1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:04,960 Chapter nine, Asserting the life force. I have spoken to you of the 2 00:00:05,000 --> 00:00:09,800 advantage of getting rid of fear. Now I wish to put life into you. 3 00:00:10,480 --> 00:00:13,720 Many of you have been going along as if you were dead. No 4 00:00:13,839 --> 00:00:20,120 ambition, no energy, no vitality, no interest, no life. This 5 00:00:20,239 --> 00:00:25,559 will never do. You are stagnating. Wake up and display a few signs 6 00:00:25,559 --> 00:00:29,760 of life. This is not the place in which you can stalk around like 7 00:00:29,800 --> 00:00:35,240 a living corpse. This is a place for wide, active, live people, 8 00:00:35,640 --> 00:00:39,399 and a good general awakening is what is needed. Although it would take 9 00:00:39,479 --> 00:00:43,880 nothing less than a blast from Gabriel's trumpet to awaken some of the people who 10 00:00:43,960 --> 00:00:48,280 are stalking around thinking that they are alive, but who are really dead. 11 00:00:48,479 --> 00:00:54,039 To all that makes life worthwhile, we must let life flow through us and 12 00:00:54,119 --> 00:00:58,960 allow it to express itself naturally. Do not let the little worries of life 13 00:00:59,479 --> 00:01:03,079 or the big one either to press you and cause you to lose your vitality. 14 00:01:03,680 --> 00:01:07,599 Assert the life force within you, and manifest it in every thought, 15 00:01:07,879 --> 00:01:14,079 act, and deed, and before long you will be exhilarated and fairly bubbling 16 00:01:14,159 --> 00:01:19,599 over with vitality and energy. Put a little life into your work, into 17 00:01:19,599 --> 00:01:23,760 your pleasures, into yourself stop doing things in a half headed way, and 18 00:01:23,799 --> 00:01:27,400 begin to take an interest in what you are doing, saying, and thinking. 19 00:01:29,040 --> 00:01:32,319 It is astonishing how much interest we may find in the ordinary things of 20 00:01:32,359 --> 00:01:37,560 life if we will only wake up. There are interesting things all around us, 21 00:01:37,959 --> 00:01:42,400 interesting events occurring every moment, but we will not be aware of them 22 00:01:42,480 --> 00:01:48,000 unless we assert our life force and begin to actually live instead of merely existing. 23 00:01:49,519 --> 00:01:53,359 No man or woman ever amounted to anything unless he or she put life 24 00:01:53,480 --> 00:01:59,680 into the tasks of everyday life, the acts, the thoughts. What the 25 00:01:59,760 --> 00:02:04,040 world world needs is live men and women. Just look into the eyes of 26 00:02:04,079 --> 00:02:07,120 the people whom you meet and see how few of them are really alive. 27 00:02:08,199 --> 00:02:13,879 The most of them lack that expression of a conscious life which distinguishes the man 28 00:02:13,919 --> 00:02:19,360 who lives from the one who simply exists. I want you to acquire the 29 00:02:19,439 --> 00:02:23,840 sense of conscious life so that you may manifest it in your life and show 30 00:02:23,879 --> 00:02:27,800 what mental science has done for you. I want you to get to work 31 00:02:27,840 --> 00:02:32,120 today and begin to make yourself over according to the latest pattern. You can 32 00:02:32,199 --> 00:02:38,000 do this if you will only take the proper interest in the task, affirmation 33 00:02:38,280 --> 00:02:44,639 and exercise. Fix in your mind the thought that the eye within you is 34 00:02:44,759 --> 00:02:49,599 very much alive, and that you are manifesting life fully mentally and physically. 35 00:02:50,240 --> 00:02:53,960 And keep this thought there, aiding yourself with constant repetitions of the watchword. 