind" is not confined
to the little field of consciousness, but is an area infinitely greater,
containing a mass of information undreamed of. Everything that the man has
inherited, or brought with him from past lives—everything that he has read,
heard or seen, or experienced in this life, is hidden away there in some
quarter of that great sub-conscious mind, and, if he will but give the command,
the "essence" of all that knowledge is his. The details may not be
presented to his consciousness (often it is not, for very good occult reasons)
by the result, or essence of the knowledge will pass before his attention, with
sufficient examples and illustrations, or arguments to enable him to make out
"a good case" for himself.
In
the next lesson we will call your attention to other features and qualities of
this great field of mind, showing you how you can put it to work, and Master
it. Remember, always, the "I" is the Master. And its Mastery must
always be remembered and asserted over all phases and planes of the mind. Do
not be a slave to the sub-conscious, but be its MASTER.
MANTRAM (OR
AFFIRMATION).
I
have within me a great area of Mind that is under my command, and subject to my
Mastery. This Mind is friendly to me, and is glad to do my bidding, and obey my
orders. It will work for me when I ask it, and is constant, untiring, and
faithful. Knowing this I am no longer afraid, ignorant or uninformed. The "I"
is master of it all, and is asserting its authority. "I" am master
over Body, Mind, Consciousness, and Sub-consciousness. I am "I"—a
Centre of Power, Strength, and Knowledge. I am "I"—and "I"
am Spirit, a fragment from the Divine Flame.
NEXT CHAPTER
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