THE MAGIC OF BELIEVING
by
Claude Bristol
(These are my underlines from this
incredible book written in 1949. It is timeless!! And it is
pertinent to this special time of your life.
Enjoy!)
Belief is the motivating force that enables you to achieve your
goal..
Hard work alone will not bring success. Something more is
necessary: it is creative thinking and a firm belief in your
ability to put your ideas into action. The successful people in
history have succeeded through their thinking.
Another important point is that one necessity for success is that
your desire be an all-obsessing one, your thoughts and aims be
coordinated, and your energy be concentrated and applied without
letup. You can realize your desire provided you are willing to make
the objective the burning desire of your life.
The
first thing to determine is precisely what you want.
You must have a mental
pattern clearly drawn in your mind. Ask yourself, Where am I
headed? What is my goal? Have I visualized just what I really want?
If success is to be measured in terms of wealth, can you fix the
amount in figures? If in terms of achievement, can you specify it
definitely?
It
is vital that you know exactly what you want out of life. You must
know where you are headed, and you must keep a fixed goal in
view.
It is desire for something new, something different, something that
is going to change your life, that causes you to make an extra
effort; and it is the power of believing that alone sets in motion
those inner forces by which you add what I call plus-values to your
life.
So you begin
with desire if you
ever hope to achieve anything or gain more than you have now. It is
the prime motivating force in all of us and without an
all-consuming desire, nothing can be achieved or gained.
Thought
creates after its kind. Thought correlates with its object.
Thought attracts that upon which it is directed. Job: "For the
thing which I greatly feared is come upon me."
Thoughts create only according to their pitch, intensity, emotional
quality, depth of feeling, or vibratory place. Thoughts have a
creative or controlling force in the exact ratio of their
constancy, intensity, and power.
EXPERIMENT:
Take a piece of
medium-weight paper, about 3 in. square, and fold it diagonally
from corner to corner. Then open it and make another diagonal fold
so that there will be two folds or creases forming intersecting
diagonals. Again open the paper, which will now present the
appearance of a low, partially flattened-out pyramid. Now take a
long needle and force it through a cork so that the point extends
an inch or so above the top side of the cork. Place the cork with
its needle, point up, on top of any inverted water glass, so that
there may be free movement of both hands and of the paper which is
to revolve on the needle point. Then take the piece of paper and
balance it where the creases intersect, on the point of the needle,
placing it so that the four sides of the pyramid point
downward.
Place the glass, with the cork, needle, and paper on a table free
from drafts. Then place the hands around the piece of paper in a
semi-cupped position, keeping the hands or fingers a half inch or
so away from the paper, so that it may revolve freely. Now order it
to revolve upon the needle point. At first it will wobble-perhaps
revolving slowly at first and in one direction or the other; but if
your hands remain steady and you concentrate upon a certain
direction of movement, the paper will revolve until it turns
rapidly upon the needle point. If you mentally order a change in
direction, the one-way movement will cease and the paper will start
revolving in the opposite direction. Of course, it is essential
that you do not breathe or exhale in the direction of the paper.
(Other examples on page 43)
The force that brings into play the great system of the
subconscious is a sustained thought or, as previously stated, a
fixed mental picture. Sometimes just a single utterance, a
momentary glance accompanying a word or two traveling from one
person to another, has brought the subconscious into immediate
play. So have catastrophic danger, etc.
Perhaps the most effective method of bringing the subconscious into
practical action is through the process of making mental pictures -
using the imagination - perfecting an image of the thing or
situation as you would have it exist in physical form.
However, most of the sustained and continuing manifestations come
as a result of belief - when you believe it "heart and soul."
That's the force that brings outstanding results, sets the law of
attraction into operation, and enables sustained thought to
correlate with its object. This belief changes the tempo of the
mind, of thought-frequency, and, like a huge magnet, draws the
subconscious forces into play, changing your whole aura and
affecting everything about you. It brings into your individual
sphere of life results that are sometimes startling - often results
you never dreamed possible.
Best results in life were obtained by close harmony and
co-operation between the conscious and sub-conscious minds.
There is dormant in each human being a faculty, whether it is
developed or not, which will enable that particular individual to
succeed if the desire for success
is present in his conscious
mind.