36 00:02:54,479 --> 00:02:59,639 Don't let the thought escape you, but keep pushing it back into the mind. 37 00:03:00,240 --> 00:03:04,439 Keep it before the mental vision as much as possible. Repeat the watch 38 00:03:04,479 --> 00:03:07,680 word when you awaken in the morning, say it when you retire at night, 39 00:03:08,319 --> 00:03:14,080 and say it at meal times and whenever else you can during the day, 40 00:03:14,639 --> 00:03:19,120 at least once an hour, form the mental picture of yourself as filled 41 00:03:19,159 --> 00:03:23,719 with life and energy. Live up to it as far as possible. When 42 00:03:23,719 --> 00:03:28,439 you start in to perform a task, say I am alive, and mix 43 00:03:28,520 --> 00:03:31,800 up as much life as possible in the task. If you find yourself feeling 44 00:03:31,840 --> 00:03:38,000 depressed, say I am alive, and then take a few deep breaths, 45 00:03:38,319 --> 00:03:42,000 and with each inhalation, let the mind hold the thought that you are breathing 46 00:03:42,039 --> 00:03:46,520 in strength and life, and as you exhale, hold the thought that you 47 00:03:46,560 --> 00:03:51,599 are breathing out all the old, dead, negative conditions and are glad to 48 00:03:51,639 --> 00:03:55,080 get rid of them. Then finish up with an earnest, vigorous affirmation I 49 00:03:55,120 --> 00:04:00,039 am alive, and mean it when you say it too, and let your 50 00:04:00,080 --> 00:04:05,080 thoughts take form in action. Don't rest content with merely saying that you are 51 00:04:05,120 --> 00:04:10,520 alive, but prove it with your acts. Take an interest in doing things, 52 00:04:10,919 --> 00:04:15,480 and don't go around mooning or day dreaming. Get down to business and 53 00:04:15,920 --> 00:04:25,279 live. Chapter ten, Training the Habit Mind. Professor William James, the 54 00:04:25,319 --> 00:04:30,879 well known teacher of and writer upon psychology, very truly says the great thing 55 00:04:30,920 --> 00:04:34,920 in all education is to make our nervous system our ally instead of our enemy. 56 00:04:35,519 --> 00:04:41,040 For this, we must make automatic and habitual as early as possible, 57 00:04:41,480 --> 00:04:46,360 as many useful actions as we can, and as carefully guard against growing into 58 00:04:46,399 --> 00:04:50,560 ways that are likely to be disadvantageous. In the acquisition of a new habit 59 00:04:51,000 --> 00:04:56,040 or the leaving off of an old one, we must take care to launch 60 00:04:56,079 --> 00:05:00,839 ourselves with as strong and decided initiative as possible. Never suffer an exception to 61 00:05:00,920 --> 00:05:05,800 occur until a new habit is securely rooted in your life. Sees the very 62 00:05:05,879 --> 00:05:12,600 first possible opportunity to act on every resolution you make and on every emotional prompting 63 00:05:12,600 --> 00:05:17,079 you may experience in the direction of the habits you aspire to gain. This 64 00:05:17,240 --> 00:05:23,000 advice is along the line familiar to all students of mental science, but it 65 00:05:23,040 --> 00:05:27,480 states the matter more plainly than the majority of us have done. It impresses 66 00:05:27,560 --> 00:05:31,360 upon us the importance of passing on to the subconscious mind the proper impulses, 67 00:05:31,920 --> 00:05:38,160 so that they will become automatic, and its second nature. Our subconscious mentality 68 00:05:38,199 --> 00:05:43,839 is a great storehouse for all sorts of suggestions from ourselves and others, And 69 00:05:43,959 --> 00:05:46,519 as it is the habit mind, we must be careful to send it the 70 00:05:46,519 --> 00:05:50,959 proper material from which it may make habits. If we get into the habit 71 00:05:51,000 --> 00:05:56,560 of doing certain things, we may be sure that the subconscious mentality will make 72 00:05:56,600 --> 00:06:00,839 it easier for us to do just the same thing over and over again, 73 00:06:00,519 --> 00:06:05,879 easier each time, until finally we are firmly bound with the ropes and chains 74 00:06:05,920 --> 00:06:11,959 of the habit, and find it more or less difficult, sometimes almost impossible, 75 00:06:12,360 --> 00:06:16,680 to free ourselves from the hateful thing. We should cultivate good habits against 76 00:06:16,680 --> 00:06:21,040 the hour of need. The time will come when we will be required to 77 00:06:21,079 --> 00:06:26,879 put forth our best efforts, and it rests with us today whether that hour 78 00:06:26,920 --> 00:06:30,920 of need shall find us doing the proper thing automatically and almost without thought, 79 00:06:31,560 --> 