The Power of Your Subconscious Mind PDF

1 The POWER of Your Subconscious Mind Joseph Murphy D.R.S., D.D., Ph.D., LL.D. Fellow of the Andhra Research University of India How This Book Can Work Miracles in Your Life I have seen...

1 The POWER of Your Subconscious Mind Joseph Murphy D.R.S., D.D., Ph.D., LL.D. Fellow of the Andhra Research University of India How This Book Can Work Miracles in Your Life I have seen miracles happen to men and women in all walks of life all over the world. Miracles will happen to you, too— when you begin using the magic power of your subconscious mind. This book is designed to teach you that your habitual thinking and imagery mold, fashion, and create your destiny; for as a man thinketh in his sub-conscious mind, so is he. Do you know the answers? Why is one man sad and another man happy? Why is one man joyous and prosperous and another man poor and miserable? Why is one man fearful and anxious and another full of faith and confidence? Why does one man have a beautiful, lux-urious home while another man lives out a meager existence in a slum? Why is one man a great success and another an ab-ject failure? Why is one speaker outstanding and immensely popular and another mediocre and unpopular? Why is one man a genius in his work or profession while the other man toils and moils all his life without doing or accomplishing anything worthwhile? Why is one man healed of a so- called incurable disease and another isn’t? Why is it so many good, kind religious people suffer the tortures of the damned in their mind and body? Why is it many immoral and irreligious people succeed and prosper and enjoy radiant health? Why is one woman happily married and her sister very unhappy and frustrated? Is there an answer to these questions in the workings of your conscious and subconscious minds? There most certainly is. 2  Reason for writing this book It is for the express purpose of answering and clarifying the above questions and many others of a similar nature that mo-tivated me to write this book. I have endeavored to explain the great fundamental truths of your mind in the simplest language possible. I believe that it is perfectly possible to explain the basic, foundational, and fundamental laws of life and of your mind in ordinary everyday language. You will find that the language of this book is that used in your daily papers, current periodicals, in your business offices, in your home, and in the daily work-shop. I urge you to study this book and apply the techniques outlined therein; and as you do, I feel absolutely convinced that you will lay hold of a miracle-working power that will lift you up from confusion, misery, melancholy, and failure, and guide you to your true place, solve your difficulties, sever you from emotional and physical bondage, and place you on the royal road to freedom, happiness, and peace of mind. This miracle-working power of your subconscious mind can heal you of your sickness; make you vital and strong again. In learning how to use your inner powers, you will open the prison door of fear and enter into a life described by Paul as the glorious liberty of the sons of God. Releasing the miracle-working power A personal healing will ever be the most convincing evi-dence of our subconscious powers. Over forty-two years ago I resolved a malignancy—in medical terminology it was called a sarcoma—by using the healing power of my subconscious mind, which created me and still maintains and governs all my vital functions. The technique I applied is elaborated on in this book, and I feel sure that it will help others to trust the same Infinite Healing Presence lodged in the subconscious depths of all men. Through the kindly offices of my doctor friend, I suddenly real-ized that it was natural to assume that the Creative Intelligence which made all my organs, fashioned my body, and started my heart, could heal its own handiwork. The ancient proverb says, “The doctor dresses the wound and God heals it.” 3  Wonders happen when you pray effectively Scientific prayer is the harmonious interaction of the con-scious and subconscious levels of mind scientifically directed for a specific purpose. This book will teach you the scientific way to tap the realm of infinite power within you enabling you to get what you really want in life. You desire a happier, fuller, and richer life. Begin to use this miracle-working power and smooth your way in daily affairs, solve business problems, and bring harmony in family relationships. Be sure that you read this book several times. The many chapters will show you how this won-derful power works, and how you can draw out the hidden in-spiration and wisdom that is within you. Learn the simple tech-niques of impressing the subconscious mind. Follow the new scientific way in tapping the infinite storehouse. Read this book carefully, earnestly, and lovingly. Prove to yourself the amazing way it can help you. It could be and I believe it will be the turning point of your life. Everybody prays Do you know how to pray effectively? How long is it since you prayed as part of your everyday activities? In an emergency, in time of danger or trouble, in illness, and when death lurks, prayers pour forth—your own and friends. Just read your daily newspaper. It is reported that prayers are being offered up all over the nation for a child stricken with a so-called incurable ailment, for peace among nations, for a group of miners trapped in a flooded mine. Later it is reported that when rescued, the miners said that they prayed while waiting for rescue; an airplane pilot says that he prayed as he made a successful emergency landing. Certainly, prayer is an ever-present help in time of trouble; but you do not have to wait for trouble to make prayer an integral and constructive part of your life. The dramatic an-swers to prayer make headlines and are the subject of testimonies to the effectiveness of prayer. What of the many humble prayers of children, the simple thanksgiving of grace at the table daily, 4 the faithful devotions wherein the individual seeks only com-munion with God? My work with people has made it necessary for me to study the various approaches to prayer. I have ex-perienced the power of prayer in my own life, and I have talked and worked with many people who also have enjoyed the help of prayer. The problem usually is how to tell others how to pray. People who are in trouble have difficulty in thinking and acting reasonably. They need an easy formula to follow, an obviously workable pattern that is simple and specific. Often they must be led to approach the emergency. Unique feature of this book The unique feature of this book is its down-to-earth prac-ticality. Here you are presented with simple, usable techniques and formulas, which you can easily apply in your workaday world. I have taught these simple processes to men and women all over the world, and recently over a thousand men and women of all religious affiliations attended a special class in Los Angeles where I presented the highlights of what is offered in the pages of this book. Many came from distances of two hundred miles for each class lesson. The special features of this book will ap-peal to you because they show you why oftentimes you get the opposite of what you prayed for and reveal to you the reasons why. People have asked me in all parts of the world and thou-sands of times, “Why is it I have prayed and prayed and got no answer?” In this book you will find the reasons for this common complaint. The many ways of impressing the subconscious mind and getting the right answers make this an extraordinarily valu-able book and an ever-present help in time of trouble. What do you believe? It is not the thing believed in that brings an answer to man’s prayer; the answer to prayer results when the individual’s sub-conscious mind responds to the mental picture or thought in his mind. This law of belief is operating in all religions of the world and is the reason why they are psychologically true. The Bud-dhist, the Christian, the Moslem, and the Hebrew all may get answers to their prayers, not 5 because of the particular creed, religion, affiliation, ritual, ceremony, formula, liturgy, incanta-tion, sacrifices, or offerings, but solely because of belief or mental acceptance and receptivity about that for which they pray. The law of life is the law of belief, and belief could be summed up briefly as a thought in your mind. As a man thinks, feels, and believes, so is the condition of his mind, body, and circum-stances. A technique, a methodology based on an understanding of what you are doing and why you are doing it will help you to bring about a subconscious embodiment of all the good things of life. Essentially, answered prayer is the realization of your heart’s desire. Desire is prayer Everyone desires health, happiness, security, peace of mind, true expression, but many fail to achieve clearly defined results. A university professor admitted to me recently, “I know that if I changed my mental pattern and redirected my emotional life, my ulcers would not recur, but I do not have any technique, process, or modus operandi. My mind wanders back and forth on my many problems, and I feel frustrated, defeated, and unhappy.” This professor had a desire for perfect health; he needed knowledge of the way his mind worked which would enable him to fulfill his desire. By practicing the healing methods outlined in this book, he became whole and perfect. There is one mind common to all individual men (Emerson) The miracle-working powers of your subconscious mind existed before you and I were born, before any church or world existed. The great eternal truths and principles of life antedate all religions. It is with these thoughts in mind that I urge you in the following chapters to lay hold of this wonderful, magical, transforming power, which will bind up mental and physical wounds, proclaim liberty to the fear- ridden mind, and liberate you completely from the limitations of poverty, failure, misery, lack, and frustration. All you have to do is unite mentally and emotionally with the good you wish to embody, 6 and the creative powers of your subconscious will respond accordingly. Begin now, today, let wonders happen in your life! Keep on, keeping on until the day breaks and the shadows flee away. Contents 1. The Treasure House Within You... 19 The master secret of the ages—The marvelous power of your subconscious—Necessity of a working basis—The duality of mind— The conscious and subconscious minds —Outstanding differences and modesof operation—Howher subconscious responded—Brief summary of ideas worth remembering. 2. How Your Own Mind Works... 30 Conscious and subconscious terms differentiated—Experi- ments by psychologists—The terms objective and subjec-tive mind clarified—The subconscious cannot reason like your conscious mind—The tremendous power of sugges-tion—Different reactions to the same suggestion—How he lost his arm—How autosuggestion banishes fear—How she restored her memory—How he overcame a nasty temper —The constructive and destructive power of suggestion— Have you accepted any of these—You can counteract negative suggestions—How suggestion killed a man—The power of an assumed major premise—The subconscious does not argue controversially—Review of highlights. 3. The Miracle-Working Power of Your Subconscious... 45 Your subconscious is your Book of Life—What is im-pressed in the subconscious is expressed—The subcon-scious heals a malignancy of the skin—How the sub-conscious controls all functions of the body—How to get the subconscious to work for you—Healing principle of the subconscious restores atrophied optic nerves—How to convey the idea of perfect health to your subconscious mind—Ideas worth remembering. 7 4. Mental Healings in Ancient Times... 