THE ART AND SCIENCE OF PERSONAL MAGNETISM/PART 12
CHAPTER 12.
THE MENTAL ATMOSPHERE
Following the consideration of the first manifestation of
the mental phase of personal magnetism in the preceding chapter, we naturally
reach the second manifestation of the same, namely: “The conscious projection
of the mental current from the brain centers, by the action of the will of the
individual.”
This “conscious projection,” in turn, may be said to
consist of two forms of manifestation, viz.: (1) the projection into the
personal atmosphere; and (2) the projection of a direct current, under special circumstances,
into the mind of another person, for the purpose of direct influence upon him
or her. Let us consider these two forms, in turn, beginning with the first
named.
As to the nature of the process whereby one may project
his mental currents into his personal atmosphere, I would say that the method
is almost precisely identical with that whereby one projects his physical
magnetism, or nerve-force, into his personal atmosphere, as fully set forth in
Chapter IX.
As in the case of physical magnetism, is found that the
average person colors his personal atmosphere by the character of his mental
states, or rather by the predominant color of his mental attitude, without any
special effort on his part. The degrees of color - not its particular kind, remember,
but its degree of force - depends upon the degree of mental activity of the
person. The person of inactive thought, ideas or feeling, will have an almost
colorless personal atmosphere, while the person of the active mind will display
a marked degree of thought-color therein.
We find here, also, the
second class of persons, who, while not fully understanding the nature of the
power, or the processes of projection, nevertheless manifest a high degree of
thought color and power in their personal atmosphere. This strong color and
power results from the fact that such persons are usually individuals of a high
degree of feeling or idealism - that is to say, they experience strong
feelings, on the one hand; or else have strong mental ideas of
anything in which they are interested - or perhaps both strong feeling and
strong idealism.
The strongest color and power manifested by persons of
this class, is found in persons who take a strong interest in things. This strong interest really combines the two
elements of feeling and attention, respectively. Feeling is a strong mental
element; and attention, you will remember, is a direct application of the will.
So, it follows, that such persons must strongly project their mental states
into their personal atmosphere, although unconscious of the same, and without a
deliberate employment of the will for this purpose.
But, here, as in the case of the physical magnetism, the
strongest and most powerful effect is produced by the individuals who
understands the process, and who consciously and deliberately project their
thought into their personal atmosphere, where it joins and is vitalized by
their physical magnetism, so that its full effect is manifested upon those who
may come within its field of influence.
The process of using the will in the
direction of projecting thought-color and power into the personal atmosphere is
practically identical with the use of the will in the case of physical
magnetism, or nerve-force, as described in Chapter IX. In other words, it consists
of two phases, viz.: (1) belief in one’s power to so project; and (2) the
actual projection by the will. I have informed you fully regarding the part
played by “belief” in this process of projection, and shall say nothing more on
this subject here. The use of the will in the matter of projection, here also,
consists of the actual willing or
commanding of the
thing itself.
The mental currents are very obedient to the
will, and in fact, depend almost entirely upon the will for power to move and
act. And, do not forget this, for it is important, the will is moved largely by
desire. If you will strongly desire that your personal atmosphere be colored by
your thought currents, and will at the same time picture the thought currents
flowing out and filling your personal atmosphere, you will have little left to
do in the direction of the conscious use of the will. This because, in the
first place, the will naturally operates along the lines of stung desire; and
second, because the forming of the mental picture will result in the use of the
attention, and the attention, as I have said, is
a positive and direct action of the will in the direction of focusing its
power. So, you see, by following this plan, you are really setting into
operation the power of the will itself, although not by direct command. You may
also use the direct command to the will to project the thought currents, just
as you use the same to lift your arm or close your eyes.
There is one other important point, though, which you
must make note of and actively employ in your work of building up and
maintaining a strong positive personal atmosphere. I allude to the process of
intermingling and combining the two elements of personal magnetism, i.e., (1)
the physical magnetism, and (2) the mental magnetism. While there is a natural
combination and intermingling of these two, without any special effort on your
part, nevertheless, an enormously greater effect will be obtained by a distinct
mental process on your part, in which process is combined the several uses of
the will above referred to. This special process consists of three distinct
mental operations, as follows:
· You must earnestly desire the combination of the two
elements of personal magnetism, the physical and the mental forces. You must
create the strongest kind of desire for this combination. This desire must be
stronger than a mere “want” - it must be fanned up to the stage of an actual
“longing” or “craving” for the combination in question. (2) You must use the
imagination, actively, in the direction of forming a mental picture of the
mingling of the two forms of magnetism, just as you would picture the combination
of two clouds, or two currents of water in a lake, flowing in from two
different sources. The stronger and more vivid you can make this picture, the
stronger and more effective will be the result. I have explained that these
mental pictures require the use of the attention, and that the attention is due
to a direct and concentrated use of the will. Therefore, the will is actively
and powerfully employed in this process and the result is correspondingly
effective. (3) The direct command of the will itself, in the direction of
“willing” the currents to coalesce and combine. These three phases of the use
of the will, combined, will prove very effective in the named direction. A
little practice will enable you to perform all three of them, at one time, almost
automatically.
You will see, by a little thought, that the process just
described, is practically that used when you perform any conscious, voluntary
motion of the body. Let us see: You wish to raise your hand. What processes are
involved? Three, as follows (1) Desire - you wish to raise your hand; (2)
mental picture - for almost unconsciously you form the image of the raised
hand; and (3) the direct command of the will, which is the final mental effort.
The combination of the two forms of personal magnetism,
the physical and the mental, works along two lines of action namely, (1) the
mental magnetism gives color and character to the physical magnetism; and (2)
the physical magnetism gives vitality and acting force to the mental magnetism.
It might be said, almost, that the physical magnetism gives the body and moving
force to the combination, while the mental magnetism gives the “soul” to it.
Each re-doubles the efficiency of the other, by the power of combination.
The occultists inform us that the personal atmosphere is
composed of certain colors, depending upon the particular quality of mental
states that happen to be predominant in the combination - each mental state
being said to have its own color. I shall not take up this phase of the
subject, but merely mention it because of its general interest in this
connection.
The occultists also inform us that, when the combination
of the two elements of magnetism combine, the mental magnetism takes on a
deeper and more pronounced color and hue, and appears also to solidify and
become denser; and that the physical magnetism seems to be rendered doubly
active, its increased energy being evidenced by tiny sparks and dancing
glittering atoms. It seems to be like the combination of two different chemicals,
each tending to increase the potency and activity of the other, and the two
combining in the production of a particularly potent and active new thing.
From the same sources,
we learn that the aura or personal atmosphere of the person who uses the will in
the direction of forming the potent combination of the two forms of magnetism,
seems to be almost alive, so filled with energy is it. It is said that when it
comes in contact with other persons - particularly when the owner is using his
mind to impress and influence
the others - the aura will reach out and actually enfold the other persons
within its field of energy, seemingly trying to embrace the person and hold him
subject to the vibration of its owner’s mind.
When you learn to produce this combination effectively,
you will begin to notice that you will almost unconsciously affect and
influence other persons with whom you come in contact. You will notice that
they will begin to take on your moods and general feelings, and that they will
fall “in tune” with your mental vibrations, generally. If you are enthusiastic
about anything, they will begin to manifest enthusiasm. And so on, each of your
mental states registering an effect upon the other persons. Moral: Hold only
those mental states, which you wish other to “take on.”
And, keep your inner opinions and designs well to the
back of your mind, by an effort of the will, and show only what you wish to be
sensed by others, for remember your thought currents will have become
wonderfully dynamic and powerful.
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