The chief powers of the conscious mind are reason, logic, form,
judgment, calculation, conscience, and the oral sense. Our
conscious mind is the outgrowth of our physical necessities and
likewise our guide in the struggle with our material environment.
Its highest function is that of reasoning.
Subconscious
is the source of power. It is rooted in instinct. It is always
pressing upward into conscious existence. It is not only a mighty
storehouse of ever-ready material which can be placed at the
disposal of the conscious mind, but also a power-house of energy
with which the individual can be charged, thus enabling him to
recover his strength and courage, and also his faith in himself. In
brief, the subconscious embodies the feeling and wisdom of the
past, the awareness and knowledge of the present, and the thought
and vision of the future. Emerson wrote: "All the true wisdom of
thought and of action comes of deference to this instinct, patience
with its delays. To make a practical use of this instinct in every
part of life constitutes true wisdom, and we must form the habit of
preferring in all cases its guidance, which is given as it is
used.
The powers of the subconscious are intuition, emotion, certitude,
inspiration, suggestion, deduction, imagination, organization, and
of course, memory and dynamic energy.
Subconscious
has 3 primary functions: Maintains and preserves well-being of
body. 2, In times of emergency it springs into immediate action. 3,
it is operative in the psychic world in which the psychic powers of
the subconscious are manifested in such phenomena as telepathy,
clairvoyance and psychokinesis.
You must first be sure that you are asking for something that is
rightfully yours to have and is within your ability to handle, for
the subconscious manifests itself only according to the
capabilities of the person. You must have patience and absolute
faith. The subconscious mind will not take the trouble to work for
those who do not believe in it. Next, in conveying your need to
the subconscious, it must be in the spirit - that the work
as already been
done. Thus,
while it is necessary for you to feel and think yourself
successful, it is important for you to go one step further and
actually see yourself as already successful.
In due course, with the flowing of the ideas and plans of the
subconscious into your waiting conscious mind, the solution of your
problem will be revealed to you and the correct course of action
indicated, which you must follow immediately and unquestioningly.
There must be no hesitation on your part, no mental reservation, no
deliberation. You must receive the message from the subconscious
freely, and after understanding it you must act on it at
once.
Your problem may be one that cannot be solved in above manner. You
may, instead feel some mysterious force luring you at intervals to
do certain things that seem to have no special significance or
logical connection. Nevertheless, you must continue to believe in
the power and wisdom of the subconscious, and obediently perform
the seemingly irrelevant things.
It is the act of believing that is the starting force or generating
power that leads to accomplishment. Great orators and writers are
often amazed at the power of the subconscious to furnish them with
a steady flow of thoughts.
Repetition
- the repeating of certain
mantras, words, formulas, etc. used in all religions.
It is the power of suggestion that starts the machinery into
operation or causes the subconscious mind to begin its creative
work - and right here is where the affirmations and repetitions
play their part. It's the repetition of the same chant, the same
affirmations that leads to belief and once that belief becomes a
deep conviction, things begin to happen.
This subtle force of the repeated suggestion overcomes our reason,
acting directly on our emotions and our feelings, and finally
penetrating to the very depths of our subconscious minds. It is the
basic principle of all successful advertising.
Babies born with fear of loud noises and fear of falling. All of
our fears come with knowledge or develop as a result of our
experiences; they come from what we are taught or what we hear and
see.
Success of failure in business is caused more by mental attitudes
even than by mental capacities.
As individuals think and believe so they are. Every person is the
creation of himself, the image of his own thinking and believing.
As King
Solomon put it, "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is
he."
While the subconscious will get into action at once under the
impetus of the commands or suggestions which it receives from the
conscious mind, or which come from outside sources and are
transmitted to it via the conscious mind, it gets results quicker
if the conscious mind accompanies its message with a mental picture
of the desired goal.
Appeal by drama is the first step in arousing the emotions of the
people, no matter for what purpose.
Without question human imagination or visualization and
concentration are the chief factors in developing the magnetic
forces of the subconscious mind. After that the subconscious mind
goes to work to provide you with that house.
You've got to see it in your mind's eye, see yourself as holding
that job, or actually taking the trip. Biblical warning, "Where
there is no vision, the people perish." is a fundamental truth,
whether it is considered individually or collectively. You want a
better job? You'll get it when you give your subconscious mind a
mental picture of yourself holding that job.