00:06:36,079 or struggling to do it bound down and hindered with the change of things opposed 80 00:06:36,079 --> 00:06:41,639 to that which we desire at that moment. We must be on guard at 81 00:06:41,680 --> 00:06:46,040 all times to prevent the forming of undesirable habits. There may be no special 82 00:06:46,079 --> 00:06:50,680 harm in doing a certain thing today or perhaps again tomorrow, but there may 83 00:06:50,720 --> 00:06:56,360 be much harm in setting up the habit of doing that particular thing. If 84 00:06:56,399 --> 00:07:00,120 you are confronted with the question, which of these two things should I do? 85 00:07:00,879 --> 00:07:03,759 The best answer is I will do that which I would like to become 86 00:07:03,759 --> 00:07:09,279 a habit. With me in forming a new habit or in breaking an old 87 00:07:09,319 --> 00:07:14,000 one, we should throw ourselves into the task with as much enthusiasm as possible 88 00:07:14,480 --> 00:07:18,000 in order to gain the most ground before the energy expends itself when it meets 89 00:07:18,079 --> 00:07:24,480 with friction from the imposing habits already formed. We should start in by making 90 00:07:24,480 --> 00:07:29,600 as strong an impression as possible upon the subconscious mentality. Then we should be 91 00:07:29,639 --> 00:07:33,560 constantly on guard against temptations to break the new resolution. Just this once, 92 00:07:34,279 --> 00:07:41,360 This just once idea kills off more good resolutions than any other one. Cause 93 00:07:42,120 --> 00:07:46,040 the moment you yield just this once, you introduce the thin end of the 94 00:07:46,040 --> 00:07:53,120 wedge that will, in the end split your resolution into pieces. Equally important 95 00:07:53,279 --> 00:07:57,959 is the fact that each time you resist temptation, the stronger does your resolution 96 00:07:58,120 --> 00:08:03,480 become. Act upon yours as early and as often as possible. As with 97 00:08:03,600 --> 00:08:07,240 every manifestation of thought in action, the stronger does it become. You are 98 00:08:07,240 --> 00:08:11,079 adding to the strength of your original resolution every time you back it up with 99 00:08:11,199 --> 00:08:16,560 action. The mind has been likened to a piece of paper that has been 100 00:08:16,600 --> 00:08:22,399 folded ever afterwards, it has a tendency to fold in the same crease unless 101 00:08:22,399 --> 00:08:26,519 we make a new crease or fold when it will follow the last lines, 102 00:08:26,199 --> 00:08:31,439 and the creases are habits. Every time we make one, it is so 103 00:08:31,560 --> 00:08:35,000 much easier for the mind to fold along the same crease afterward. Let us 104 00:08:35,039 --> 00:08:43,960 make our mental creases in the right direction. Chapter eleven, The Psychology of 105 00:08:43,000 --> 00:08:48,919 emotion. One is apt to think of the emotions as independent from habit. 106 00:08:48,679 --> 00:08:54,080 We easily may think of one acquiring habits of action and even of thinking, 107 00:08:54,600 --> 00:08:58,320 But we are apt to regard the emotions as something connected with feeling and quite 108 00:08:58,360 --> 00:09:05,440 divorced from intellectual effort. Yet, notwithstanding the distinction between the two, both 109 00:09:05,480 --> 00:09:09,759 are dependent largely upon habit, and one may repress, increase, develop, 110 00:09:11,039 --> 00:09:16,159 and change one's emotions, just as one may regulate habits of action and lines 111 00:09:16,159 --> 00:09:20,919 of thought. It is an axiom of psychology that emotions deepen by repetition. 