55 Bible accounts on the use of the subconscious powers— Miracles at various shrines throughout the world—One universal healing principle—Widely different theories—. Views of Paracelsus—Bernheim’s experiments—Producing a blister by suggestion—The cause of bloody stigmata— Healing points in review. 5. Mental Healings in Modern Times... 66 One process of healing—The law of belief—Prayer therapy is the combined function of the conscious and subconscious mind scientifically directed—Faith healing, what it means, and how blind faith works—Subjective faith and what it means—The meaning of absent treatment—Releasing the kinetic action of the subconscious mind—Summary of your aids to health. 6. Practical Techniques in Mental Healings... 75 The passing-over technique for impregnating the subcon- scious—Your subconscious will accept your blueprint— The science and art of true prayer—The visualization tech-nique—Mental movie method—The Baudoin tech-nique—The sleeping technique—The “thank-you” tech-nique—The affirmative method—The argumentative method—The absolute method is like modern sound wave therapy—A cripple walks—The decree method—Serve yourself with scientific truth. 7. The Tendency of the Subconscious Is Lifeward... 90 How the body portrays the workings of the mind—There-is an intelligence which takes care of the body—The sub-conscious mind works continually for the common good— How man interferes with the innate principle of harmony —Why it’s normal to be healthy, vital, and strong—It’s abnormal to be sick—Pott’s disease cured— How faith in your subconscious powers makes you whole—Pointers to review. 8 8. How to Get the Results You Want... 98 Easy does it—Infer no opponent, use imagination and not will power—How disciplined imagination works wonders —The three steps to success in prayer—The law of re-versed effort and why you get the opposite of what you pray for—The conflict of desire and imagination must be reconciled—Ideas worth recalling. 9. How to Use the Power of Your Subconscious for Wealth... 105 Wealth is of the mind—Your invisible means of support— The ideal method for building a wealth consciousness —Why your affirmations for wealth fail—How to avoid mental conflict—Don’t sign blank checks—Your subcon-scious gives you compound interest—Why nothing hap-pened—True source of wealth—Trying to make ends meet and the real cause—A common stumbling block to wealth —Rubbing out a great mental block to wealth—Sleep and grow rich—Serve yourself with the powers of your mind. 10. Your Right to Be Rich... 112 Money is a symbol—How to walk the royal road to riches — Why you do not have more money—Money and a bal-anced life— Poverty is a mental disease—Why you must never criticize money— Getting the right attitude toward money—How the scientific thinker looks at money—How to attract the money you need—Why some men do not get a raise in pay—Obstacles and impediments on the pathway to riches—Protect your investments—You can-not get something for nothing—Your constant supply of money—Step up this way to riches. 11. Your Subconscious Mind as a Partner in Success... 121 The three steps to success—The measure of true success —How he made his dream come true—His dream phar-macy became a reality—Using the subconscious mind in business—Boy of sixteen years turns failure into success— How to become successful in buying and selling—How she succeeded in getting what she wanted—A 9 success tech-nique employed by many outstanding executives and businessmen—Profitable pointers. 12. Scientists Use the Subconscious Mind... 132 How a distinguished scientist brought forth his inventions — How a famous naturalist solved his problem—An out-standing physician solved the problem of diabetes—How a famous scientist and physicist escaped from a Russian concentration camp—How archaeologists and paleontolo-gists reconstruct ancient scenes—How to receive guidance from your subconscious—His subconscious revealed the location of his father’s will—The secret of guidance— Highlights to recall. 13. Your Subconscious and the Wonders of Sleep... 141 Why we sleep—Prayer, a form of sleep—Startling effects of sleep deprivation—You need more sleep—Sleep brings counsel— Saved from certain disaster—Your future is in your subconscious mind—A cat nap nets him $15,000— How a famous professor solved his problem in sleep—How the subconscious worked for a famous writer while he slept—Sleep in peace and wake in joy—Summary ofour aids to the wonders of sleep. 14. Your Subconscious Mind and Marital Problems... 150 The meaning of marriage—How to attract the ideal hus-band— How to attract the ideal wife—No need for third mistake—How she broke the negative pattern—The an-swer to her prayer—Should I get a divorce?—Drifting into divorce—Divorce begins in the mind—The nagging wife —The brooding husband—The great mistake—Don’t try to make your wife over—Pray together and stay together through steps in prayer—Review your actions. 15. Your Subconscious Mind and Your Happiness... 161 You must choose happiness—How to choose happiness— He made it a habit to be happy—You must desire to be happy—Why choose unhappiness—If I had a million dol-lars, I would be happy— He found happiness to be the harvest of a quiet mind—The block or 10 stump is not really there—The happiest people—Summary of steps to happi-ness. 16. Your Subconscious Mind and Harmonious Human Relations... 169 The master key to happy relationships with others—And with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again—The daily headlines made him sick—I hate women, but I like men—His inner speech held back his promotion —Becoming emotionally mature— The meaning of love in harmonious human relations—He hated audiences— Handling difficult people—Misery loves company—The practice of empathy in human relations—Appeasement never wins— Profitable pointers in human relations. 17. How to Use Your Subconscious Mind for Forgiveness... 180 Life always forgives you—How he banished that feeling of guilt—A murderer learned to forgive himself—Criticism cannot hurt you without your consent—How to be com-passionate—Left at the altar— It is wrong to marry. Sex is evil and I am evil—Forgiveness is necessary for healing— Forgiveness is love in action—Technique of forgiveness —The acid test of forgiveness—To understand all is to forgive all—Summary of your aids to forgiveness. 18. How Your Subconscious Removes Mental Blocks... 191 How to break or build a habit—How he broke a bad habit —The power of his mental picture—Focused attention— He said a jinx was following him—How much do you want what you want—Why he could not be healed—The explanation and the cure—Refusing to admit it—Building in the idea of freedom—Fifty-one per cent healed—The law of substitution—Cause of alcoholism—Three magic steps—Keep on keeping on—Review your thought power. 19. How to Use Your Subconscious Mind to Remove Fear... 201 Man’s greatest enemy—Do the tiling you fear—Banishing stage fright—Fear of failure—How he overcame the fear —Fear of water, mountains, closed places—Master tech-nique for overcoming any 11 particular fear—He blessed the elevator—Normal and abnormal fear—Abnormal fear— The answer to abnormal fear—Examine your fears—He landed in the jungle—He dismissed himself—They plotted against him—Deliver yourself from all your fears—Step this way to freedom from fear. 20. How to Stay Young in Spirit Forever... 212 He had grown old in his thought life—Age is the dawn of wisdom—Welcome the change—Evidence for survival —Life is— Mind and spirit do not grow old—You are as young as you think you are—Your gray hairs are an asset —Age is an asset—Be your age—I can keep up with the best of them—Fear of old age—You have much to give— One hundred and ten years old—Retirement, a new venture—He graduated to a better job—You must be a producer and not a prisoner of society—Secret of youth —Get a vision—Your mind does not grow old—His mind active at ninety-nine—We need our senior citizens—The fruits of old age—Profitable pointers. 12 1 The Treasure House Within You Infinite riches are all around you if you will open your mental eyes and behold the treasure house of infinity within you. There is a gold mine within you from which you can extract everything you need to live life gloriously, joyously, and abun-dantly. Many are sound asleep because they do not know about this gold mine of infinite intelligence and boundless love within themselves. Whatever you want, you can draw forth. A mag-netized piece of steel will lift about twelve times its own weight, and if you demagnetize this same piece of steel, it will not even lift a feather. Similarly, there are two types of men. There is the magnetized man who is full of confidence and faith. He knows that he is born to win and to succeed. Then, there is the type of man who is demagnetized. He is full of fears and doubts. Opportunities come, and he says, “I might fail; I might lose my money; people will laugh at me.” This type of man will not get very far in life because, if he is afraid to go forward, he will simply stay where he is. Become a magnetized man and discover the master secret of the ages. The master secret of the ages What, in your opinion, is the master secret of the ages? The secret of atomic energy? Thermonuclear energy? The neu-tron bomb? Interplanetary travel? No—not any of these. Then, what is this master secret? Where can one find it, and how can it be contacted and brought into action? The answer is extraordinarily simple. This secret is the marvelous, miracle-working power found in your own subconscious mind, the last place that most people would seek it. The marvelous power of your subconscious You can bring into your life more power, more wealth, more health, more happiness, and more joy by learning to con-tact and release the hidden power of your subconscious mind. 13  You need not acquire this power; you already possess it. But, you want to learn how to use it; you want to understand it so that you can apply it in all departments of your life. As you follow the simple techniques and processes set forth in this book, you can gain the necessary knowledge and under-standing. A new light can inspire you, and you can generate a new force enabling you to realize your hopes and make all your dreams come true. Decide now to make your life grander, greater, richer, and nobler than ever before. Within your subconscious depths lie infinite wisdom, in-finite power, and infinite supply of all that is necessary, which is waiting for development and expression. Begin now to recog-nize these potentialities of your deeper mind, and they will take form in the world without. The infinite intelligence within your subconscious mind can reveal to you everything you need to know at every moment of time and point of space provided you are open-minded and receptive. You can receive new thoughts and ideas enabling you to bring forth new inventions, make new discoveries, or write books and plays. Moreover, the infinite intelligence in your sub-conscious can impart to you wonderful kinds of knowledge of an original nature. It can reveal to you and open the way for perfect expression and true place in your life. Through the wisdom of your subconscious mind you can attract the ideal companion, as well as the right business asso-ciate or partner. It can find the right buyer for your home, and provide you with all the money you need, and the financial free-dom to be, to do, and to go, as your heart desires. It is your right to discover this inner world of thought, feel ing, and power, of light, love, and beauty. Though invisible, its forces are mighty. Within your subconscious mind you will find the solution for every problem, and the cause for every effect. Because you can draw out the hidden powers, you come into actual possession of the power 14 and wisdom necessary to move forward in abundance, security, joy, and dominion. I have seen the power of the subconscious lift people up out of crippled states, making them whole, vital, and strong once more, and free to go out into the world to experience happiness, health, and joyous expression. There is a miraculous