It is pretty well agreed that the subconscious mind works as a
result of images thrown upon its screen, but if there is something
wrong with your projection apparatus or the original slide, then
the projected image is blurred, inverted, or a total blank. Doubts,
fears, counter thoughts, all have a part in blurring the pictures
you consciously desire to project.
Playing
golf: I must have a
clear, clean mental picture of what I am doing before I play the
shot. That mental picture takes charge of the muscular
reaction.
Experiment:
Find a few small stones or
pebbles which you can easily throw and locate a tree or a post of
six to ten inches in diameter. Stand away from it 25-30 feet or any
convenient greater distance and start throwing pebbles in an
endeavor to hit it. If you are average person, most of the stones
will go wide of their mark. Now stop and tell yourself that you can
hit the objective. Get a mental picture of the tree figuratively
stepping forward to meet the missile or the stone actually
colliding with the tree in the spot where you want it to strike,
and you'll soon find yourself making a perfect score.
We all know that our
thoughts determine our carriage, our facial expression, our
conversation, for what we are outwardly comes as a result of what
we think habitually. Can improve appearance by continuing to
feel delights of beauty, by thinking thoughts of the beautiful, by
wearing stylish clothes and by constantly telling themselves they
are going to win out. Speed up process if you continually hold
mental picture of your new self and never relax for a second.
Assume
a virtue if you have it not. In assuming a virtue, you are assuming
it via your imagination. To become the person you would like to be,
you create a mental picture of your newly conceived self, and if
you continue to hold it the day will come when you are in reality
that person. So it is with the accomplishment of desires.
Daydreaming doesn't have the power to release the latent forces
without us that will bring us the $1,000,000 or the mansion. When
we employ our imaginations properly, we will see ourselves doing a
thing and we go ahead and do it. It's the doing the thing you have
pictured to yourself that brings it into actual existence. In this
connection, think about the use of a magnifying glass. When
properly focused, it will gather light from the sun and concentrate
it, so that the heat will burn a hole in object. It musty be held
steady before heat power is developed. So it is with the holding of
the image or the mental picture.
Dr.
Emile Coue declared that imagination was a much stronger force than
will-power; when the two are in conflict,he said, the imagination
always wins.
Wishful thinking in itself is without effect simply because the
power factor is missing.
Whatever we fix our thoughts upon or steadily focus our
imaginations upon, that is what we attract.
Once the soil is prepared and the tiny seeds are placed in it, it
is but a short time when they put forth roots and sprouts begin to
appear. The moment they start upward through the soil in search of
light, sunshine, and moisture, obstacles mean nothing to them. They
will push aside small stones or bits of wood, and if they can't do
that, they'll extend themselves and grow around them. they are
determined to emerge from the ground.
The result will be pure of complex, depending upon the original
seed and the attention which you give it. Plant the right kind of
seed and habitually feed it with strong affirmative thought always
directed toward the same end, and it will grow into a mighty force,
finding ways and means of overcoming all obstacles.
Everything we have in our modern world is the result of
desire. Desire
is the motivating force of life itself.
It's the generating power of all human action. The
keener, the more urgent the desire, the sooner its
consummation. So you
must start with desire, keeping in mind that with the magic of
believing you can obtain what you picture in your mind's eye. The
mechanics are for the purpose of helping you to focus sharply your
desire-picture on the screen of your subconscious mind, as well as
enable you to shut off and keep out all distracting thoughts,
negative ideas, or any fear or doubt projections that might
otherwise penetrate to your subconscious.
Mechanics:
Secure 3-4 cards. Ask
yourself what you desire above everything else. At the top of one
card write a word picture on it. One or two words may be
sufficient. Then duplicate on other cards. Carry on in wallet, one
next to bed or fasten to mirror. Idea is to enable you to see
mentally the picture at all hours of the day. Just before going to
sleep at night and upon waking in the mornings are highly important
moments of 24 hours in which to concentrate upon your thoughts with
added force. The more often you can visualize the desire by this
method, the speedier the materialization.
Just leave it to the subconscious mind, which has its own ways of
making contacts, and of opening doors and avenues that you may
never have even thought of. Whatever the idea you get, follow it.