112 00:09:22,759 --> 00:09:26,639 If a person allows a state of feeling to thoroughly take possession of him, 113 00:09:26,120 --> 00:09:30,639 you will find it easier to yield to the same emotion the second time, 114 00:09:31,080 --> 00:09:35,039 and so on, until a particular emotion or feeling becomes second nature to him. 115 00:09:35,799 --> 00:09:41,159 If an undesirable emotion shows itself inclined to take up a permanent abode with 116 00:09:41,279 --> 00:09:43,720 you, you had better start to work to get rid of it, or 117 00:09:43,759 --> 00:09:48,519 at least to master it. And the best time to do this is at 118 00:09:48,559 --> 00:09:52,639 the start, For each repetition renders the habit more firmly entrenched, and the 119 00:09:52,679 --> 00:09:58,919 task of dislodging it more difficult. Were you ever jealous? If so, 120 00:09:58,440 --> 00:10:03,960 you'll remember so how insidious was its first approach, how subtly it whispered hateful 121 00:10:03,960 --> 00:10:09,519 suggestions into your willing ear, and how gradually it followed up such suggestions, 122 00:10:09,919 --> 00:10:15,759 until finally he began to see green. Jealousy has an effect upon the bile 123 00:10:16,279 --> 00:10:18,919 and causes it to poison the blood. That is why the idea of green 124 00:10:20,039 --> 00:10:24,240 is always associated with it. Then you will remember how the thing seemed to 125 00:10:24,320 --> 00:10:28,600 grow, taking possession of you, and who do scarcely could shake it off. 126 00:10:28,200 --> 00:10:31,840 You found it much easier to become jealous the next time. It seemed 127 00:10:31,840 --> 00:10:37,639 to bring before you all sorts of objects, apparently justifying your suspicions and feeling 128 00:10:37,480 --> 00:10:43,200 everything began to look green. The green eyed monster waxed fat. And so 129 00:10:43,360 --> 00:10:48,840 it is with every feeling or emotion. If you give way to a fit 130 00:10:48,879 --> 00:10:52,919 of rage, you'll find it easier to become angry the next time. On 131 00:10:52,039 --> 00:10:58,440 mess provocation. The habit of feeling and acting mean does not take long to 132 00:10:58,519 --> 00:11:03,639 firmly settle itself in its new home if encouraged. Worry is a great habit 133 00:11:03,679 --> 00:11:07,440 for growing and waxing fat. People start by worrying about big things, and 134 00:11:07,440 --> 00:11:13,159 then begin to worry and fret about some smaller thing. And then the merest 135 00:11:13,240 --> 00:11:18,000 trifle worries and distresses them. They imagine that all sorts of evil things are 136 00:11:18,039 --> 00:11:22,080 about to befall them. If they start on the journey, they are certain 137 00:11:22,360 --> 00:11:24,840 there is going to be a wreck. If a telegram comes, it is 138 00:11:24,919 --> 00:11:30,559 sure to contain some dreadful tidings. If a child seems a little quiet, 139 00:11:30,919 --> 00:11:35,559 the worrying mother is positive it is going to fall ill and die. If 140 00:11:35,559 --> 00:11:41,000 the husband seems thoughtful as he revolves some business plan in his mind, then 141 00:11:41,039 --> 00:11:43,720 the good wife is convinced that he is beginning to cease to love her, 142 00:11:45,200 --> 00:11:50,159 and indulges in a crying spell. And so it goes worry, worry, 143 00:11:50,440 --> 00:11:54,360 worry, each indulgence, making the habit more at home. After a while, 144 00:11:54,480 --> 00:11:58,960 the continued thought shows itself in action. Not only is the mind poisoned 145 00:12:00,159 --> 00:12:05,080 by the blue thoughts, but the forehead shows deep lines between the eyebrows, 146 00:12:05,440 --> 00:12:09,399 and the voice takes on that whining, rasping tone so common among worried, 147 00:12:09,399 --> 00:12:16,840 burdened people. The condition of mind known as fault finding is another emotion that 148 00:12:16,960 --> 00:12:22,120 grows fat with exercise. First fault is found with this thing, then with 149 00:12:22,159 --> 00:12:26,399 that, and finally with everything. The person becomes a chronic nagger, a 150 00:12:26,480 --> 00:12:31,759 burden to friends and relatives, and a thing to be avoided by outsiders. 