2. You have found that this mind is not only all intelligence but all substance. How, then, is it to be differentiated in form? How are you to secure the effect which you desire?
3. Ask any electrician what the effect of electricity will be and they will reply that "electricity is a form of motion and its effects will depend upon the mechanism to which it is attached." Upon this mechanism will depend whether you shall have heat, light, power, music or any of the other marvellous demonstrations of power to which this vital energy has been harnessed.
4. What effect can be produced by thought? The reply is that thought is mind in motion (just as wind is air in motion) and its effects will depend entirely on the "mechanism to which it is attached."
5. Here, then, is the secret of all mental power; it depends entirely on the mechanism which you attach.
6. What is this mechanism? You know something of the mechanism which was invented by Mr. Edison, Mr. Bell, Mr. Marconi and other electrical wizards, by which place and space and time have become only figures of speech, but did you ever stop to think that the mechanism which has been given you for transforming the universal, omnipresent potential energy, force and power was invented by a greater inventor than Mr. Edison?
7. You are accustomed to examining the mechanism of the implements which you use for tilling the soil, and you try to get an understanding of the mechanism of the automobile which you drive, but most of you are content to remain in absolute ignorance of the greatest piece of mechanism which has ever come into existence, the brain of man.
8. By examining the wonders of this mechanism; perhaps you shall thereby get a better understanding of various effects of which it is the cause.
9. In the first place, there is the great mental world in which you live and move and have your being; this world is omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent; it will respond to your desire in direct ratio to your purpose, plans, prayers and faith; the purpose, plans and prayers must be in accordance with the law of your being, that is, it must be creative or constructive; your faith must be strong enough to generate a current of sufficient strength to bring your game into manifestation. "as thy faith is, so be it unto thee", bears the stamp of scientific test.
10. The effects which are produced in the world without are the result of the action and reaction of the individual upon the universal; that is the process which you call thinking; the brain is the organ through which this process is accomplished. Think of the wonder of it all. Do you love music, flowers, literature, art, or are you inspired by the thought of ancient or modern genius? Remember, every beauty to which you respond must have its corresponding outline in your brain before you can appreciate it.
11. There is not a single virtue or principle in the store-house of nature which the brain cannot express. The brain is an embryonic world, ready to develop at any time as necessity may arise. If you comprehend that this is a scientific truth and one of the wonderful Laws of Nature, it will be easier for you to get an understanding of the mechanism by which these extraordinary results are being accomplished.
12. The nervous system has been compared to an electric circuit with its battery of cells in which force is originated, and its white matter to insulated wires by which the current is conveyed; it is through these channels that every impulse or desire is carried through the mechanism.
13. The spinal cord is the great motor and sensory pathway by which messages are conveyed to and from the brain; then, there is the blood supply plunging through the veins and arteries, renewing your energy, force, power and strength, the perfectly arranged structure upon which the entire physical body rests, and, finally, the delicate and beautiful skin, clothing the entire mechanism in a mantel of beauty.
14. This then is the "temple of the living God" and the individual "I" is given control, and upon his understanding of this mechanism which is within your control will the result depend.
15. Every thought sets the brain cells in action; at first the substance upon which the thought is directed fails to respond, but if the thought is sufficiently refined and concentrated, the substance finally yields and expresses themself perfectly.
16. This influence of the mind can be exerted upon any part of the body, causing the elimination of any undesirable effect.
17. A perfect conception and understanding of the laws governing in the mental world cannot fail to be of inestimable value in the transaction of business, as it develops the power of discernment and gives a clearer understanding and appreciation of facts.
18. If you look within instead of without cannot fail to make use of the mighty energies, forces and powers which will eventually determine your course in life and so bring you into vibration with all that is best, strongest and most desirable.
19. Attention or concentration is probably the most important essential in the development of mind culture. The possibilities of attention when properly directed are so startling that they hardly appear credible to the uninitiated. The cultivation of attention is the distinguishing characteristic of every successful person, and is the highest personal accomplishment which can be acquired.
20. The power of attention can be more readily understood by comparing it with a sun glass in which the rays of sunlight are focussed ; they possess no particular strength as long as the sun glass is moved about and the rays directed from one place to another ; but let the glass be held perfectly still and let the rays be focussed on one spot for any length of time, and the effect will become immediately apparent.
21. So with the power of thought; let your power be dissipated by scattering the thought from one object to another, and no result is apparent; but focus your power through attention or concentration on any single purpose, plan or prayer for any length of time and nothing becomes impossible.
22. It is through attention that you will finally be able to overcome obstacles of any kind that appear in your path onward and upward, and the only way to acquire this wonderful power is by practice; practice makes perfect, in this as in anything else.
23. Great organizers are learning to withdraw from the multitude more and more, that they may have more time for planning, thinking and generating the right mental moods.
24. Successful people are constantly demonstrating the fact that it pays to keep in touch with the thought of other successful business people.
25. A single idea may be worth thousands or millions of dollars, and these ideas can come only to those who are receptive, who are prepared to receive them, who are in a successful frame of mind.
26. People are learning to place themselves in harmony with the universal mind; they are learning the power of all things; they are learning the basic methods and principles of thinking, and this is changing conditions and multiplying results.
27. They are finding that circumstances and environment follow the trend of mental and spiritual progress; they find that growth follows knowledge; action follows inspiration; opportunity follows perception; always the spiritual first, then the transformation into the infinite and illimitable possibilities of achievement.
28. As the individual is but the channel for the differentiation of the universal, these possibilities are necessarily inexhaustible.
29. Thought is the process by which you may absorb the spirit of power, and hold the result in your inner consciousness until it becomes a part of your ordinary consciousness. The method of accomplishing this result by the persistent practice of a few fundamental principles which unlocks the storehouse of universal truth.
30. The two great sources of human suffering at present are bodily disease and mental anxiety. These may be traced to the infringement of some natural law. This is, no doubt, owing to the fact that so far knowledge has largely remained partial, but the clouds of darkness which accumilated through long ages are becoming to roll away and with them many of the miseries that attend imperfect information. It is by such exercises that you will finally be able to control your moods, your attitude, your consciousness; and this is changing conditions and multiplying results.