Keep a pad and pencil on a stand near the head of your bed, and
when these ideas come during the night, note them on a pad.
Do not tell anyone just what the cards mean. Negativity
of others can destroy efforts. When you talk about what you're going
to do, you scatter for forces. You lose the close connection with
the subconscious, and you frequently find that unless you do as
here directed, you will have to start all over again in your
program of achievement.
Repetitive words and phrases said silently or aloud are merely
methods of convincing the subconscious mind, for autosuggestion, no
matter what the form, is the only way of molding its pattern. The
subconscious is extremely receptive, and it can be convinced of the
propositions you present to it, be they true or false, positive or
negative; once they are embedded in the subconscious mind, it goes
to work with all of its faculties and energies to materialize them,
to make them real in life. The simpler the words to express the
ideas you wish conveyed to the subconscious, the better. If effects
are to be permanent, the affirmations must be continued until the
desired results are obtained.
Pursue the thought unceasingly. Step by step you will achieve
realization, for all your faculties and powers become directed to
that end. Repetition will be the means of driving the suggestion
deeply and firmly into the subconscious mind. The subconscious mind
will accept and carry out whatever it is powerfully instructed to
do.
Two
objects cannot fill the same space at the same time.
Your mind can be compared
to that space; you
can't keep your mind filled with negative thoughts or doubts if you
have it filled with positive, powerful, and creative
thoughts. Consider
your mind a room with but a single door and you have the only key.
It rests with you to decide who is to come though the door, that
is, whether you are dominated by positive or negative thoughts, and
which ones you are going to admit, for your subconscious mind will
respond to the vibrations of the thoughts that are strongest in
you.
When you permit negative thoughts of doubt or fear to enter your
consciousness, it is obvious that the forceful, positive, creative
thoughts will have to give way, and consequently you lose your
positive state. So long as you do not permit unfavorable vibrations
to reach your subconscious mind, it will not be hindered by
anything you may hear, see, or experience. In other words, you must
at all times keep your mind filled with positive thoughts so that
their strong vibrations will ward off all negative and destructive
thoughts that might come from the outside.
Repetition of negative thoughts will discourage even the most
powerful if continued long enough, and unless your mind is closed
against them and you counteract them by constantly thinking and
radiating positive thoughts, you will sooner or later find yourself
sunk.
The mental picture or thought projection must be definite and
unwavering, and that required great practice and
concentration.
Get
the picture of what you want and keep telling yourself that you're
going to get it.
Winston Churchill never made a speech of importance unless he made
it before a mirror first. It's what I call a super-charging method
of stepping up the subconscious forces of the speaker so that when
he appears before an audience those forces flow out to and affect
his listeners. By using the mirror, you are creating at that moment
a picture of yourself, your words, etc. Enthusiasm
is very contagious and can readily be transmitted to others if one
is bursting with it. The mirror technique is a simple and
effective method by which a person can strengthen his belief in his
own ability. It becomes a master method by which the mighty forces
of the subconscious mind can be employed to influence those with
whom you are dealing.
Stand in front of a mirror, fully erect, breathe deeply 3-4 times
until you feel a since of power, strength, and determination. Look
into very depths of your eyes, tell yourself that you are going to
get what you want - name it aloud so you can see your lips move and
you can hear the words uttered. Make a regular ritual of it,
practice doing it at least twice a day. Put sayings on mirror or
whatever is of significance to you. As you stand before the mirror,
keep telling yourself that you are going to be an outstanding
success and that nothing in this world is going to stop you. Don't
forget that every idea presented to the subconscious mind is going
to be produced in its exact counterpart in objective life, and the
quicker your subconscious gets the idea, the sooner your wish
becomes a picture of power.
Emerson
wrote that every man carries in his eye the exact indication of his
rank. Your mirror
shows you the person others see when they look at you, and you can
fashion yourself into any kind of person you would like them to
see. If you act the part, you will become the part.
If you have definitely determined what you want and have fixed a
goal for yourself, then consider yourself extremely fortunate, for
you have taken the first step that will lead to success. As long as
you hold on to the mental picture of your idea and begin to develop
it with action, nothing can stop you from succeeding, for the
subconscious mind never fails to obey any order given to it clearly
and emphatically.