151 00:12:31,519 --> 00:12:37,200 Women make the greatest naggers, not because men are any better, but simply 152 00:12:37,240 --> 00:12:39,320 because a man nagger is apt to have the habit knocked out of him by 153 00:12:39,360 --> 00:12:43,799 other men who will not stand his nonsense. He finds that he's making things 154 00:12:43,799 --> 00:12:48,039 too hot for himself, and he reforms, while a woman has more of 155 00:12:48,039 --> 00:12:52,039 a chance to indulge in the habit. But this nagging is all a matter 156 00:12:52,080 --> 00:12:58,080 of habit. It grows from small beginnings, and each time it is indulged 157 00:12:58,120 --> 00:13:03,960 in, it throws out another branch or tendril, and fastens itself the closer 158 00:13:03,000 --> 00:13:07,080 to the one who has given its soil in which to grow. Envy, 159 00:13:07,600 --> 00:13:13,480 uncharitableness, gossip, scandal mongering are all habits of this kind. The seeds 160 00:13:13,480 --> 00:13:18,039 are in every human breast and only need good soil and a little watering to 161 00:13:18,080 --> 00:13:24,039 become lusty and strong. Each time you give way to one of these negative 162 00:13:24,039 --> 00:13:28,799 emotions, the easier do you make it for recurrence of the same thing or 163 00:13:28,879 --> 00:13:33,320 similar ones. Sometimes by encouraging one unworthy emotion, you find that you have 164 00:13:33,360 --> 00:13:39,200 given room for the growth of a whole family of these mental weeds. Now 165 00:13:39,320 --> 00:13:43,720 this is not a good old Orthodox preachment against the sin of bad thoughts. 166 00:13:43,320 --> 00:13:48,120 It is merely a calling of your attention to the law underlying the psychology of 167 00:13:48,120 --> 00:13:52,159 emotion. Nothing new about it, old as the hills so old that many 168 00:13:52,200 --> 00:13:56,799 of us have forgotten all about it. If you wish to manifest these constantly 169 00:13:56,840 --> 00:14:03,519 disagreeable and unpleasant tray and to suffer the unhappiness that comes from them, by 170 00:14:03,559 --> 00:14:07,240 all means do so. That is your own business and privilege. It's none 171 00:14:07,240 --> 00:14:11,399 of mine, and I'm not preaching at you. It keeps me busy minding 172 00:14:11,440 --> 00:14:16,240 my own business and keeping an eye on my own undesirable habits and actions. 173 00:14:16,879 --> 00:14:20,399 I am merely telling you the law regarding the matter, and you may do 174 00:14:20,480 --> 00:14:24,360 the rest. If you wish to choke out these habits, there are two 175 00:14:24,399 --> 00:14:30,080 ways open to you. First, whenever you find yourself indulging in a negative 176 00:14:30,159 --> 00:14:33,840 thought or feeling, take right hold of it and say to it, firmly 177 00:14:33,879 --> 00:14:37,440 and vigorously get out. It won't like this at first, and will bridle 178 00:14:37,519 --> 00:14:43,440 up, curve its back and snarl like an offended cat. But never mind. 179 00:14:43,879 --> 00:14:46,919 Just say scat to it. The next time it will not be so 180 00:14:48,080 --> 00:14:52,200 confident and aggressive. It will have manifested a little of the fear habit. 181 00:14:52,799 --> 00:14:56,879 Each time you repress and choke out a tendency of this kind, the weaker 182 00:14:56,960 --> 00:15:01,639 it will become, and the stronger will your will be. Professor James says, 183 00:15:03,080 --> 00:15:07,080 refuse to express a passion, and it dies count ten before venting your 184 00:15:07,120 --> 00:15:13,519 anger and its occasion seems ridiculous. Wishing to keep up courage is no mere 185 00:15:13,559 --> 00:15:16,279 figure of speech. On the other hand, sit all day in a moping 186 00:15:16,360 --> 00:15:22,639 posture, sigh and reply to everything with a dismal voice, and your melancholy 187 00:15:22,799 --> 00:15:28,080 lingers. There is no more valuable precept in moral education than this, as 188 00:15:28,120 --> 00:15:33,279 all who have experienced know, if we wish to conquer emotional tendencies in ourselves, 189 00:15:33,559 --> 00:15:37,320 we must assiduously, and in the first instance, cold bloodedly, go 190 00:15:37,440 --> 00:15:43,799 through the outward movements of those contrary dispositions. We prefer to cultivate. Smooth 191 00:15:43,840 --> 00:15:48,679 the brow, brighten the eye, contract the dorsal rather than the ventral aspect 192 00:15:48,720 --> 00:15:52,240 of the frame, and speak in a major key past the genial compliment, 193 00:15:52,639 --> 00:15:56,559 and your heart must be frigid, indeed, if it does not gradually thaw. 194 00:16:00,240 --> 00:16:06,039 Chapter twelve, Developing new brain cells. I have spoken of the plan 