1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:04,519 Speaker 1: Chapter nine, Asserting the life force. I have spoken to 2 00:00:04,519 --> 00:00:07,799 you of the advantage of getting rid of fear. Now 3 00:00:07,839 --> 00:00:10,919 I wish to put life into you. Many of you 4 00:00:11,039 --> 00:00:14,279 have been going along as if you were dead. No ambition, 5 00:00:14,839 --> 00:00:20,519 no energy, no vitality, no interest, no life. This will 6 00:00:20,519 --> 00:00:24,920 never do. You are stagnating. Wake up and display a 7 00:00:24,960 --> 00:00:28,239 few signs of life. This is not the place in 8 00:00:28,280 --> 00:00:31,559 which you can stalk around like a living corpse. This 9 00:00:31,679 --> 00:00:35,880 is a place for wide, active, live people, and a 10 00:00:35,920 --> 00:00:39,159 good general awakening is what is needed. Although it would 11 00:00:39,200 --> 00:00:42,640 take nothing less than a blast from Gabriel's trumpet to 12 00:00:42,679 --> 00:00:45,479 awaken some of the people who are stalking around thinking 13 00:00:45,520 --> 00:00:48,560 that they are alive, but who are really dead. To 14 00:00:48,679 --> 00:00:52,960 all that makes life worthwhile, we must let life flow 15 00:00:53,039 --> 00:00:57,240 through us and allow it to express itself naturally. Do 16 00:00:57,359 --> 00:00:59,759 not let the little worries of life or the big 17 00:00:59,840 --> 00:01:03,240 one either to press you and cause you to lose 18 00:01:03,280 --> 00:01:07,480 your vitality. Assert the life force within you, and manifest 19 00:01:07,519 --> 00:01:11,439 it in every thought, act, and deed, and before long 20 00:01:11,799 --> 00:01:15,359 you will be exhilarated and fairly bubbling over with vitality 21 00:01:15,480 --> 00:01:19,599 and energy. Put a little life into your work, into 22 00:01:19,599 --> 00:01:23,480 your pleasures, into yourself stop doing things in a half 23 00:01:23,519 --> 00:01:26,239 headed way, and begin to take an interest in what 24 00:01:26,280 --> 00:01:29,959 you are doing, saying, and thinking. It is astonishing how 25 00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:32,319 much interest we may find in the ordinary things of 26 00:01:32,359 --> 00:01:36,159 life if we will only wake up. There are interesting 27 00:01:36,239 --> 00:01:40,959 things all around us, interesting events occurring every moment, but 28 00:01:41,040 --> 00:01:43,280 we will not be aware of them unless we assert 29 00:01:43,319 --> 00:01:46,879 our life force and begin to actually live instead of 30 00:01:46,920 --> 00:01:52,000 merely existing. No man or woman ever amounted to anything 31 00:01:52,400 --> 00:01:55,439 unless he or she put life into the tasks of 32 00:01:55,519 --> 00:02:00,239 everyday life, the acts, the thoughts. What the world world 33 00:02:00,319 --> 00:02:03,560 needs is live men and women. Just look into the 34 00:02:03,599 --> 00:02:06,359 eyes of the people whom you meet and see how 35 00:02:06,400 --> 00:02:09,840 few of them are really alive. The most of them 36 00:02:09,919 --> 00:02:13,680 lack that expression of a conscious life which distinguishes the 37 00:02:13,680 --> 00:02:18,360 man who lives from the one who simply exists. I 38 00:02:18,400 --> 00:02:21,039 want you to acquire the sense of conscious life so 39 00:02:21,080 --> 00:02:23,840 that you may manifest it in your life and show 40 00:02:23,879 --> 00:02:26,960 what mental science has done for you. I want you 41 00:02:27,039 --> 00:02:30,199 to get to work today and begin to make yourself 42 00:02:30,280 --> 00:02:33,560 over according to the latest pattern. You can do this 43 00:02:33,960 --> 00:02:37,240 if you will only take the proper interest in the task, 44 00:02:38,400 --> 00:02:43,240 affirmation and exercise. Fix in your mind the thought that 45 00:02:43,280 --> 00:02:46,199 the eye within you is very much alive, and that 46 00:02:46,240 --> 00:02:50,680 you are manifesting life fully mentally and physically. And keep 47 00:02:50,680 --> 00:02:54,960 this thought there, aiding yourself with constant repetitions of the watchword. 48 00:02:55,479 --> 00:02:58,439 Don't let the thought escape you, but keep pushing it 49 00:02:58,520 --> 00:03:01,680 back into the mind. Keep it before the mental vision 50 00:03:01,759 --> 00:03:05,039 as much as possible. Repeat the watch word when you 51 00:03:05,120 --> 00:03:08,680 awaken in the morning, say it when you retire at night, 52 00:03:09,319 --> 00:03:12,719 and say it at meal times and whenever else you 53 00:03:12,840 --> 00:03:17,000 can during the day, at least once an hour, form 54 00:03:17,039 --> 00:03:20,520 the mental picture of yourself as filled with life and energy. 