healing power in your subconscious that can heal the troubled mind and the broken heart. It can open the prison door of the mind and liberate you. It can free you from all kinds of material and physi-cal bondage. Necessity of a working basis Substantial progress in any field of endeavor is impossible in the absence of a working basis, which is universal in its appli-cation. You can become skilled in the operation of your sub-conscious mind. You can practice its powers with a certainty of results in exact proportion to your knowledge of its principles and to your application of them for definite specific purposes and goals you wish to achieve. Being a former chemist, I would like to point out that if you combine hydrogen and oxygen in the proportions of two atoms of the former to one of the latter, water would be the result. You are very familiar with the fact that one atom of oxygen and one atom of carbon will produce carbon monoxide, a poisonous gas. But, if you add another atom of oxygen, you will get carbon dioxide, a harmless gas, and so on throughout the vast realm of chemical compounds. You must not think that the principles of chemistry, phys-ics, and mathematics differ from the principles of your subcon-scious mind. Let us consider a generally accepted principle: “Water seeks its own level.” This is a universal principle, which is applicable to water everywhere. Consider another principle: “Matter expands when heated.” This is true anywhere, at any time, and under all circumstances. You can heat a piece of steel, and it will expand regardless whether the steel is found in China, England, or India. It is a universal truth that 15 matter expands when heated. It is also a universal truth that whatever you impress on your subconscious mind is expressed on the screen of space as condition, experience, and event. Your prayer is answered because your subconscious mind is principle, and by principle I mean the way a thing works. For example, the principle of electricity is that it works from a higher to a lower potential. You do not change the principle of electricity when you use it, but by co-operating with nature, you can bring forth marvelous inventions and discoveries, which bless humanity in countless ways. Your subconscious mind is principle and works according to the law of belief. You must know what belief is, why it works, and how it works. Your Bible says in a simple, clear, and beau-tiful way: Whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou re-moved, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. MARK 11:23. The law of your mind is the law of belief. This means to believe in the way your mind works, to believe in belief itself. The belief of your mind is the thought of your mind—that is simple—just that and nothing else. All your experiences, events, conditions, and acts are the reactions of your subconscious mind to your thoughts. Remem-ber, it is not the thing believed in, but the belief in your own mind, which brings about the result. Cease believing in the false beliefs, opinions, superstitions, and fears of mankind. Begin to believe in the eternal verities and truths of life, which never change. Then, you will move onward, upward, and Godward. Whoever reads this book and applies the principles of the subconscious mind herein set forth; will be able to pray scien-tifically and effectively for himself and for others. Your prayer is answered according to the universal law of action and reac-tion. Thought is 16 incipient action. The reaction is the response from your subconscious mind which corresponds with the na-ture of your thought. Busy your mind with the concepts of har-mony, health, peace, and good will, and wonders will happen in your life. The duality of mind You have only one mind, but your mind possesses two dis-tinctive characteristics. The line of demarcation between the two is well known to all thinking men and women today. The two functions of your mind are essentially unlike. Each is endowed with separate and distinct attributes and powers. The nomen-clature generally used to distinguish the two functions of your mind is as follows: The objective and subjective mind, the conscious and subconscious mind, the waking and sleeping mind, the surface self and the deep self, the voluntary mind and the involuntary mind, the male and the female, and many other terms. You will find the terms “conscious” and “subconscious” used to represent the dual nature of your mind throughout this book. The conscious and subconscious minds An excellent way to get acquainted with the two functions of your mind is to look upon your own mind as a garden. You are a gardener, and you are planting seeds (thoughts) in your subconscious mind all day long, based on your habitual think-ing. As you sow in your subconscious mind, so shall you reap in your body and environment. Begin now to sow thoughts of peace, happiness, right ac-tion, good will, and prosperity. Think quietly and with interest on these qualities and accept them fully in your conscious reason-ing mind. Continue to plant these wonderful seeds (thoughts) in the garden of your mind, and you will reap a glorious harvest. Your subconscious mind may be likened to the soil, which will grow all kinds of seeds, good or bad. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Every thought is, therefore, a cause, and every condition is an effect. For this reason, it is essential that you take charge of your thoughts so as to bring forth only desirable conditions. 17  When your mind thinks correctly, when you understand the truth, when the thoughts deposited in your subconscious mind are constructive, harmonious, and peaceful, the magic working power of your subconscious will respond and bring about harmonious conditions, agreeable surroundings, and the best of everything. When you begin to control your thought proc-esses, you can apply the powers of your subconscious to any problem or difficulty. In other words, you will actually be con-sciously cooperating with the infinite power and omnipotent law, which governs all things. Look around you wherever you live and you will notice that the vast majority of mankind lives in the world without; the more enlightened men are intensely interested in the world within. Remember, it is the world within, namely, your thoughts, feelings, and imagery that makes your world without. It is, there-fore, the only creative power, and everything, which you find in your world of expression, has been created by you in the inner world of your mind consciously or unconsciously. Knowledge of the interaction of your conscious and sub-conscious minds will enable you to transform your whole life. In order to change external conditions, you must change the cause. Most men try to change conditions and circumstances by working with conditions and circumstances. To remove discord, confusion, lack, and limitation, you must remove the cause, and the cause is the way you are using your conscious mind. In other words, the way you are thinking and picturing in your mind. You are living in a fathomless sea of infinite riches. Your subconscious is very sensitive to your thoughts. Your thoughts form the mold or matrix through which the infinite intelligence, wisdom, vital forces, and energies of your subconscious flow. The practical application of the laws of your mind as illustrated in each chapter of this book will cause you to experience abund-ance for poverty, wisdom for superstition and ignorance, peace for pain, joy for sadness, light for darkness, harmony for discord, faith and confidence for fear, 18 success for failure, and freedom from the law of averages. Certainly, there can be no more won-derful blessing than these from a mental, emotional, and ma-terial standpoint. Most of the great scientists, artists, poets, singers, writers, and inventors have a deep understanding of the workings of the conscious and subconscious minds. One time Caruso, the great operatic tenor, was struck with stage fright. He said his throat was paralyzed due to spasms caused by intense fear, which constricted the muscles of his throat. Perspiration poured copiously down his face. He was ashamed because in a few minutes he had to go out on the stage, yet he was shaking with fear and trepidation. He said, “They will laugh at me. I can’t sing.” Then he shouted in the presence of those behind the stage, “The Little Me wants to strangle the Big Me within.” He said to the Little Me, “Get out of here, the Big Me wants to sing through me.” By the Big Me, he meant the limitless power and wisdom of his subconscious mind, and he began to shout, “Get out, get out, the Big Me is going to sing!” His subconscious mind responded releasing the vital forces within him. When the call came, he walked out on the stage and sang gloriously and majestically, enthralling the audience. It is obvious to you now that Caruso must have understood the two levels of mind—the conscious or rational, and the sub-conscious or irrational level. Your subconscious mind is reac-tive and responds to the nature of your thoughts. When your conscious mind (the Little Me) is full of fear, worry, and anxiety, the negative emotions engendered in your subconscious mind (the Big Me) are released and flood the conscious mind with a sense of panic, foreboding, and despair. When this happens, you can, like Caruso, speak affirmatively and with a deep sense of authority to the irrational emotions generated in your deeper mind as follows: “Be still, be quiet, I am in control, 19 you must obey me, you are subject to my command, you cannot intrude where you do not belong.” It is fascinating and intensely interesting to observe how you can speak authoritatively and with conviction to the irra-tional movement of your deeper self bringing silence, harmony, and peace to your mind. The subconscious is subject to the con-scious mind, and that is why it is called subconscious or sub-jective. Outstanding differences and modes of operation You will perceive the main differences by the following il- lustrations: The conscious mind is like the navigator or captain at the bridge of a ship. He directs the ship and signals orders to men in the engine room, who in turn control all the boilers, instruments, gauges, etc. The men in the engine room do not know where they are going; they follow orders. They would go on the rocks if the man on the bridge issued faulty or wrong instructions based on his findings with the compass, sextant, or other instruments. The men in the engine room obey him be-cause he is in charge and issues orders, which are automatically obeyed. Members of the crew do not talk back to the captain; they simply carry out orders. The captain is the master of his ship, and his decrees are carried out. Likewise, your conscious mind is the captain and the master of your ship, which represents your body, environ-ment, and all your affairs. Your subconscious mind takes the orders you give it based upon what your conscious mind believes and accepts as true. When you repeatedly say to people, “I can’t afford it,” then your subconscious mind takes you at your word and sees to it that you will not be in a position to purchase what you want. As long as you persist in saying, “I can’t afford that car, that trip to Europe, that home, that fur coat or ermine wrap,” you can rest assured that your subconscious mind will follow your or-ders, and you will go through life experiencing the lack of all these things. 