195 00:16:06,200 --> 00:16:11,320 of getting rid of undesirable states of feeling by driving them out, But a 196 00:16:11,399 --> 00:16:15,840 far better way is to cultivate the feeling or emotion directly opposed to the one 197 00:16:15,879 --> 00:16:19,559 you wish to eradicate. We are very apt to regard ourselves as the creatures 198 00:16:19,559 --> 00:16:23,919 of our emotions and feelings, and to fancy that these feelings and emotions are 199 00:16:25,120 --> 00:16:29,559 we. But such is far from being the truth. It is true that 200 00:16:29,559 --> 00:16:33,320 the majority of the race, as slaves of their emotions and feelings, are 201 00:16:33,360 --> 00:16:37,200 are governed by them to a great degree. They think that feelings are things 202 00:16:37,200 --> 00:16:41,919 that rule, one of which one cannot free himself, and so they cease 203 00:16:41,960 --> 00:16:45,440 through abel. They yield to the feeling without question, although they may know 204 00:16:45,519 --> 00:16:51,080 that the emotion or mental trays calculated to injure them and to bring unhappiness and 205 00:16:51,200 --> 00:16:56,639 failure instead of happiness and success. They say, we are made that way, 206 00:16:56,279 --> 00:17:00,919 and let it go at that. The new psychologies teaching the people better 207 00:17:02,000 --> 00:17:06,960 things. It tells them that they are masters their emotions and feelings instead of 208 00:17:06,960 --> 00:17:10,799 being their slaves. It tells them that brain cells may be developed that will 209 00:17:10,839 --> 00:17:15,240 manifest along desirable lines, and that the old brain cells that have been manifesting 210 00:17:15,240 --> 00:17:21,839 so unpleasantly may be placed on the retired list and allowed to atrophy from want 211 00:17:21,839 --> 00:17:26,559 of use. People may make themselves over and change their entire natures. This 212 00:17:26,720 --> 00:17:32,200 is not mere idle theory, but is a working fact which has been demonstrated 213 00:17:32,200 --> 00:17:36,119 by thousands of people, and which is coming more and more before the attention 214 00:17:36,279 --> 00:17:41,359 of the race. No matter what theory of mind we entertain, we must 215 00:17:41,359 --> 00:17:45,599 admit that the brain is the organ and instrument of the mind in our present 216 00:17:45,599 --> 00:17:48,759 state of existence at least, and that the brain must be considered in this 217 00:17:48,960 --> 00:17:53,880 matter. The brain is like a wonderful musical instrument, having millions of keys 218 00:17:55,400 --> 00:18:00,359 upon which we may play innumerable combinations of sounds. We come into the world 219 00:18:00,440 --> 00:18:07,759 with certain tendencies, temperaments, and predispositions. We may account for these tendencies 220 00:18:07,759 --> 00:18:11,359 by heredity, or we may account for them upon theories of pre existence. 221 00:18:11,720 --> 00:18:17,960 But the facts remain the same. Certain keys seem to respond to our touch 222 00:18:18,039 --> 00:18:22,400 more easily than others. Certain notes seem to sound forth as the current of 223 00:18:22,440 --> 00:18:27,039 circumstances sweeps over the strings, and certain other notes are less easily vibrated. 224 00:18:27,599 --> 00:18:32,440 But we find if we but make the effort of the will to restrain the 225 00:18:32,519 --> 00:18:37,400 utterance of some of these easily sounded strings, they will grow more difficult to 226 00:18:37,519 --> 00:18:41,440 sound, unless liable to be stirred by the passing breeze. And if we 227 00:18:41,480 --> 00:18:45,880 will pay attention to some of the other strings that have not been giving forth 228 00:18:45,920 --> 00:18:49,960 a clear tone. We will soon get them in good working order. Their 229 00:18:51,000 --> 00:18:55,559 notes will chime forth, clear and vibrant, and will drown the less pleasant 230 00:18:55,599 --> 00:19:00,680 sounds. We have millions of unused brain cells awaiting our cultivation. We are 231 00:19:00,759 --> 00:19:03,680 using but a few of them, and some of these we are working to 232 00:19:03,759 --> 00:19:07,519 death. We are able to give some