55 00:03:21,159 --> 00:03:23,800 Live up to it as far as possible. When you 56 00:03:23,919 --> 00:03:27,479 start in to perform a task, say I am alive, 57 00:03:28,080 --> 00:03:30,879 and mix up as much life as possible in the task. 58 00:03:31,599 --> 00:03:35,479 If you find yourself feeling depressed, say I am alive, 59 00:03:36,120 --> 00:03:39,439 and then take a few deep breaths, and with each inhalation, 60 00:03:39,639 --> 00:03:42,000 let the mind hold the thought that you are breathing 61 00:03:42,039 --> 00:03:45,960 in strength and life, and as you exhale, hold the 62 00:03:46,000 --> 00:03:48,840 thought that you are breathing out all the old, dead, 63 00:03:49,240 --> 00:03:52,400 negative conditions and are glad to get rid of them. 64 00:03:52,960 --> 00:03:56,840 Then finish up with an earnest, vigorous affirmation I am alive, 65 00:03:57,360 --> 00:04:00,879 and mean it when you say it too, and let 66 00:04:00,919 --> 00:04:04,639 your thoughts take form in action. Don't rest content with 67 00:04:04,759 --> 00:04:07,599 merely saying that you are alive, but prove it with 68 00:04:07,639 --> 00:04:11,400 your acts. Take an interest in doing things, and don't 69 00:04:11,439 --> 00:04:16,000 go around mooning or day dreaming. Get down to business 70 00:04:16,360 --> 00:04:24,959 and live. Chapter ten, Training the Habit Mind. Professor William James, 71 00:04:25,199 --> 00:04:28,800 the well known teacher of and writer upon psychology, very 72 00:04:28,839 --> 00:04:32,680 truly says the great thing in all education is to 73 00:04:32,680 --> 00:04:35,920 make our nervous system our ally instead of our enemy. 74 00:04:36,519 --> 00:04:40,279 For this, we must make automatic and habitual as early 75 00:04:40,319 --> 00:04:44,279 as possible, as many useful actions as we can, and 76 00:04:44,360 --> 00:04:47,759 as carefully guard against growing into ways that are likely 77 00:04:47,800 --> 00:04:51,560 to be disadvantageous. In the acquisition of a new habit 78 00:04:52,000 --> 00:04:54,519 or the leaving off of an old one, we must 79 00:04:54,560 --> 00:04:58,560 take care to launch ourselves with as strong and decided 80 00:04:58,639 --> 00:05:02,879 initiative as possible. Never suffer an exception to occur until 81 00:05:02,879 --> 00:05:06,240 a new habit is securely rooted in your life. Sees 82 00:05:06,360 --> 00:05:09,879 the very first possible opportunity to act on every resolution 83 00:05:10,000 --> 00:05:13,639 you make and on every emotional prompting you may experience 84 00:05:13,879 --> 00:05:16,639 in the direction of the habits you aspire to gain. 85 00:05:18,000 --> 00:05:21,079 This advice is along the line familiar to all students 86 00:05:21,199 --> 00:05:24,439 of mental science, but it states the matter more plainly 87 00:05:24,519 --> 00:05:27,800 than the majority of us have done. It impresses upon 88 00:05:27,879 --> 00:05:30,959 us the importance of passing on to the subconscious mind 89 00:05:31,079 --> 00:05:34,879 the proper impulses, so that they will become automatic, and 90 00:05:35,040 --> 00:05:39,319 its second nature. Our subconscious mentality is a great storehouse 91 00:05:39,319 --> 00:05:43,839 for all sorts of suggestions from ourselves and others, And 92 00:05:43,959 --> 00:05:46,800 as it is the habit mind, we must be careful 93 00:05:46,879 --> 00:05:49,439 to send it the proper material from which it may 94 00:05:49,519 --> 00:05:52,399 make habits. If we get into the habit of doing 95 00:05:52,519 --> 00:05:56,160 certain things, we may be sure that the subconscious mentality 96 00:05:56,199 --> 00:05:58,839 will make it easier for us to do just the 97 00:05:58,879 --> 00:06:03,639 same thing over and over again, easier each time, until 98 00:06:03,680 --> 00:06:06,879 finally we are firmly bound with the ropes and chains 99 00:06:06,920 --> 00:06:09,720 of the habit, and find it more or less difficult, 100 00:06:10,160 --> 00:06:14,480 sometimes almost impossible, to free ourselves from the hateful thing. 101 00:06:15,519 --> 00:06:18,720 We should cultivate good habits against the hour of need. 102 00:06:19,319 --> 00:06:22,040 The time will come when we will be required to 103 00:06:22,079 --> 00:06:25,240 put forth our best efforts, and it rests with us 104 00:06:25,240 --> 00:06:28,360 today whether that hour of need shall find us doing 105 00:06:28,399 --> 00:06:33,160 the proper thing automatically and almost without thought, or struggling 106 00:06:33,160 --> 00:06:35,959 to do it bound down and hindered with the change 107 00:06:36,040 --> 00:06:39,319 of things opposed to that which we desire at that moment. 