20  Last Christmas Eve a beautiful young university student looked at an attractive and rather expensive traveling bag in a store window. She was going home to Buffalo, New York, for the holidays. She was about to say, “I can’t afford that bag,” when she recalled something she had heard at one of my lec-tures which was, “Never finish a negative statement; reverse it immediately, and wonders will happen in your life.” She said, “That bag is mine. It is for sale. I accept it men-tally, and my subconscious sees to it that I receive it.” At eight o’clock Christmas Eve her fiancé presented her with a bag exactly the same as the one she had looked at and mentally identified herself with at ten o’clock the same morning. She had filled her mind with the thought of expectancy and released the whole thing to her deeper mind, which has the “know-how” of accomplishment. This young girl, a student at the University of Southern California, said to me, “I didn’t have the money to buy that bag, but now I know where to find money and all the things I need, and that is in the treasure house of eternity within me.” Another simple illustration is this: When you say, “I do not like mushrooms,” and the occasion subsequently comes that you are served mushrooms in sauces or salads, you will get indi-gestion because your subconscious mind says to you, “The boss (your conscious mind) does not like mushrooms.” This is an amusing example of the outstanding differences and modes of operation of your conscious and subconscious minds. A woman may say, “I wake up at three o’clock, if I drink coffee at night.” Whenever she drinks coffee, her subconscious mind nudges her, as if to say, “The boss wants you to stay awake tonight.” Your subconscious mind works twenty-four hours a day and makes provisions for your benefit, pouring all the fruit of your habitual thinking into your lap. 21  How her subconscious responded A woman wrote me a few months ago as follows: “I am seventy- five years old, a widow with a grown family. I was liv-ing alone and on a pension. I heard your lectures on the powers of the subconscious mind wherein you said that ideas could be conveyed to the subconscious mind by repetition, faith, and expectancy. “I began to repeat frequently with feeling, ‘I am wanted. I am happily married to a kind, loving, and spiritual-minded man. I am secure!’ “I kept on doing this many times a day for about two weeks, and one day at the corner drugstore, I was introduced to a retired pharmacist. I found him to be kind, understanding, and very religious. He was a perfect answer to my prayer. Within a week he proposed to me, and now we are on our honeymoon in Europe. I know that the intelligence within my subconscious mind brought both of us together in divine order.” This woman discovered that the treasure house was within her. Her prayer was felt as true in her heart, and her affirmation sank down by osmosis into her subconscious mind, which is the creative medium. The moment she succeeded in bringing about a subjective embodiment, her subconscious mind brought about the answer through the law of attraction. Her deeper mind, full of wisdom and intelligence, brought both of them together in divine order. Be sure that you think on whatsoever things are true, what-soever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. PHIL. 4:8. Brief summary of ideas worth remembering 1. The treasure house is within you. Look within for the an-swer to your heart’s desire. 22  2. The great secret possessed by the great men of all ages was their ability to contact and release the powers of their sub conscious mind. You can do the same. 3. Your subconscious has the answer to all problems. If you suggest to your subconscious prior to sleep, “I want to get up at 6 A.M.,” it will awaken you at that exact time. 4. Your subconscious mind is the builder of your body and can heal you. Lull yourself to sleep every night with the idea of perfect health, and your subconscious, being your faithful servant, will obey you. 5. Every thought is a cause, and every condition is an effect. 6. If you want to write a book, write a wonderful play, give a better talk to your audience, convey the idea lovingly and feelingly to your subconscious mind, and it will respond accordingly. 7. You are like a captain navigating a ship. He must give the right orders, and likewise, you must give the right orders (thoughts and images) to your subconscious mind, which controls and governs all your experiences. 8. Never use the terms, “I can’t afford it” or “I can’t do this.” Your subconscious mind takes you at your word and sees to it that you do not have the money or the ability to do what you want to do. Affirm, “I can do all things through the power of my subconscious mind.” 9. The law of life is the law of belief. A belief is a thought in your mind. Do not believe in things to harm or hurt you. Believe in the power of your subconscious to heal, inspire, strengthen, and prosper you. According to your belief is it done unto you. 10. Change your thoughts, and you change your destiny. 23 2 How Your Own Mind Works You have a mind, and you should learn how to use it. There are two levels of your mind—the conscious or rational level, and the subconscious or irrational level. You think with your conscious mind, and whatever you habitually think sinks down into your subconscious mind, which creates according to the nature of your thoughts. Your subconscious mind is the seat of your emotions and is the creative mind. If you think good, good will follow; if you think evil, evil will follow. This is the way your mind works. The main point to remember is once the subconscious mind accepts an idea, it begins to execute it. It is an interesting and subtle truth that the law of the subconscious mind works for good and bad ideas alike. This law, when applied in a negative way, is the cause of failure, frustration, and unhappiness. How-ever, when your habitual thinking is harmonious and construc-tive, you experience perfect health, success, and prosperity. Peace of mind and a healthy body are inevitable when you begin to think and feel in the right way. Whatever you claim mentally and feel as true, your subconsciousmind will accept and bring forth into your experience. The only thing necessary for you to do is to get your subconscious mind to accept your idea, and the law of your own subconscious mind will bring forth the health, peace, or the position you desire. You give the command or decree, and your subconscious will faithfully repro-duce the idea impressed upon it. The law of your mind is this: You will get a reaction or response from your subconscious mind according to the nature of the thought or idea you hold in your conscious mind. Psychologists and psychiatrists point out that when thoughts are conveyed to your subconscious mind, impressions are made in the brain cells. As soon as your subconscious accepts any idea, it proceeds to put it into effect immediately. It works by asso-ciation of ideas and 24 uses every bit of knowledge that you have gathered in your lifetime to bring about its purpose. It draws on the infinite power, energy, and wisdom within you. It lines up all the laws of nature to get its way. Sometimes it seems to bring about an immediate solution to your difficulties, but at other times it may take days, weeks, or longer.... Its ways are past finding out. Conscious and subconscious terms differentiated You must remember that these are not two minds. They are merely two spheres of activity within one mind. Your conscious mind is the reasoning mind. It is that phase of mind, which chooses. For example, you choose your books, your home, and your partner in life. You make all your decisions with your con-scious mind. On the other hand, without any conscious choice on your part, your heart is kept functioning automatically, and the process of digestion, circulation, and breathing are carried on by your subconscious mind through processes independent of your conscious control. Your subconscious mind accepts what is impressed upon it or what you consciously believe. It does not reason things out like your conscious mind, and it does not argue with you contro-versially. Your subconscious mind is like the soil, which accepts any kind of seed, good or bad. Your thoughts are active and might be likened unto seeds. Negative, destructive thoughts continue to work negatively in your subconscious mind, and in due time will come forth into outer experience which corresponds with them. Remember, your subconscious mind does not engage in proving whether your thoughts are good or bad, true or false, but it responds according to the nature of your thoughts or suggestions. For example, if you consciously assume something as true, even though it may be false, your subconscious mind will accept it as true and proceed to bring about results, which must neces-sarily follow, because you consciously assumed it to be true. 25  Experiments by psychologists Innumerable experiments by psychologists and others on persons in the hypnotic state have shown that the subconscious mind is incapable of making selections and comparisons, which are necessary for a reasoning process. They have shown re-peatedly that your subconscious mind will accept any sugges-tions, however false. Having once accepted any suggestion, it responds according to the nature of the suggestion given. To illustrate the amenability of your subconscious mind to suggestion, if a practiced hypnotist suggests to one of his sub-jects that he is Napoleon Bonaparte, or even a cat or a dog, he will act out the part with inimitable accuracy. His personality becomes changed for the time being. He believes himself to be whatever the operator tells him he is. A skilled hypnotist may suggest to one of his students in the hypnotic state that his back itches, to another that his nose is bleeding, to another that he is a marble statue, to another that he is freezing and the temperature is below zero. Each one will follow out the line of his particular suggestion, totally oblivious to all his surroundings, which do not pertain to his idea. These simple illustrations portray clearly the difference be-tween your conscious reasoning mind and your subconscious mind, which is impersonal, non-selective, and accepts as true whatever your conscious mind believes to be true. Hence, the importance of selecting thoughts, ideas, and premises, which bless, heal, inspire, and fill your soul with joy. The terms objective and subjective mind clarified Your conscious mind is sometimes referred to as your objective mind because it deals with outward objects. The ob-jective mind takes cognizance of the objective world. Its media of observation are your five physical senses. Your objective mind is your guide and director in your contact with your environ-ment. You gain knowledge through your five senses. Your ob-jective mind learns through observation, 26 experience, and educa-tion. As previously pointed out, the greatest function of the objective mind is that of reasoning. Suppose you are one of the thousands of tourists who come to Los Angeles annually. You would come to the conclusion that it is a beautiful city based upon your observation of the parks, pretty gardens, majestic buildings, and lovely homes. This is the working of your objective mind. Your subconscious mind is oftentimes referred to as your subjective mind. Your subjective mind takes cognizance of its environment by means independent of the five senses. Your sub-jective mind perceives by intuition. It is the seat of your emo-tion and the storehouse of memory. Your subjective mind per-forms its highest functions when your objective senses are in abeyance. In a word, it is that intelligence which makes itself manifest when the objective mind is suspended or in a sleepy, drowsy state. Your subjective mind sees without the use of the natural organs of vision. It has the capacity of clairvoyance and clair-audience. Your subjective mind can leave your body, travel to distant lands, and bring back information oftentimes of the most exact and truthful character. Through your subjective mind you can read the thoughts of others, read the contents of sealed en-velopes and closed safes. Your subjective mind has the ability to apprehend the thoughts of others without the use of the ordi-nary objective means of communication. It is of the greatest importance that we understand the interaction of the objective and subjective mind