subject of this control of desire (and consequently of will action) by means of the control of the power of thought, ideas, through attention, has given the world the following remarkably strong, clear, and true statement of the case; you are advised to carefully read and consider the same. The authority in question says:
"At the threshold of each higher act of will stands desire. All feeling tends to excite desire. Sometimes desire gives rise to intense feeling. In one aspect, desire is feeling; in another, desire is will or an active tension which passes imperceptibly into will. In desire, properly so called, there must be a definite idea. If a person says 'I desire,' the question very naturally is, 'What?' Unless there is a definite answer to the question, desire is not the name to apply to that mental state. There are always at least two alternatives in any line of conduct. When we face an orchestra, we have the choice of listening to it as a whole, or of selecting some one instrument, such as the first violin, and paying attention to it. In looking at a landscape, we choose certain elements for close inspection. Our world is, therefore, very much what we choose to pay attention to. If we visit the tropics and choose to heed nothing but the venomous animals, the land will be chiefly one of snakes and centipedes; if we look principally at the birds and flowers, it will be to us largely a clime of song and perfume.
"Ideas detained in consciousness tend to fan the flame of feeling; these ideas may be dismissed and others summoned to repress the flame of feeling. In the higher type of action, the will can go out only in the direction of an idea. Every idea which becomes an object of desire is a motive. It is true that the will tends to go out in the direction of the greatest motive, that is, toward the object which seems the most desirable; but the will, through voluntary attention, puts energy into a motive idea and thus makes it strong. It is impossible to center the attention long on an idea without developing positive or negative interest, attraction or repulsion. Thus does the will develop motives. We may state it as a law that the will determines which motives shall become the strongest, by determining which ideas shall occupy the field of consciousness.
"We have seen that emotion and desire arise in the presence of ideas, and that the will has influence in detaining or in banishing a given idea. If one idea is kept before the mind, a desire and a strong motive may gather around that idea. If another idea is called in, the power of the first idea will decline. The more Macbeth and his wife held before themselves the idea of the fame and power which the throne would confer upon them, the stronger became the desire to kill the king, until finally it grew too strong to be mastered. They were, however, responsible for nursing the desire; had they resolutely thought of something else, that desire would have been weakened. The person who feeds a bad desire with the fitting ideas will find that some day the desire will master his will.
"In the capacity for attention we have the way to the freedom of the will. Voluntary attention makes the motive. The motive does not make the attention. Hence the motive is a product of the will. If I withdraw my attention from a motive idea, it loses vigor, like a plant deprived of air and moisture. By sheer force of will, many a one has withdrawn his attention from certain temptations, centered it elsewhere, and thus developed a counter motive. As we center our attention upon one thing or another, we largely determine our mental happiness and hence our bodily health. One person in walking through a noble forest, may search only for spiders and venomous creatures, while another confines his attention to the singing birds in the branches above."
From the above, it is seen that the only way to develop and maintain a free will is to direct the attention and thought by means of the awakened Ego—the Master Mind and Mind Master.
Chapter 4
Positive and Negative Mentality
Most of us have heard the old proverb which states that "As a man thinketh, so is he." And most of us accept the spirit of the idea that a man's character, disposition, activities, and general personality are dependent largely upon the general character of his thoughts. This being so, and it also being true that a man is able to control the general character of his thoughts, it logically follows that every awakened Ego is the creator of the character and personality of the individual whose self it is.
Philosophers teach us that there is a law of polarity manifesting in everything. That is to say, that in everything there is found the presence of the two poles, viz., the positive and the negative. We find this law manifest in the mentality and character of every individual. There is always to be found the positive elements of mentality and character, and the negative elements thereof.
There is always to be the "two-sidedness" in individuals. Every individual finds within himself a constant struggle between these two opposing elements—the positive and the negative. Upon the decision of this battle depends largely the advancement, success, welfare, and progress of the individual. Goethe has well said: "In my breast, alas, two souls dwell, all there is unrest. Each with the other strives for mastery, each from the other struggles to be free." The ordinary individual seems to be content to remain as a passive spectator of this struggle; but the individual of the awakened Ego takes a part in the struggle, and by throwing the weight of his free will into the balance, he brings down the scales on the positive side.
But, you may ask, just what are the positive qualities? How may we know them when we consider them? This is a very natural, and a very proper question. As we proceed you will discover an infallible touchstone, or test whereby you may settle the matter for yourself. In most cases you will have no trouble in making the decision by the employment of your ordinary powers of judgment. For instance: you find no trouble in deciding that courage is positive, and cowardice negative; that truth is positive, and untruth negative; that energy is positive, and slothfulness is negative; that persistence is positive, and lack of it negative. But when you come to consider less familiar cases, you feel more or less uncertain, and instinctively look around for a touchstone or test, whereby you may decide infallibly.
A well-known writer, in considering this instinctive demand, has said:
"When the individual is forced to consider any feeling, emotion, idea, action, advice, suggestion, or teaching, he should always submit it to the Touchstone of Positivity, by asking himself: 'Will this make me stronger, more powerful, more capable, more efficient, better?' In the degree that the thing corresponds to these qualifications, so is its degree of positivity. It becomes the duty of every individual wishing to progress on the Path of Life, and desiring to become proficient and capable in his expression and manifestation of mentality and character, to cultivate the positive qualities of the mind, and to restrain and inhibit the negative ones. In the consideration of this matter you should always remember that every positive quality has its negative opposite. This is an invariable rule, and one that you may test for yourself. And arising from it is this important rule of the new psychology: 'To develop a positive quality, you should restrain or inhibit its opposing negative: To restrain or inhibit a negative quality, you should develop and encourage its opposing positive.' The rule is worthy of being carved over the door of every institute of learning in the world, for its general observance would create a new race of men and women, and a new civilization of positive, capable, efficient people."
The positive qualities may be encouraged and developed by the mastery and control over the mental field exercised by the awakened Ego, and the negative qualities may be inhibited and restrained by the exercise of the same power within each individual. The Ego should always assert its positivity to the feelings, emotions, desires, and other mental states. The will should be held firmly in its place, as positive to the desires. The intellect should be held positive to the emotions, desires, and feelings. The Ego, through the will, should maintain a positive attitude toward, and control over, the attention and the imagination. True assertion of the Ego does not mean the petty quality called "egotism," but rather the higher phase of Egoism, or mastery of the Ego.
You