108 00:06:40,279 --> 00:06:43,240 We must be on guard at all times to prevent 109 00:06:43,279 --> 00:06:47,040 the forming of undesirable habits. There may be no special 110 00:06:47,079 --> 00:06:50,680 harm in doing a certain thing today or perhaps again tomorrow, 111 00:06:51,199 --> 00:06:53,519 but there may be much harm in setting up the 112 00:06:53,560 --> 00:06:57,079 habit of doing that particular thing. If you are confronted 113 00:06:57,120 --> 00:07:00,120 with the question, which of these two things should I do? 114 00:07:00,879 --> 00:07:03,879 The best answer is I will do that which I 115 00:07:03,920 --> 00:07:07,360 would like to become a habit. With me in forming 116 00:07:07,360 --> 00:07:10,040 a new habit or in breaking an old one, we 117 00:07:10,040 --> 00:07:13,279 should throw ourselves into the task with as much enthusiasm 118 00:07:13,319 --> 00:07:16,560 as possible in order to gain the most ground before 119 00:07:16,600 --> 00:07:19,920 the energy expends itself when it meets with friction from 120 00:07:20,000 --> 00:07:24,160 the imposing habits already formed. We should start in by 121 00:07:24,199 --> 00:07:28,160 making as strong an impression as possible upon the subconscious mentality. 122 00:07:28,920 --> 00:07:31,759 Then we should be constantly on guard against temptations to 123 00:07:31,800 --> 00:07:36,600 break the new resolution. Just this once, This just once 124 00:07:36,879 --> 00:07:40,759 idea kills off more good resolutions than any other one. 125 00:07:40,959 --> 00:07:45,839 Cause the moment you yield just this once, you introduce 126 00:07:45,920 --> 00:07:48,319 the thin end of the wedge that will, in the 127 00:07:48,439 --> 00:07:53,480 end split your resolution into pieces. Equally important is the 128 00:07:53,560 --> 00:07:57,240 fact that each time you resist temptation, the stronger does 129 00:07:57,279 --> 00:08:01,560 your resolution become. Act upon yours as early and as 130 00:08:01,600 --> 00:08:05,480 often as possible. As with every manifestation of thought in action, 131 00:08:06,040 --> 00:08:08,759 the stronger does it become. You are adding to the 132 00:08:08,759 --> 00:08:11,680 strength of your original resolution every time you back it 133 00:08:11,800 --> 00:08:15,199 up with action. The mind has been likened to a 134 00:08:15,240 --> 00:08:19,120 piece of paper that has been folded ever afterwards, it 135 00:08:19,160 --> 00:08:22,399 has a tendency to fold in the same crease unless 136 00:08:22,399 --> 00:08:25,040 we make a new crease or fold when it will 137 00:08:25,120 --> 00:08:29,720 follow the last lines, and the creases are habits. Every 138 00:08:29,759 --> 00:08:32,320 time we make one, it is so much easier for 139 00:08:32,360 --> 00:08:35,799 the mind to fold along the same crease afterward. Let 140 00:08:35,879 --> 00:08:42,360 us make our mental creases in the right direction. Chapter eleven, 141 00:08:42,919 --> 00:08:46,720 The Psychology of emotion. One is apt to think of 142 00:08:46,720 --> 00:08:50,679 the emotions as independent from habit. We easily may think 143 00:08:50,720 --> 00:08:54,080 of one acquiring habits of action and even of thinking, 144 00:08:54,600 --> 00:08:57,000 But we are apt to regard the emotions as something 145 00:08:57,039 --> 00:09:01,879 connected with feeling and quite divorced from intellectual effort. Yet, 146 00:09:02,039 --> 00:09:06,559 notwithstanding the distinction between the two, both are dependent largely 147 00:09:06,679 --> 00:09:11,639 upon habit, and one may repress, increase, develop, and change 148 00:09:11,679 --> 00:09:15,039 one's emotions, just as one may regulate habits of action 149 00:09:15,480 --> 00:09:19,360 and lines of thought. It is an axiom of psychology 150 00:09:19,720 --> 00:09:23,919 that emotions deepen by repetition. If a person allows a 151 00:09:23,919 --> 00:09:27,200 state of feeling to thoroughly take possession of him, you 152 00:09:27,240 --> 00:09:29,600 will find it easier to yield to the same emotion 153 00:09:29,759 --> 00:09:33,559 the second time, and so on, until a particular emotion 154 00:09:33,840 --> 00:09:37,960 or feeling becomes second nature to him. If an undesirable 155 00:09:37,960 --> 00:09:41,039 emotion shows itself inclined to take up a permanent abode 156 00:09:41,080 --> 00:09:43,799 with you, you had better start to work to get 157 00:09:43,879 --> 00:09:46,720 rid of it, or at least to master it. And 158 00:09:46,759 --> 00:09:49,159 the best time to do this is at the start, 159 00:09:49,600 --> 00:09:53,440 For each repetition renders the habit more firmly entrenched, and 160 00:09:53,519 --> 00:09:58,039 the task of dislodging it more difficult. Were you ever jealous? 