in order to learn the true art of prayer. The subconscious cannot reason like your conscious mind Your subconscious mind cannot argue controversially. Hence, if you give it wrong suggestions, it will accept them as true and will proceed to bring them to pass as conditions, ex-periences, and events. All things that have happened to you are based on thoughts impressed on your subconscious mind through belief. If you have conveyed erroneous concepts to your sub-conscious mind, the sure method of 27 overcoming them is by the repetition of constructive, harmonious thoughts frequently re-peated which your subconscious mind accepts, thus forming new and healthy habits of thought and life, for your subconscious mind is the seat of habit. The habitual thinking of your conscious mind establishes deep grooves in your subconscious mind. This is very favorable for you if your habitual thoughts are harmonious, peaceful, and constructive. If you have indulged in fear, worry, and other destructive forms of thinking, the remedy is to recognize the omnipotence of your subconscious mind and decree freedom, happiness, and perfect health. Your subconscious mind, being creative and one with your divine source, will proceed to create the freedom and happiness, which you have earnestly decreed. The tremendous power of suggestion You must realize by now that your conscious mind is the “watchman at the gate,” and its chief function is to protect your subconscious mind from false impressions. You are now aware of one of the basic laws of mind: Your subconscious mind is amenable to suggestion. As you know, your subconscious mind does not make comparisons, or contrasts, neither does it reason and think things out for itself. This latter function belongs to your conscious mind. It simply reacts to the impressions given to it by your conscious mind. It does not show a preference for one course of action over another. The following is a classic example of the tremendous power of suggestion. Suppose you approach a timid-looking passenger on board ship and say to him something like this: “You look very ill. How pale you are! I feel certain you are going to be seasick. Let me help you to your cabin.” The passenger turns pale. Your suggestion of seasickness associates itself with his own fears and forebodings. He accepts your aid down to the berth, and there your negative suggestion, which was accepted by him, is realized. 28  Different reactions to the same suggestion It is true that different people will react in different ways to the same suggestion because of their subconscious conditioning or belief. For example, if you go to a sailor on the ship and say to him sympathetically, “My dear fellow, you’re looking very ill. Aren’t you feeling sick? You look to me as if you were going to be seasick.” According to his temperament he either laughs at your “joke,” or expresses a mild irritation. Your suggestion fell on deaf ears in this instance because your suggestion of seasickness was associated in his mind with his own immunity from it. There-fore, it called up not fear or worry, but selfconfidence. The dictionary says that a suggestion is the act or instance of putting something into one’s mind, the mental process by which the thought or idea suggested is entertained, accepted, or put into effect. You must remember that a suggestion cannot impose something on the subconscious mind against the will of the conscious mind. In other words, your conscious mind has the power to reject the suggestion given. In the case of the sailor, he had no fear of seasickness. He had convinced himself of his immunity, and the negative suggestion had absolutely no power to evoke fear. The suggestion of seasickness to the other passenger called forth his indwelling fear of seasickness. Each of us has his own inner fears, beliefs, opinions, and these inner assumptions rule and govern our lives. A suggestion has no power in and of itself except if you accept it mentally. This causes your subconscious powers to flow in a limited and restricted way according to the nature of the suggestion. How he lost his arm Every two or three years I give a series of lectures at the London Truth Forum in Caxton Hall. This is a Forum I founded a number of years ago. Dr. Evelyn Fleet, the director, told me about an article which appeared in the English newspapers deal-ing with the power of 29 suggestion. This is the suggestion a man gave to his subconscious mind over a period of about two years: “I would give my right arm to see my daughter cured.” It ap-peared that his daughter had a crippling form of arthritis together with a so-called incurable form of skin disease. Medical treatment had failed to alleviate the condition, and the father had an intense longing for his daughter’s healing, and expressed his desire in the words just quoted. Dr. Evelyn Fleet said that the newspaper article pointed out that one day the family was out riding when their car col-lided with another. The father’s right arm was torn off at the shoulder, and immediately the daughter’s arthritis and skin con-dition vanished. You must make certain to give your subconscious only suggestions, which heal, bless, elevate, and inspire you in all your ways. Remember that your subconscious mind cannot take a joke. It takes you at your word. How autosuggestion banishes fear Illustrations of autosuggestion: Autosuggestion means sug-gesting something definite and specific to oneself. Herbert Parkyn, in his excellent manual of autosuggestion,* records the following incident. It has its amusing side, so that one remem-bers it. “A New York visitor in Chicago looks at his watch, which is set an hour ahead of Chicago time, and tells a Chicago friend that it is twelve o’clock. The Chicago friend, not considering the difference in time between Chicago and New York, tells the New Yorker that he is hungry and that he must go to lunch.” Autosuggestion may be used to banish various fears and other negative conditions. A young singer was invited to give an audition. She had been looking forward to the interview, but on three previous occasions she had failed miserably due to fear of failure. This young lady had a very good voice, but she had been saying to herself, “When the time comes for me to sing, maybe they won’t like me. I will try, but I’m full of fear and anxiety.” 30  Her subconscious mind accepted these negative autosugges-tions as a request and proceeded to manifest them and bring them into her experience. The cause was an involuntary auto-suggestion, i.e., silent fear thoughts emotionalized and subjecti-fied. She overcame it by the following technique: Three times a day she isolated herself in a room. She sat down comfortably in an armchair, relaxed her body, and closed her eyes. She stilled her mind and body as best she could. Physical inertia favors mental passivity and renders the mind more receptive to sug-gestion. She counteracted the fear suggestion by saying to her-self, “I sing beautifully. I am poised, serene, confident, and calm.” She repeated this statement slowly, quietly, and with feel-ing from five to ten times at each sitting. She had three such “sittings” every day and one immediately prior to sleep. At the end of a week she was completely poised and confident. When the invitation to audition came, she gave a remarkable, wonder- ful audition. How she restored her memory A woman, aged seventy-five, was in the habit of saying to herself, “I am losing my memory.” She reversed the procedure and practiced induced autosuggestion several times a day as follows: “My memory from today on is improving in every department. I shall always remember whatever I need to know at every moment of time and point of space. The impressions received will be clearer and more definite. I shall retain them automatically and with ease. Whatever I wish to recall will im-mediately present itself in the correct form in my mind. I am improving rapidly every day, and very soon my memory will be better than it has ever been before.” At the end of three weeks, her memory was back to normal, and she was delighted. How he overcame a nasty temper Many men who complained of irritability and bad temper proved to be very susceptible to autosuggestion and obtained marvelous results by using the following statements three or four times a day—morning, 31 noon, and at night prior to sleep for about a month. “Henceforth, I shall grow more goodhumored. Joy, happiness, and cheerfulness are now becoming my normal states of mind. Every day I am becoming more and more lov-able and understanding. I am now becoming the center of cheer and good will to all those about me, infecting them with good humor. This happy, joyous, and cheerful mood is now becom-ing my normal, natural state of mind. I am grateful.” The constructive and destructive power of suggestion Some illustrations and comments on heterosuggestion: Heterosuggestion means suggestions from another person. In all ages the power of suggestion has played a part in the life and thought of man in every period of time and in each country of the earth. In many parts of the world it is the controlling power in religion. Suggestion may be used to discipline and control ourselves, but it can also be used to take control and command over others who do not know the laws of mind. In its constructive form it is wonderful and magnificent. In its negative aspects it is one of the most destructive of all the response patterns of the mind, resulting in patterns of misery, failure, suffering, sickness, and disaster. Have you accepted any of these? From infancy on the majority of us have been given many negative suggestions. Not knowing how to thwart them, we un-consciously accepted them. Here are some of the negative sug-gestions: “You can’t.” “You’ll never amount to anything.” “You mustn’t.” “You’ll fail.” “You haven’t got a chance.” “You’re all wrong.” “It’s no use.” “It’s not what you know, but who you know.” “The world is going to the dogs.” “What’s the use, no-body cares.” “It’s no use trying so hard.” “You’re too old now.” “Things are getting worse and worse.” “Life is an endless grind.” “Love is for the birds.” “You just can’t win.” “Pretty soon you’ll be bankrupt.” “Watch out, you’ll get the virus.” 