of these cells a rest by using 233 00:19:07,599 --> 00:19:12,519 other cells. The brain may be trained and cultivated in a manner incredible to 234 00:19:12,599 --> 00:19:18,319 one who has not looked into the subject. Mental attitudes may be acquired and 235 00:19:18,359 --> 00:19:22,920 cultivated, changed and discarded at will. There is no longer any excuse for 236 00:19:22,960 --> 00:19:29,599 people manifesting unpleasant and harmful mental states. We have the remedy in our own 237 00:19:29,680 --> 00:19:34,480 hands. We acquire habits of thought, feeling, and action by repeated use. 238 00:19:36,119 --> 00:19:38,720 We may be born with a tendency in a certain direction, or we 239 00:19:38,799 --> 00:19:45,599 may acquire tendencies by suggestions from others, such as the examples of those around 240 00:19:45,680 --> 00:19:49,480 us, suggestions from reading, listening to teachers. We are a bundle of 241 00:19:49,519 --> 00:19:55,640 mental habits. Each time we indulge in an undesirable thought or habit, the 242 00:19:55,720 --> 00:20:00,000 easy does it become for us to repeat that thought or action. Mental scientists 243 00:20:00,039 --> 00:20:06,279 are in the habit of speaking of desirable thoughts or mental attitudes as positive and 244 00:20:06,359 --> 00:20:10,559 of the undesirable ones as negative. There is a good reason for this. 245 00:20:11,039 --> 00:20:15,680 The mind instinctively recognizes certain things as good for the individual to which it belongs, 246 00:20:15,119 --> 00:20:19,759 and it clears the path for such thoughts and interposes the least resistance to 247 00:20:19,839 --> 00:20:25,799 them. They have a much greater effect than an undesirable thought possesses, and 248 00:20:25,880 --> 00:20:30,440 one positive thought will counteract the number of negative thoughts. The best way to 249 00:20:30,480 --> 00:20:36,119 overcome undesirable or negative thoughts and feelings is to cultivate the positive ones. The 250 00:20:36,160 --> 00:20:41,279 positive thought is the strongest plant, and will in time starve out the negative 251 00:20:41,319 --> 00:20:45,599 one by withdrawing from it the nourishment necessary for its existence. Of course, 252 00:20:45,880 --> 00:20:49,799 the negative thought will set up a vigorous resistance at first, for it is 253 00:20:49,839 --> 00:20:53,319 a fight for life with it. In the slang words of the time, 254 00:20:53,880 --> 00:20:59,039 it sees its finish. If the positive thought is allowed to grow and develop 255 00:21:00,000 --> 00:21:03,839 ssequently, it makes things unpleasant for the individual until he has started well into 256 00:21:03,839 --> 00:21:07,960 the work of starving it out. Brain cells do not like to be laid 257 00:21:08,000 --> 00:21:12,200 on the shelf any more than does any other form of living energy, and 258 00:21:12,240 --> 00:21:17,759 they rebel and struggle until they are too weak to do so. The best 259 00:21:17,799 --> 00:21:21,200 way is to pay as little attention as possible to these weeds of the mind, 260 00:21:21,799 --> 00:21:25,839 but put in as much time as possible watering, caring for, and 261 00:21:25,920 --> 00:21:30,799 attending to the new and beautiful plants in the garden of the mind. For 262 00:21:30,839 --> 00:21:34,200 instance, if you are apt to hate people, you can best overcome the 263 00:21:34,240 --> 00:21:40,319 negative thought by cultivating love in its place. Think love and act it out 264 00:21:40,599 --> 00:21:45,440 as often as possible. Cultivate thoughts of kindness, and act as kindly as 265 00:21:45,480 --> 00:21:48,880 you can to everyone with whom you come in contact. You will have trouble 266 00:21:48,920 --> 00:21:53,359 at the start, but gradually love will master hate, and the latter will 267 00:21:53,359 --> 00:21:57,480 begin to droop and wither. If you have a tendency towards the blues, 268 00:21:57,960 --> 00:22:03,839 cultivate a smile and a cheerful view of things. Insist upon your mouth wearing 269 00:22:03,920 --> 00:22:07,880 upturned corners, and make an effort of the will to look upon the bright 270 00:22:07,960 --> 00:22:11,400 side of things. The blue devils will set up a fight, of course, 271 00:22:11,680 --> 00:22:15,640 but pay no attention to them. Just go on cultivating optimism and cheerfulness. 