161 00:09:58,519 --> 00:10:02,240 If so, you'll remember so how insidious was its first approach, 162 00:10:02,799 --> 00:10:06,480 how subtly it whispered hateful suggestions into your willing ear, 163 00:10:07,080 --> 00:10:11,159 and how gradually it followed up such suggestions, until finally 164 00:10:11,559 --> 00:10:15,279 he began to see green. Jealousy has an effect upon 165 00:10:15,279 --> 00:10:18,480 the bile and causes it to poison the blood. That 166 00:10:18,600 --> 00:10:21,480 is why the idea of green is always associated with it. 167 00:10:22,000 --> 00:10:24,679 Then you will remember how the thing seemed to grow, 168 00:10:25,120 --> 00:10:28,039 taking possession of you, and who do scarcely could shake 169 00:10:28,120 --> 00:10:31,159 it off. You found it much easier to become jealous 170 00:10:31,200 --> 00:10:33,799 the next time. It seemed to bring before you all 171 00:10:33,840 --> 00:10:38,960 sorts of objects, apparently justifying your suspicions and feeling everything 172 00:10:39,000 --> 00:10:43,559 began to look green. The green eyed monster waxed fat. 173 00:10:43,960 --> 00:10:47,639 And so it is with every feeling or emotion. If 174 00:10:47,679 --> 00:10:50,240 you give way to a fit of rage, you'll find 175 00:10:50,279 --> 00:10:53,919 it easier to become angry the next time. On mess provocation. 176 00:10:54,919 --> 00:10:57,879 The habit of feeling and acting mean does not take 177 00:10:57,960 --> 00:11:01,799 long to firmly settle itself in its new home if encouraged. 178 00:11:02,440 --> 00:11:05,399 Worry is a great habit for growing and waxing fat. 179 00:11:05,919 --> 00:11:08,879 People start by worrying about big things, and then begin 180 00:11:08,960 --> 00:11:12,159 to worry and fret about some smaller thing. And then 181 00:11:12,639 --> 00:11:16,519 the merest trifle worries and distresses them. They imagine that 182 00:11:16,600 --> 00:11:19,120 all sorts of evil things are about to befall them. 183 00:11:19,720 --> 00:11:22,519 If they start on the journey, they are certain there 184 00:11:22,600 --> 00:11:25,360 is going to be a wreck. If a telegram comes, 185 00:11:25,559 --> 00:11:29,159 it is sure to contain some dreadful tidings. If a 186 00:11:29,240 --> 00:11:32,559 child seems a little quiet, the worrying mother is positive 187 00:11:32,639 --> 00:11:35,639 it is going to fall ill and die. If the 188 00:11:35,720 --> 00:11:39,679 husband seems thoughtful as he revolves some business plan in 189 00:11:39,759 --> 00:11:42,919 his mind, then the good wife is convinced that he 190 00:11:43,000 --> 00:11:46,039 is beginning to cease to love her, and indulges in 191 00:11:46,080 --> 00:11:50,840 a crying spell. And so it goes worry, worry, worry, 192 00:11:51,559 --> 00:11:55,360 each indulgence, making the habit more at home. After a while, 193 00:11:55,480 --> 00:11:59,039 the continued thought shows itself in action. Not only is 194 00:11:59,080 --> 00:12:02,600 the mind poisoned by the blue thoughts, but the forehead 195 00:12:02,759 --> 00:12:06,279 shows deep lines between the eyebrows, and the voice takes 196 00:12:06,279 --> 00:12:11,320 on that whining, rasping tone so common among worried, burdened people. 197 00:12:12,480 --> 00:12:15,960 The condition of mind known as fault finding is another 198 00:12:16,000 --> 00:12:20,679 emotion that grows fat with exercise. First fault is found 199 00:12:20,679 --> 00:12:24,279 with this thing, then with that, and finally with everything. 200 00:12:24,759 --> 00:12:28,279 The person becomes a chronic nagger, a burden to friends 201 00:12:28,320 --> 00:12:31,759 and relatives, and a thing to be avoided by outsiders. 202 00:12:32,519 --> 00:12:36,240 Women make the greatest naggers, not because men are any better, 203 00:12:36,600 --> 00:12:38,960 but simply because a man nagger is apt to have 204 00:12:38,960 --> 00:12:41,240 the habit knocked out of him by other men who 205 00:12:41,240 --> 00:12:44,480 will not stand his nonsense. He finds that he's making 206 00:12:44,519 --> 00:12:48,240 things too hot for himself, and he reforms, while a 207 00:12:48,279 --> 00:12:50,679 woman has more of a chance to indulge in the habit. 