32  “You can’t trust a soul,” etc. Unless, as an adult, you use constructive autosuggestion, which is a reconditioning therapy, the impressions made on you in the past can cause behavior patterns that cause failure in your personal and social life. Autosuggestion is a means releasing you from the mass of negative verbal conditioning that might other-wise distort your life pattern, making the development of good habits difficult. You can counteract negative suggestions Pick up the paper any day, and you can read dozens of items that could sow the seeds of futility, fear, worry, anxiety, and impending doom. If accepted by you, these thoughts of fear could cause you to lose the will for life. Knowing that you can reject all these negative suggestions by giving your subconscious mind constructive autosuggestions, you counteract all these de-structive ideas. Check regularly on the negative suggestions that people make to you. You do not have to be influenced by destructive heterosuggestion. All of us have suffered from it in our child-hood and in our teens. If you look back, you can easily recall how parents, friends, relatives, teachers, and associates contrib-uted in a campaign of negative suggestions. Study the things said to you, and you will discover much of it was in the form of propaganda. The purpose of much of what was said was to con-trol you or instill fear into you. This heterosuggestion process goes on in every home, office, factory, and club. You will find that many of these suggestions are for the purpose of making you think, feel, and act, as others want you to and in ways that are to their advantage. How suggestion killed a man Here is an illustration of heterosuggestion: A relative of mine went to a crystal gazer in India who told him that he had a bad heart and predicted that he would die at the next new moon. He began to tell all members of his family about this pre-diction, and he arranged his will. 33  This powerful suggestion entered into his subconscious mind because he accepted it completely. My relative also told me that this crystal gazer was believed to have some strange occult powers, and he could do harm or good to a person. He died as predicted not knowing that he was the cause of his own death. I suppose many of us have heard similar stupid, ridiculous, superstitious stories. Let us look at what happened in the light of our knowledge of the way the subconscious mind works. Whatever the con-scious, reasoning mind of man believes; the subconscious mind will accept and act upon. My relative was happy, healthy, vig-orous, and robust when he went to see the fortuneteller. She gave him a very negative suggestion, which he accepted. He be-came terrified, and constantly dwelt upon the fact that he was going to die at the next new moon. He proceeded to tell every-one about it, and he prepared for the end. The activity took place in his own mind, and his own thought was the cause. He brought about his own so-called death, or rather destruction of the physical body, by his fear and expectation of the end. The woman who predicted his death had no more power than the stones and sticks in the field. Her suggestion had no power to create or bring about the end she suggested. If he had known the laws of his mind, he would have completely rejected the negative suggestion and refused to give her words any atten-tion, knowing in his heart that he was governed and controlled by his own thought and feeling. Like tin arrows aimed at a bat-tleship, her prophecy could have been completely neutralized and dissipated without hurting him. The suggestions of others in themselves have absolutely no power whatever over you except the power that you give them through your own thoughts. You have to give your mental con-sent; you have to entertain the thought. Then, it becomes your thought, and you do the thinking. Remember, you have the capacity to choose. Choose life! Choose love! Choose health! 34  The power of an assumed major premise Your mind works like a syllogism. This means that what-ever major premise your conscious mind assumes to be true de-termines the conclusion your subconscious mind comes to in regard to any particular question or problem in your mind. If your premise is true, the conclusion must be true as in the fol-lowing example: Every virtue is laudable; Kindness is a virtue; Therefore, kindness is laudable. Another example is as follows: All formed things change and pass away; The Pyramids of Egypt are formed things; Therefore, some day the Pyramids will pass away. The first statement is referred to as the major premise, and the right conclusion must necessarily follow the right premise. A college professor, who attended some of my science of mind lectures in May, 1962, at Town Hall, New York, said to me, “Everything in my life is topsy-turvy, and I have lost health, wealth, and friends. Everything I touch turns out wrong.” I explained to him that he should establish a major prem-ise in his thinking, that the infinite intelligence of his subcon-scious mind was guiding, directing, and prospering him spirit-ually, mentally, and materially. Then, his subconscious mind would automatically direct him wisely in his investments, deci-sions, and also heal his body and restore his mind to peace and tranquility. This professor formulated an over-all picture of the way he wanted his life to be, and this was his major premise: “Infinite intelligence leads and guides me in all my ways. Perfect health is mine, and the Law of Harmony operates in my mind and body. Beauty, love, peace, and abundance are mine. The principle of right action and divine order govern my entire life. I know my major premise is based on the eternal truths of life, and I know, feel, and believe that my 35 subconscious mind responds according to the nature of my conscious mind think-ing.” He wrote me as follows: “I repeated the above statements slowly, quietly, and lovingly several times a day knowing that they were sinking deep down into my subconscious mind, and that results must follow. I am deeply grateful for the interview you gave me, and I would like to add that all departments of my life are changing for the better. It works!” The subconscious does not argue controversially Your subconscious mind is all-wise and knows the answers to all questions. It does not argue with you or talk back to you. It does not say, “You must not impress me with that.” For ex-ample, when you say, “I can’t do this.” “I am too old now.” “I can’t meet this obligation.” “I was born on the wrong side of the tracks.” “I don’t know the right politician,” you are impregnating your subconscious with these negative thoughts, and it responds accordingly. You are actually blocking your own good, thereby bringing lack, limitation, and frustration into your life. When you set up obstacles, impediments, and delays in your conscious mind, you are denying the wisdom and intelli-gence resident in your subconscious mind. You are actually say-ing in effect that your subconscious mind cannot solve your problem. This leads to mental and emotional congestion, fol-lowed by sickness and neurotic tendencies. To realize your desire and overcome your frustration, affirm boldly several times a day: “The infinite intelligence which gave me this desire leads, guides, and reveals to me the perfect plan for the unfolding of my desire. I know the deeper wisdom of my subconscious is now responding, and what I feel and claim within is expressed in the without. There is a balance, equilibrium, and equanimity.” If you say, “There is no way out; I am lost; there is no way out of this dilemma; I am stymied and blocked,” you will get no answer or 36 response from your subconscious mind. If you want the subconscious to work for you, give it the right request, and attain its co-operation. It is always working for you. It is con-trolling your heartbeat this minute and also your breathing. It heals a cut on your finger, and its tendency is lifeward, forever seeking to take care of you and preserve you. Your subconscious has a mind of its own, but it accepts your patterns of thought and imagery. When you are seeking an answer to a problem, your sub-conscious will respond, but it expects you to come to a decision and to a true judgment in your conscious mind. You must acknowledge the answer is in your subconscious mind. However, if you say, “I don’t think there is any way out; I am all mixed up and confused; why don’t I get an answer?” you are neutralizing your prayer. Like the soldier marking time, you do not get anywhere. Still the wheels of your mind, relax, let go, and quietly affirm: “My subconscious knows the answer. It is responding to me now. I give thanks because I know the infinite intelligence of my subconscious knows all things and is revealing the perfect answer to me now. My real conviction is now setting free the majesty and glory of my subconscious mind. I rejoice that it is so.” Review of highlights 1. Think good, and good follows. Think evil, and evil follows. You are what you think all day long. 2. Your subconscious mind does not argue with you. It ac-cepts what your conscious mind decrees. If you say, “I can’t afford it,” it may be true, but do not say it. Select a better thought, decree, “I’ll buy it. I accept it in my mind.” 3. You have the power to choose. Choose health and happiness. You can choose to be friendly, or you can choose to be unfriendly. Choose to be co-operative, joyous, friendly, lovable, and the whole world will respond. This is the best way to develop a wonderful personality. 37  4. Your conscious mind is the “watchman at the gate.” Its chief function is to protect your subconscious mind from false impressions. Choose to believe that something good can happen and is happening now. Your greatest power is your capacity to choose. Choose happiness and abundance. 5. The suggestions and statements of others have no power to hurt you. The only power is the movement of your own thought. You can choose to reject the thoughts or statements of others and affirm the good. You have the power to choose how you will react. 6. Watch what you say. You have to account for every idle word. Never say, “I will fail; I will lose my job; I can’t pay the rent.” Your subconscious cannot take a joke. It brings all these things to pass. 7. Your mind is not evil. No force of nature is evil. It depends how you use the powers of nature. Use your mind to bless, heal, and inspire all people everywhere. 8. Never say, “I can’t.” Overcome that fear by substituting the following, “I can do all things through the power of my own subconscious mind.” 9. Begin to think from the standpoint of the eternal truths and principles of life and not from the standpoint of fear, ignorance, and superstition. Do not let others do your think-ing for you. Choose your own thoughts and make your own decisions. 10. You are the captain of your soul (subconscious mind) and the master of your fate. Remember, you have the capacity to choose. Choose life! Choose love! Choose health! Choose happiness! 11. Whatever your conscious mind assumes and believes to be true, your subconscious mind will accept and bring to pass. Believe in good fortune, divine guidance, right action, and all the blessings of life. 38 3 The Miracle-Working Power of Your Subconscious The power of your subconscious is enormous. It inspires you, it guides you, and it reveals to you names, facts, and scenes from the storehouse of memory. Your subconscious started your heartbeat, controls the circulation of your blood, and regulates your digestion, assimilation, and elimination. When you eat a piece of bread, your subconscious mind transmutes it into tissue, muscle, bone, and blood. This process is beyond the ken of the wisest man who walks the earth. Your subconscious mind controls all the vital processes and functions of your body and knows the answer to all problems. Your subconscious mind never sleeps, never rests. It is al-ways on the job. You can discover the miracle-working power of your subconscious by plainly stating to your subconscious prior to sleep that you wish a certain specific thing accomplished. You will be delighted to discover that forces within you will be re-leased, leading to the desired result. Here, then, is a source of power and wisdom which places you in touch with omnipotence or the power that moves the world, guides the planets in their course, and causes the sun to shine. Your subconscious mind is the source of your ideals, aspira-tions, and altruistic urges. It was through the subconscious mind that Shakespeare perceived great truths hidden from the average man of his day. Undoubtedly, it was the response of his sub-conscious mind that caused the Greek sculptor, Phidias, to por-tray beauty, order, symmetry, and proportion in marble and bronze. It enabled the Italian artist, Raphael, to paint Madonnas, and Ludwig van Beethoven to compose symphonies. 