272 00:22:17,160 --> 00:22:21,240 Let bright, cheerful, and happy be your watchword. And try to 273 00:22:21,279 --> 00:22:26,799 live it out. These recipes may seem very old and time worn, but 274 00:22:26,880 --> 00:22:30,559 they are psychological truths and may be used by you to advantage. If you 275 00:22:30,640 --> 00:22:36,200 once comprehend the nature of the thing, the affirmations and auto suggestions of the 276 00:22:36,240 --> 00:22:41,680 several schools may be understood and taken advantage of. You may make yourself energetic 277 00:22:41,759 --> 00:22:45,680 instead of a slothful actu instead of lazy. By this method, it is 278 00:22:45,759 --> 00:22:51,359 all a matter of practice and steady work new thought. People often have much 279 00:22:51,400 --> 00:22:56,599 to say about holding the thought, and indeed it is necessary to hold the 280 00:22:56,680 --> 00:23:00,519 thought in order to accomplish results. But something more is needed. You must 281 00:23:00,559 --> 00:23:04,880 act out the thought until it becomes a fixed habit with you. Thoughts take 282 00:23:04,960 --> 00:23:11,119 form in action, and in turn, actions influence thought. So by acting 283 00:23:11,160 --> 00:23:15,039 out certain lines of thought, the actions react upon the mind and increase the 284 00:23:15,079 --> 00:23:19,319 development of the part of the mind having close relation to the act. Each 285 00:23:19,400 --> 00:23:25,000 time the mind entertains a thought, the easier becomes a resulting action, and 286 00:23:25,079 --> 00:23:30,160 each time an act is performed, the easier becomes the corresponding thought. So 287 00:23:30,200 --> 00:23:34,319 you see, the thing works both ways action and reaction. If you feel 288 00:23:34,359 --> 00:23:38,119 cheerful and happy, it is very natural for you to laugh, And if 289 00:23:38,160 --> 00:23:42,240 you will laugh a little, you'll begin to feel bright and cheerful. Do 290 00:23:42,359 --> 00:23:45,480 you see what I Am trying to get at? Here? It is in 291 00:23:45,519 --> 00:23:49,519 a nutshell. If you wish to cultivate a certain habit of action, begin 292 00:23:49,640 --> 00:23:55,480 by cultivating the mental attitude corresponding to it. And as a means of cultivating 293 00:23:55,480 --> 00:24:00,319 that mental attitude, start to act out or go through the motion of the 294 00:24:00,359 --> 00:24:03,880 act corresponding to the thought. Now see if you cannot apply this rule. 295 00:24:04,599 --> 00:24:08,160 Take up something that you really feel should be done, but which you do 296 00:24:08,200 --> 00:24:12,400 not feel like doing. Cultivate the thought leading up to it. Say to 297 00:24:12,480 --> 00:24:17,119 yourself, I like to do so and so, and then go through the 298 00:24:17,160 --> 00:24:22,160 motions cheerfully, remember and act out the thought that you like to do the 299 00:24:22,200 --> 00:24:25,960 thing. Take an interest in the doing, study out the best way to 300 00:24:26,000 --> 00:24:29,759 do it, put brains into it, take a pride in it, and 301 00:24:29,839 --> 00:24:33,400 you will find yourself doing the thing with a considerable amount of pleasure and interest. 302 00:24:34,000 --> 00:24:38,400 You will have cultivated a new habit. If you prefer trying it on 303 00:24:38,519 --> 00:24:42,279 some mental tray of which you wish to be rid, it will work the 304 00:24:42,319 --> 00:24:48,079 same way. Start in to cultivate the opposite tray and think it out and 305 00:24:48,200 --> 00:24:51,559 act it out for all you are worth. Then watch the change that will 306 00:24:51,559 --> 00:24:55,880 come over you. Don't be discouraged at the resistance you will encounter it first, 307 00:24:56,240 --> 00:25:00,000 but sing gaily I can and I will, and get to work, 308 00:25:00,039 --> 00:25:03,960 work in earnest. The important thing in this work is to keep cheerful and 309 00:25:03,119 --> 00:25:07,200 interested. If you manage to do this, the rest will be easy.