208 00:12:51,279 --> 00:12:54,120 But this nagging is all a matter of habit. It 209 00:12:54,200 --> 00:12:58,320 grows from small beginnings, and each time it is indulged in, 210 00:12:58,679 --> 00:13:03,320 it throws out another branch or tendril, and fastens itself 211 00:13:03,399 --> 00:13:05,639 the closer to the one who has given its soil 212 00:13:05,799 --> 00:13:12,000 in which to grow. Envy, uncharitableness, gossip, scandal mongering are 213 00:13:12,039 --> 00:13:14,919 all habits of this kind. The seeds are in every 214 00:13:15,000 --> 00:13:18,320 human breast and only need good soil and a little 215 00:13:18,360 --> 00:13:22,720 watering to become lusty and strong. Each time you give 216 00:13:22,759 --> 00:13:25,799 way to one of these negative emotions, the easier do 217 00:13:25,879 --> 00:13:28,799 you make it for recurrence of the same thing or 218 00:13:28,879 --> 00:13:34,000 similar ones. Sometimes by encouraging one unworthy emotion, you find 219 00:13:34,000 --> 00:13:35,840 that you have given room for the growth of a 220 00:13:35,879 --> 00:13:39,879 whole family of these mental weeds. Now this is not 221 00:13:39,960 --> 00:13:43,720 a good old Orthodox preachment against the sin of bad thoughts. 222 00:13:44,320 --> 00:13:46,320 It is merely a calling of your attention to the 223 00:13:46,399 --> 00:13:50,360 law underlying the psychology of emotion. Nothing new about it, 224 00:13:50,799 --> 00:13:53,399 old as the hills so old that many of us 225 00:13:53,480 --> 00:13:57,039 have forgotten all about it. If you wish to manifest 226 00:13:57,039 --> 00:14:01,360 these constantly disagreeable and unpleasant tray and to suffer the 227 00:14:01,440 --> 00:14:04,480 unhappiness that comes from them, by all means do so. 228 00:14:05,200 --> 00:14:08,720 That is your own business and privilege. It's none of mine, 229 00:14:09,120 --> 00:14:11,759 and I'm not preaching at you. It keeps me busy 230 00:14:12,000 --> 00:14:14,799 minding my own business and keeping an eye on my 231 00:14:15,000 --> 00:14:18,919 own undesirable habits and actions. I am merely telling you 232 00:14:19,000 --> 00:14:22,000 the law regarding the matter, and you may do the rest. 233 00:14:22,639 --> 00:14:25,200 If you wish to choke out these habits, there are 234 00:14:25,200 --> 00:14:28,919 two ways open to you. First, whenever you find yourself 235 00:14:28,960 --> 00:14:32,600 indulging in a negative thought or feeling, take right hold 236 00:14:32,600 --> 00:14:35,440 of it and say to it, firmly and vigorously get out. 237 00:14:36,240 --> 00:14:38,759 It won't like this at first, and will bridle up, 238 00:14:39,080 --> 00:14:42,759 curve its back and snarl like an offended cat. But 239 00:14:42,879 --> 00:14:46,919 never mind. Just say scat to it. The next time 240 00:14:47,200 --> 00:14:50,120 it will not be so confident and aggressive. It will 241 00:14:50,120 --> 00:14:53,279 have manifested a little of the fear habit. Each time 242 00:14:53,320 --> 00:14:56,000 you repress and choke out a tendency of this kind, 243 00:14:56,360 --> 00:14:59,679 the weaker it will become, and the stronger will your 244 00:14:59,679 --> 00:15:04,639 will be. Professor James says, refuse to express a passion, 245 00:15:04,919 --> 00:15:08,879 and it dies count ten before venting your anger and 246 00:15:08,960 --> 00:15:12,879 its occasion seems ridiculous. Wishing to keep up courage is 247 00:15:12,919 --> 00:15:16,320 no mere figure of speech. On the other hand, sit 248 00:15:16,440 --> 00:15:19,919 all day in a moping posture, sigh and reply to 249 00:15:20,000 --> 00:15:24,159 everything with a dismal voice, and your melancholy lingers. There 250 00:15:24,200 --> 00:15:27,360 is no more valuable precept in moral education than this, 251 00:15:27,919 --> 00:15:30,879 as all who have experienced know, if we wish to 252 00:15:30,919 --> 00:15:35,639 conquer emotional tendencies in ourselves, we must assiduously, and in 253 00:15:35,679 --> 00:15:39,600 the first instance, cold bloodedly, go through the outward movements 254 00:15:39,600 --> 00:15:44,240 of those contrary dispositions. We prefer to cultivate. Smooth the brow, 255 00:15:44,759 --> 00:15:48,159 brighten the eye, contract the dorsal rather than the ventral 256 00:15:48,240 --> 00:15:51,200 aspect of the frame, and speak in a major key 257 00:15:51,799 --> 00:15:55,639 past the genial compliment, and your heart must be frigid, indeed, 258 00:15:55,919 --> 00:16:02,559 if it does not gradually thaw. Chapter twelve, Developing new 259 00:16:02,600 --> 00:16:06,600 brain cells. I have spoken of the plan of getting 260 00:16:06,679 --> 00:16:10,879 rid of undesirable states of feeling by driving them out, 261 00:16:11,120 --> 00:16:13,399 But a far better way is to cultivate the feeling 262 00:16:13,480 --> 00:16:17,000 or emotion directly opposed to the one you wish to eradicate. 