39  In 1955 I lectured at the Yoga Forest University, Rishikesh, India, and there I chatted with a visiting surgeon from Bombay. He told me about Dr. James Esdaille, a Scotch surgeon, who worked in Bengal before ether or other modern methods of anesthesia were discovered. Between 1843 and 1846, Dr. Es-daille performed about four hundred major operations of all kinds, such as amputations, removal of tumors and cancerous growths, as well as operations on the eye, ear, and throat. All operations were conducted under mental anesthesia only. This Indian doctor at Rishikesh informed me that the postoperative mortality rate of patients operated on by Dr. Esdaille was ex-tremely low, probably two or three percent. Patients felt no pain, and there were no deaths during the operations. Dr. Esdaille suggested to the subconscious minds of all his patients, who were in a hypnotic state, that no infection or septic condition would develop. You must remember that this was be-fore Louis Pasteur, Joseph Lister, and others who pointed out the bacterial origin of disease and causes of infection due to unsterilized instruments and virulent organisms. This Indian surgeon said that the reason for the low mor-tality rate and the general absence of infection, which was re-duced to a minimum, was undoubtedly due to the suggestions of Dr. Esdaille to the subconscious minds of his patients. They responded according to the nature of his suggestion. It is simply wonderful, when you conceive how a surgeon, over one hundred twenty years ago, discovered the miraculous wonder-working powers of the subconscious mind. Doesn’t it cause you to be seized with a sort of mystic awe when you stop and think of the transcendental powers of your subconscious mind? Consider its extrasensory perceptions, such as its ca-pacity for clairvoyance and clairaudience, its independence of time and space, its capacity to render you free from all pain and suffering, and its capacity to get the 40 answer to all problems, be they what they may. All these and many more reveal to you that there is a power and intelligence within you that far tran-scends your intellect, causing you to marvel at the wonders of it ail. All these experiences cause you to rejoice and believe in the miracle-working powers of your own subconscious mind. Your subconscious is your Book of Life Whatever thoughts, beliefs, opinions, theories, or dogmas you write, engrave, or impress on your subconscious mind, you shall experience them as the objective manifestation of circum-stances, conditions, and events. What you write on the inside, you will experience on the outside. You have two sides to your life, objective and subjective, visible and invisible, thought and its manifestation. Your brain receives your thought, which is the organ of your conscious reasoning mind. When your conscious or ob-jective mind accepts the thought completely, it is sent to the solar plexus, called the brain of your mind, where it becomes flesh and is made manifest in your experience. As previously outlined, your subconscious cannot argue. It acts only from what you write on it. It accepts your verdict or the conclusions of your conscious mind as final. This is why you are always writing on the book of life, because your thoughts become your experiences. The American essayist, Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Man is what he thinks all day long.” What is impressed in the subconscious is expressed William James, the father of American psychology, said that the power to move the world is in your subconscious mind. Your subconscious mind is one with infinite intelligence and boundless wisdom. It is fed by hidden springs, and is called the law of life. Whatever you impress upon your subconscious mind, the latter will move heaven and earth to bring it to pass. 41  You must, therefore, impress it with right ideas and construc-tive thoughts. The reason there is so much chaos and misery in the world is because people do not understand the interaction of their conscious and subconscious minds. When these two principles work in accord, in concord, in peace, and synchronously together, you will have heath, happiness, peace and joy. There is no sickness or discord when the conscious and subconscious work together harmoniously and peacefully. The tomb of Hermes was opened with great expectancy and a sense of wonder because people believed that the greatest secret of the ages was contained therein. The secret was as within, so without; as above, so below. In other words, whatever is impressed hi your subconscious mind is expressed on the screen of space. This same truth was proclaimed by Moses, Isaiah, Jesus, Buddha, Zoroaster, Laotze, and all the illumined seers of the ages Whatever you feel as true subjectively is expressed as conditions, experiences, and events. Motion and emotion must balance. As in heaven [your own mind], so on earth [in your body and environment]. This is the great law of life. You will find throughout all nature the law of action and reaction, of rest and motion. These two must balance, then there will be harmony and equilibrium. You are here to let the life principle flow through you rhythmically and harmoniously. The intake and the outgo must be equal. The impression and the expression must be equal. All your frustration is due to unful-filled desire. If you think negatively, destructively, and viciously, these thoughts generate destructive emotions which must be expressed and find an outlet. These emotions, being of a negative nature, are frequently expressed as ulcers, heart trouble, tension, and anxieties. What is your idea or feeling about yourself now? Every part of your being expresses that idea. Your vitality, body, fi-nancial status, 42 friends, and social status represent a perfect re-flection of the idea you have of yourself. This is the real mean-ing of what is impressed in your subconscious mind, and which is expressed in all phases of your life. We injure ourselves by the negative ideas, which we enter-tain. How often have you wounded yourself by getting angry, fearful, jealous, or vengeful? These are the poisons that enter your subconscious mind. You were not born with these negative attitudes. Feed your subconscious mind life-giving thoughts, and you will wipe out all the negative patterns lodged therein. As you continue to do this, all the past will be wiped out and remembered no more. The subconscious heals a malignancy of the skin A personal healing will ever be the most convincing evi-dence of the healing power of the subconscious mind. Over forty years ago I resolved a malignancy of the skin through prayer. Medical therapy had failed to check the growth, and it was get-ting progressively worse. A clergyman, with a deep psychological knowledge, ex-plained to me the inner meaning of the 139th Psalm wherein it says, In thy book all my members were written, which in con-tinuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them. He explained that the term book meant my subconscious mind, which fashioned and molded all my organs from an invisible cell. He also pointed out that inasmuch as my subconscious mind made my body, it could also recreate it and heal it according to the perfect pattern within it. This clergyman showed me his watch and said, “This had a maker, and the watchmaker had to have the idea first in mind before the watch became an objective reality, and if the watch was out of order, the watchmaker could fix it.” My friend re-minded me that the subconscious intelligence, which created my body, was like a watchmaker, and it also knew exactly how to heal, restore, and direct all the vital functions and processes of my body, but that I had to give 43 it the perfect idea of health. This would act as cause, and the effect would be a healing. I prayed in a very simple way as follows: “My body and all its organs were created by the infinite intelligence in my sub-conscious mind. It knows how to heal me. Its wisdom fashioned all my organs, tissues, muscles, and bones. This infinite healing presence within me is now transforming every atom of my being making me whole and perfect now. I give thanks for the healing I know is taking place now. Wonderful are the works of the creative intelligence within me.” I prayed aloud for about five minutes two or three times a day repeating the above simple prayer. In about three months my skin was whole and perfect. As you can see, all I did was give life-giving patterns of wholeness, beauty, and perfection to my subconscious mind, thereby obliterating the negative images and patterns of thought lodged in my subconscious mind which were the cause of all my trouble. Nothing appears on your body except when the mental equivalent is first in your mind, and as you change your mind by drenching it with incessant affirmatives, you change your body. This is the basis of all healing.... Marvelous are thy works; and that my soul [subconscious mind] knoweth right well. PSALM 139:14. How the subconscious controls all functions of the body While you are awake or sound asleep upon your bed, the ceaseless, tireless action of your subconscious mind controls all the vital functions of your body without the help of your con-scious mind. For example, while you are asleep your heart con-tinues to beat rhythmically, your lungs do not rest, and the proc-ess of inhalation and exhalation, whereby your blood absorbs fresh air, goes on just the same as when you are awake. Your subconscious controls your digestive processes and glandular secretions, as well as all the other mysterious operations of your body. The hair on your face continues to grow whether you are asleep or awake. Scientists tell us that the 44 skin secretes much more perspiration during sleep than during the waking hours. Your eyes, ears, and other senses are active during sleep. For instance, many of our great scientists have received answers to perplexing problems while they were asleep. They saw the an-swers in a dream. Oftentimes your conscious mind interferes with the normal rhythm of the heart, lungs, and functioning of the stomach and intestines by worry, anxiety, fear, and depression. These pat-terns of thought interfere with the harmonious functioning of your subconscious mind. When mentally disturbed, the best procedure is to let go, relax, and still the wheels of your thought processes. Speak to your subconscious mind, telling it to take over in peace, harmony, and divine order. You will find that all the functions of your body will become normal again. Be sure to speak to your subconscious mind with authority and convic-tion, and it will conform to your command. Your subconscious seeks to preserve your life and restore you to health at all costs. It causes you to love your children, which also illustrates an instinctive desire to preserve all life. Let us suppose you accidentally ate some bad food. Your sub-conscious mind would cause you to regurgitate it. If you in-advertently took some poison, your subconscious powers would proceed to neutralize it. If you completely entrusted yourself to its wonderworking power, you would be entirely restored to health. How to get the subconscious to work for you The first thing to realize is that your subconscious mind is always working. It is active night and day, whether you act upon it or not. Your subconscious is the builder of your body, but you cannot consciously perceive or hear that inner silent process. Your business is with your conscious mind and not your subconscious mind. Just keep your conscious mind busy with the expectation of the best, and make 45 sure the thoughts you habitually think are based on whatsoever things are lovely, true, just, and of good report. Begin now to take care of your con-scious mind, knowing in your heart and soul that your subcon-scious mind is always expressing, reproducing, and manifesting according to your habitual thinking. Remember, just as water takes the shape of the pipe it flows through, the life principle in you flows through you according to the nature of your thoughts. Claim that the healing presence in your subconscious is flowing through you as harmony, health, peace, joy, and abundance. Think of it as a living intelligence, a lovely companion on the way. Firmly believe it is continually flowing through you vivifying, inspiring, and prospering you. It will respond exactly this way. It is done unto you as you believe. Healing principle of the subconscious restores atrophied optic nerves There is the well-known, duly authenticated case of Madame Bire of France, recorded in the archives of the medical department of Lourdes, France. She was blind; the optic nerves were atrophied and useless. She visited Lourdes and had what she termed a miraculous healing. Ruth Cranston, a Protestant young lady who investigated and wrote about healings at Lourdes in McCalls magazine, November, 1955, writes about Madame Bire as follows: “At Lourdes she regained her sight incredibly, with the optic nerves still lifeless and useless, as several doctors could testify after repeated examinations. A month later, upon re-examination, it was found that the seeing mechanism had been restored to normal. But at first, so far as medical examination could tell, she was seeing with ‘dead eyes.’” I have visited Lourdes several times where I, too, wit-nessed some healings, and of course, as we shall explain in the next chapter, there is no doubt that healings take place at many shrines throughout the world, Christian and non-Christian. 46  The waters of the shrine did not heal Madame Bire, to whom we just referred, but by her own subconscious mind, which responded to her belief. The healing principle within her subconscious mind responded to the nature of her thought. Be-lief is a thought in the subconscious mind. It means to accept something as true. The thought accepted executes itself automatically. Undoubtedly, Madame Bire went to the shrine with expectancy and great faith, knowing in her heart she would re-ceive a healing. Her subconscious mind responded accordingly, releasing the ever-present healing forces. The subconscious mind, which created the eye, can certainly bring a dead nerve back to life. What the creative principle created, it can recreate. Accord-ing to your belief is it done unto you. How to convey the idea of perfect health to your subconscious mind A Protestant minister I knew in Johannesburg, South Africa, told me the method he used to convey the idea of perfect health to his subconscious mind. He had cancer of the lung. His technique, as given to me in his own handwriting, is ex-actly as follows: “Several times a day I would make certain that I was completely relaxed mentally and physically. I relaxed my body by speaking to it as follows, ‘My feet are relaxed, my ankles are relaxed, my legs are relaxed, my abdominal muscles are relaxed, my heart and lungs are relaxed, my head is relaxed, my whole being is completely relaxed.’ After about five minutes I would be in a sleepy drowsy state, and then I affirmed the fol-lowing truth, ‘the perfection of God is now being expressed through me. The idea of perfect health is now filling my sub- conscious mind. The image God has of me is a perfect image, and my subconscious mind recreates my body in perfect accord-ance with the perfect image held in the mind of God.’” This minister had a remarkable healing. This is a simple easy way of conveying the idea of perfect health to your subconscious mind. 47  Another wonderful way to convey the idea of health to your subconscious is through disciplined or scientific imagina-tion. I told a man who was suffering from functional paralysis to make a vivid picture of himself walking around in his office, touching the desk, answering the telephone, and doing all the things he ordinarily would do if he were healed. I explained to him that this idea and mental picture of perfect health would be accepted by his subconscious mind. He lived the role and actually felt himself back in the office. He knew that he was giving his subconscious mind some-thing definite to work upon. His subconscious mind was the film upon which the picture was impressed. One day, after several weeks of frequent conditioning of the mind with this mental pic-ture, the telephone rang by prearrangement and kept ringing while his wife and nurse were out. The telephone was about twelve feet away, but nevertheless he managed to answer it. He was healed at that hour. The healing power of his subconscious mind responded to his mental imagery, and a healing followed. This man had a mental block, which prevented impulses from the brain reaching his legs; therefore, he said he could not walk. When he shifted his attention to the healing power within him, the power flowed through, his focused attention, enabling him to walk. Whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive. MATT. 21:22. Ideas worth remembering 1. Your subconscious mind controls all the vital processes of your body and knows the answer to all problems. 2. Prior to sleep, turn over a specific request to your subcon-scious mind and prove its miracle-working power to yourself. 48  3. Whatever you impress on your subconscious mind is ex-pressed on the screen of space as conditions, experiences, and events. Therefore, you should carefully watch all ideas and thoughts entertained in your conscious mind. 4. The law of action and reaction is universal. Your thought is action, and the reaction is the automatic response of your subconscious mind to your thought. Watch your thoughts! 5. All frustration is due to unfulfilled desires. If you dwell on obstacles, delays, and difficulties, your subconscious mind responds accordingly, and you are blocking your own good. 6. The Life Principle will flow through you rhythmically and harmoniously if you consciously affirm: “I believe that the subconscious power which gave me this desire is now fulfill-ing it through me.” This dissolves all conflicts. 7. You can interfere with the normal rhythm of your heart, lungs, and other organs by worry, anxiety, and fear. Feed your subconscious with thoughts of harmony, health, and peace, and all the functions of your body will become nor-mal again. 8. Keep your conscious mind busy with the expectation of the best, and your subconscious will faithfully reproduce your habitual thinking. 9. Imagine the happy ending or solution to your problem, feel the thrill of accomplishment, and what you imagine and feel will be accepted by your subconscious mind and bring it to pass. 49 4 Mental Healings in Ancient Times Down through the ages men of all nations have somehow instinctively believed that somewhere there resided a healing power which could restore to normal the functions and sensa-tions of man’s body. They believed that this strange power could be invoked under certain conditions, and that the alleviation of human suffering would follow. The history of all nations presents testimony in support of this belief. In the early history of the world the power of secretly in-fluencing men for good or evil, including the healing of the sick, was said to be possessed by the priests and holy men of all nations. Healing of the sick was supposed to be a power derived directly by them from God, and the procedures and processes of healing varied throughout the world. The healing processes took the form of supplications to God attended by various cere-monies, such as the laying on of hands, incantations, the applica-tion of amulets, talismans, rings, relics, and images. For example, in the religions of antiquity priests in the ancient temples gave drugs to the patient and practiced hypnotic suggestions prior to the patient’s sleep, telling him that the gods would visit him in his sleep and heal him. Many healings fol-lowed. Obviously, all this was the work of potent suggestions to the subconscious mind. After the performance of certain mysterious rites, the de-votees of Hecate would see the goddess during sleep, provided that before going to sleep they had prayed to her according to weird and fantastic instructions. They were told to mix lizards with resin, frankincense, and myrrh, and pound all this together in the open air under the crescent moon. Healings were reported in many cases following this grotesque procedure. 50  It is obvious that these strange procedures, as mentioned in the illustrations given, favored suggestion and acceptance by the subconscious mind of these people by making a powerful appeal to their imagination. Actually, in all these healings, the sub-conscious mind of the subject was the healer. In all ages unofficial healers have obtained remarkable re-sults in cases where authorized medical skill has failed. This gives cause for thought. How do these healers in all parts of the world effect their cures? The answer to all these healings is due to the blind belief of the sick person, which released the healing power resident in his subconscious mind. Many of the remedies andmethods employed were rather strange and fantastic which fired the imagination of the patients, causing an aroused emo-tional state. This state of mind facilitated the suggestion of health, and was accepted both by the conscious and subconscious mind of the sick. This will be elaborated on further in the next chapter. Biblical accounts on the use of the subconscious powers What things soever ye desire, when ye pray believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. MARK 11:24. Note the difference in tenses. The inspired writer tells us to believe and accept as true the fact that our desire has already been accomplished and fulfilled, that it is already completed, and that its realization will follow as a thing in the future. The success of this technique depends on the confident conviction that the thought, the idea, the picture is already a fact in mind. In order for anything to have substance in the realm of mind, it must be thought of as actually existing there. Here in a few cryptic words is a concise and specific direc-tion for making use of the creative power of thought by im-pressing upon the subconscious the particular thing, which you desire. Your thought, idea, plan, or purpose is as real on its own plane as your hand or your 51 heart. In following the Biblical tech-nique, you completely eliminate from your mind all considera-tion of conditions, circumstances, or anything, which might im-ply adverse contingencies. You are planting a seed (concept) in the mind, which, if you leave it undisturbed, will infallibly germinate into external fruition. The prime condition, which Jesus insisted upon, was faith. Over and over again you read in the Bible, According to your faith is it done unto you. If you plant certain types of seeds in the ground, you have faith they will grow after their kind. This is the way of seeds, and trusting the laws of growth and agricul-ture, you know that the seeds will come forth after their kind. Faith as mentioned in the Bible is a way of thinking, an attitude of mind, an inner certitude, knowing that the idea you fully accept in your conscious mind will be embodied in your sub- conscious mind and made manifest. Faith is, in a sense, accept-ing as true what your reason and senses deny, i.e., a shutting out of the little, rational, analytical, conscious mind and embracing an attitude of complete reliance on the inner power of your subconscious mind. A classical instance of Bible technique is recorded in MATTHEW 9:28-30. And when he was come into the house, the blind men came to him: and Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord. Then touched he their eyes, saying, according to your faith be it unto you. And their eyes were opened; and Jesus straitly charged them, saying, see that no man know it. In the words according to your faith be it unto you, you can see that Jesus was actually appealing to the co-operation of the subconscious mind of the blind men. Their faith was their great expectancy, their inner feeling, their inner conviction that something miraculous would happen, and that their prayer would be answered, and it was. This is the time-honored technique of healing, utilized alike by all healing groups throughout the world regardless of religious affiliation. In the words see that no man know it, Jesus enjoins the newly healed 52  patients not to discuss their healing because they might be subjected to the skeptical and derogatory criticisms of the unbelieving. This might tend to undo the benefits they had received at the hand of Jesus by depositing thoughts of fear, doubt, and anxiety in the subconscious mind... for with authority and power he commandeth the un-clean spirits, and they came out. LUKE 4:36. When the sick came to Jesus to be healed, they were he