263 00:16:17,919 --> 00:16:20,559 We are very apt to regard ourselves as the creatures 264 00:16:20,559 --> 00:16:23,559 of our emotions and feelings, and to fancy that these 265 00:16:23,600 --> 00:16:27,440 feelings and emotions are we. But such is far from 266 00:16:27,519 --> 00:16:30,240 being the truth. It is true that the majority of 267 00:16:30,279 --> 00:16:33,320 the race, as slaves of their emotions and feelings, are 268 00:16:33,360 --> 00:16:36,159 are governed by them to a great degree. They think 269 00:16:36,200 --> 00:16:39,159 that feelings are things that rule, one of which one 270 00:16:39,279 --> 00:16:43,360 cannot free himself, and so they cease through abel. They 271 00:16:43,440 --> 00:16:46,440 yield to the feeling without question, although they may know 272 00:16:46,519 --> 00:16:49,559 that the emotion or mental trays calculated to injure them 273 00:16:49,879 --> 00:16:53,759 and to bring unhappiness and failure instead of happiness and success. 274 00:16:54,399 --> 00:16:57,720 They say, we are made that way, and let it 275 00:16:57,759 --> 00:17:02,440 go at that. The new psychologies teaching the people better things. 276 00:17:02,960 --> 00:17:05,599 It tells them that they are masters their emotions and 277 00:17:05,640 --> 00:17:09,200 feelings instead of being their slaves. It tells them that 278 00:17:09,279 --> 00:17:12,839 brain cells may be developed that will manifest along desirable lines, 279 00:17:13,440 --> 00:17:16,240 and that the old brain cells that have been manifesting 280 00:17:16,240 --> 00:17:20,200 so unpleasantly may be placed on the retired list and 281 00:17:20,279 --> 00:17:23,720 allowed to atrophy from want of use. People may make 282 00:17:23,759 --> 00:17:27,920 themselves over and change their entire natures. This is not 283 00:17:28,079 --> 00:17:31,400 mere idle theory, but is a working fact which has 284 00:17:31,440 --> 00:17:34,599 been demonstrated by thousands of people, and which is coming 285 00:17:34,599 --> 00:17:38,079 more and more before the attention of the race. No 286 00:17:38,119 --> 00:17:41,640 matter what theory of mind we entertain, we must admit 287 00:17:41,680 --> 00:17:44,119 that the brain is the organ and instrument of the 288 00:17:44,200 --> 00:17:47,759 mind in our present state of existence at least, and 289 00:17:47,920 --> 00:17:51,039 that the brain must be considered in this matter. The 290 00:17:51,079 --> 00:17:54,440 brain is like a wonderful musical instrument, having millions of 291 00:17:54,519 --> 00:17:59,680 keys upon which we may play innumerable combinations of sounds. 292 00:18:00,359 --> 00:18:05,400 We come into the world with certain tendencies, temperaments, and predispositions. 293 00:18:06,000 --> 00:18:09,279 We may account for these tendencies by heredity, or we 294 00:18:09,319 --> 00:18:12,839 may account for them upon theories of pre existence. But 295 00:18:12,920 --> 00:18:17,359 the facts remain the same. Certain keys seem to respond 296 00:18:17,440 --> 00:18:20,920 to our touch more easily than others. Certain notes seem 297 00:18:20,960 --> 00:18:24,119 to sound forth as the current of circumstances sweeps over 298 00:18:24,160 --> 00:18:28,039 the strings, and certain other notes are less easily vibrated. 299 00:18:28,599 --> 00:18:31,160 But we find if we but make the effort of 300 00:18:31,160 --> 00:18:33,839 the will to restrain the utterance of some of these 301 00:18:33,880 --> 00:18:37,920 easily sounded strings, they will grow more difficult to sound, 302 00:18:38,440 --> 00:18:42,119 unless liable to be stirred by the passing breeze. And 303 00:18:42,160 --> 00:18:44,640 if we will pay attention to some of the other 304 00:18:44,720 --> 00:18:47,799 strings that have not been giving forth a clear tone. 305 00:18:48,359 --> 00:18:50,960 We will soon get them in good working order. Their 306 00:18:51,000 --> 00:18:54,640 notes will chime forth, clear and vibrant, and will drown 307 00:18:54,680 --> 00:18:58,880 the less pleasant sounds. We have millions of unused brain 308 00:18:58,960 --> 00:19:02,519 cells awaiting our cultivation. We are using but a few 309 00:19:02,559 --> 00:19:05,079 of them, and some of these we are working to death. 310 00:19:05,599 --> 00:19:07,319 We are able to give some of these cells a 311 00:19:07,440 --> 00:19:11,200 rest by using other cells. The brain may be trained 312 00:19:11,240 --> 00:19:14,519 and cultivated in a manner incredible to one who has 313 00:19:14,559 --> 00:19:18,160 not looked into the subject. Mental attitudes may be acquired 314 00:19:18,200 --> 00:19:22,680 and cultivated, changed and discarded at will. There is no 315 00:19:22,759 --> 00:19:27,400 longer any excuse for people manifesting unpleasant and harmful mental states. 316 00:19:27,960 --> 00:19:31,839 We have the remedy in our own hands. We acquire 317 00:19:31,880 --> 00:19:36,200 habits of thought, feeling, and action by repeated use. We 318 00:19:36,279 --> 00:19:38,839 may be born with a tendency in a certain direction, 319 00:19:39,559 --> 00:19:43,799 or we may acquire tendencies by suggestions from others, such 320 00:19:43,960 --> 00:19:47,440 as the examples of those around us, suggestions from reading, 321 00:19:47,920 --> 00:19:51,359 listening to teachers. We are a bundle of mental habits. 322 00:19:51,960 --> 00:19:55,119 Each time we indulge in an undesirable thought or habit, 323 00:19:55,559 --> 00:19:57,720 the easy does it become for us to repeat that 324 00:19:57,839 --> 00:20:01,720 thought or action. Mental scientists are in the habit of 325 00:20:01,759 --> 00:20:06,279 speaking of desirable thoughts or mental attitudes as positive and 326 00:20:06,359 --> 00:20:09,839 of the undesirable ones as negative. There is a good 327 00:20:09,920 --> 00:20:13,559 reason for this. The mind instinctively recognizes certain things as 328 00:20:13,599 --> 00:20:16,400 good for the individual to which it belongs, and it 329 00:20:16,440 --> 00:20:19,960 clears the path for such thoughts and interposes the least 330 00:20:20,039 --> 00:20:23,240 resistance to them. They have a much greater effect than 331 00:20:23,279 --> 00:20:27,720 an undesirable thought possesses, and one positive thought will counteract 332 00:20:27,720 --> 00:20:30,880 the number of negative thoughts. The best way to overcome 333 00:20:31,000 --> 00:20:34,559 undesirable or negative thoughts and feelings is to cultivate the 334 00:20:34,599 --> 00:20:39,160 positive ones. The positive thought is the strongest plant, and 335 00:20:39,240 --> 00:20:42,599 will in time starve out the negative one by withdrawing 336 00:20:42,599 --> 00:20:46,599 from it the nourishment necessary for its existence. Of course, 337 00:20:46,880 --> 00:20:49,960 the negative thought will set up a vigorous resistance at first, 338 00:20:50,440 --> 00:20:52,920 for it is a fight for life with it. In 339 00:20:52,960 --> 00:20:56,119 the slang words of the time, it sees its finish. 340 00:20:56,599 --> 00:21:00,599 If the positive thought is allowed to grow and develop ssequently, 341 00:21:00,720 --> 00:21:03,720 it makes things unpleasant for the individual until he has 342 00:21:03,759 --> 00:21:07,400 started well into the work of starving it out. Brain 343 00:21:07,480 --> 00:21:09,559 cells do not like to be laid on the shelf 344 00:21:09,640 --> 00:21:12,640 any more than does any other form of living energy, 345 00:21:13,079 --> 00:21:15,759 and they rebel and struggle until they are too weak 346 00:21:15,880 --> 00:21:18,559 to do so. The best way is to pay as 347 00:21:18,559 --> 00:21:21,200 little attention as possible to these weeds of the mind, 348 00:21:21,799 --> 00:21:25,480 but put in as much time as possible watering, caring for, 349 00:21:25,759 --> 00:21:28,319 and attending to the new and beautiful plants in the 350 00:21:28,319 --> 00:21:32,680 garden of the mind. For instance, if you are apt 351 00:21:32,720 --> 00:21:35,920 to hate people, you can best overcome the negative thought 352 00:21:35,960 --> 00:21:39,839 by cultivating love in its place. Think love and act 353 00:21:39,880 --> 00:21:44,160 it out as often as possible. Cultivate thoughts of kindness, 354 00:21:44,200 --> 00:21:47,039 and act as kindly as you can to everyone with 355 00:21:47,119 --> 00:21:50,039 whom you come in contact. You will have trouble at 356 00:21:50,039 --> 00:21:53,839 the start, but gradually love will master hate, and the 357 00:21:53,920 --> 00:21:56,920 latter will begin to droop and wither. If you have 358 00:21:56,960 --> 00:22:00,519 a tendency towards the blues, cultivate a smile and a 359 00:22:00,599 --> 00:22:05,079 cheerful view of things. Insist upon your mouth wearing upturned corners, 360 00:22:05,440 --> 00:22:07,400 and make an effort of the will to look upon 361 00:22:07,440 --> 00:22:10,240 the bright side of things. The blue devils will set 362 00:22:10,319 --> 00:22:13,200 up a fight, of course, but pay no attention to them. 363 00:22:13,640 --> 00:22:18,519 Just go on cultivating optimism and cheerfulness. Let bright, cheerful, 364 00:22:18,559 --> 00:22:22,079 and happy be your watchword. And try to live it out. 365 00:22:23,279 --> 00:22:26,799 These recipes may seem very old and time worn, but 366 00:22:26,880 --> 00:22:29,680 they are psychological truths and may be used by you 367 00:22:29,799 --> 00:22:33,359 to advantage. If you once comprehend the nature of the thing, 368 00:22:33,759 --> 00:22:37,279 the affirmations and auto suggestions of the several schools may 369 00:22:37,279 --> 00:22:41,119 be understood and taken advantage of. You may make yourself 370 00:22:41,200 --> 00:22:45,279 energetic instead of a slothful actu instead of lazy. By 371 00:22:45,279 --> 00:22:48,160 this method, it is all a matter of practice and 372 00:22:48,240 --> 00:22:51,720 steady work new thought. People often have much to say 373 00:22:51,720 --> 00:22:56,079 about holding the thought, and indeed it is necessary to 374 00:22:56,200 --> 00:22:59,720 hold the thought in order to accomplish results. But something 375 00:22:59,759 --> 00:23:03,200 more is needed. You must act out the thought until 376 00:23:03,240 --> 00:23:06,240 it becomes a fixed habit with you. Thoughts take form 377 00:23:06,279 --> 00:23:10,720 in action, and in turn, actions influence thought. So by 378 00:23:10,759 --> 00:23:14,319 acting out certain lines of thought, the actions react upon 379 00:23:14,359 --> 00:23:17,119 the mind and increase the development of the part of 380 00:23:17,160 --> 00:23:20,599 the mind having close relation to the act. Each time 381 00:23:20,640 --> 00:23:24,359 the mind entertains a thought, the easier becomes a resulting action, 382 00:23:24,920 --> 00:23:28,079 and each time an act is performed, the easier becomes 383 00:23:28,119 --> 00:23:31,839 the corresponding thought. So you see, the thing works both 384 00:23:31,920 --> 00:23:36,279 ways action and reaction. If you feel cheerful and happy, 385 00:23:36,640 --> 00:23:39,119 it is very natural for you to laugh, And if 386 00:23:39,160 --> 00:23:41,759 you will laugh a little, you'll begin to feel bright 387 00:23:41,880 --> 00:23:44,599 and cheerful. Do you see what I Am trying to 388 00:23:44,640 --> 00:23:47,799 get at? Here? It is in a nutshell. If you 389 00:23:47,839 --> 00:23:50,799 wish to cultivate a certain habit of action, begin by 390 00:23:50,839 --> 00:23:54,559 cultivating the mental attitude corresponding to it. And as a 391 00:23:54,599 --> 00:23:58,359 means of cultivating that mental attitude, start to act out 392 00:23:58,799 --> 00:24:01,440 or go through the motion of the act corresponding to 393 00:24:01,480 --> 00:24:04,880 the thought. Now see if you cannot apply this rule. 394 00:24:05,599 --> 00:24:08,359 Take up something that you really feel should be done, 395 00:24:08,519 --> 00:24:11,599 but which you do not feel like doing. Cultivate the 396 00:24:11,599 --> 00:24:14,680 thought leading up to it. Say to yourself, I like 397 00:24:14,759 --> 00:24:17,119 to do so and so, and then go through the 398 00:24:17,160 --> 00:24:21,359 motions cheerfully, remember and act out the thought that you 399 00:24:21,599 --> 00:24:24,400 like to do the thing. Take an interest in the doing, 400 00:24:24,759 --> 00:24:27,480 study out the best way to do it, put brains 401 00:24:27,519 --> 00:24:30,119 into it, take a pride in it, and you will 402 00:24:30,119 --> 00:24:33,079 find yourself doing the thing with a considerable amount of 403 00:24:33,119 --> 00:24:36,960 pleasure and interest. You will have cultivated a new habit. 404 00:24:37,880 --> 00:24:41,000 If you prefer trying it on some mental tray of 405 00:24:41,079 --> 00:24:43,279 which you wish to be rid, it will work the 406 00:24:43,319 --> 00:24:46,920 same way. Start in to cultivate the opposite tray and 407 00:24:47,000 --> 00:24:49,319 think it out and act it out for all you 408 00:24:49,359 --> 00:24:52,240 are worth. Then watch the change that will come over you. 409 00:24:52,680 --> 00:24:55,880 Don't be discouraged at the resistance you will encounter it first, 410 00:24:56,240 --> 00:24:59,759 but sing gaily I can and I will, and get 411 00:24:59,759 --> 00:25:02,440 to work, work in earnest. The important thing in this 412 00:25:02,559 --> 00:25:05,759 work is to keep cheerful and interested. If you manage 413 00:25:05,759 --> 00:25:08,200 to do this, the rest will be easy.