itself in activity, just as does POWER manifest and express itself in its greater activities, i. e., by employing the instruments and machinery of Volition and Ideation. All of Man’s activities are perceived to proceed under this rule.
In this connection, however, you must not overlook the fact that the mental and physical activities of Man proceed along the lines of subconscious processes as well as along those of the ordinary consciousness. There is subconscious Will, and subconscious Thought, as well as conscious Will and conscious Thought. In fact, a very large percentage of Man’s willactivities and thoughtactivities proceed on the subconscious planes or levels of his being.
Man’s physical growth, and the processes of his physical organism, proceed almost entirely along the lines of subconscious activity. There is ever present the Will, pressing forward to accomplish its work of growth, nutrition, repair, elimination, etc. There is also ever present Ideation, furnishing the mental pattern or design, which Will proceeds to objectify and materialize. The Idea of the oaktree is implicit in the germ within the acorn; and the Willpower in the acorn, and in the growing tree ever presses forward to make that ideal real—to objectify and materialize the ideal form.
Ideation builds the inner form, and Will strives to materialize into outer form that which first existed in ideal form. This is as true of the human life as that of the oak; and of all forms of life in Nature. It is manifested equally, and as truly, in the formation of the crystals, as it is in living things. In every natural activity in which things and events are perceived to move according to law and order, and apparently toward a certain pattern, design, or plan, there exists first the ideal or inner form, around which the outer or material form or movement builds itself. One who carefully observes Nature’s processes cannot escape this conviction.
Then, viewing Man’s mental activities and processes, we perceive the same dualprinciple in action. Man uses his Will in order to fasten his attention upon anything; he uses his Will when he strives to “think out” anything, when he tries to bring back an image from memory, when he tries to imagine or invent anything. Even in his “feeling states”, the Will is involved along subconscious lines. And, likewise, there is always present the mental pattern of Ideation. Will goes forth only in response to some idea. If ideas were shut out of the consciousness of Man, then he would “feel” nothing in the way of emotion, would desire nothing; and would not act to accomplish anything whatsoever.
If you wish to arouse the feelings or emotion of a man, you have but to present to him the appropriate ideas calling for those feelings and emotions. If you wish to arouse him to Willactivity, you have but to supply him with appropriate Ideas calling forth such action. Very few persons understand the dynamic force of Idea. To them an idea is merely an intangible something in the mind, having but little if anything to do with actual effort or activity.
But the psychologists know and teach that Ideation, by reason of its “pulling power” exercised over the Will, is one of the most active elements of all human action. Without Ideation there would be no Willaction; with heightened Ideation, the Willaction is enormously increased in power and efficiency. Practical psychologists now teach their students that it is possible to arouse, strengthen, and stimulate Desire and Will by repeatedly and constantly presenting to them the strong, clear, and definite ideas of the thing sought to be accomplished, objectified and materialized. They likewise teach that one may restrain, restrict or inhibit the activities of Desire and Will by resolutely withdrawing the attention from the idea in question, or else by directing the attention to an idea of an exactly opposite nature and character.
Professor Halleck, the eminent psychologist, says: “An idea always has a motorelement, however obscure; in other words, an idea is a practically incipient motoraction. A motoraction, unless restrained, tends to go out immediately in definite action. * * * It is a matter of dispute whether or not all that is necessary in voluntary effort has not been achieved when the mind has been kept filled with the idea, until action results as a natural consequence. In order to act in the direction of one idea in preference to another; we must first dismiss the one and voluntarily attend to the other. The motorforce thus developed in connection with the dominant idea lies at the bottom of every higher act of Will.”
During the last quartercentury, or perhaps longer, there has been a great revival of interest in the subject of Thought, ThoughtForce, MindPower, or similar general conceptions involving the idea of the use of Thought in the direction of bringing about desirable conditions of physical health and strength, prosperity; happiness, and the general welfare of the individual. Under all of the many theories seeking to express the essential spirit of “this line of thought” (as many call it); and back of the various names, terms, and titles employed to indicate and to designate the same; there will be found the fundamental and basic idea and conception of the tendency of Thought, or Idea, to manifest itself in action, or in objective form and reality. The kernel of the conception is that of the power of the Ideal to become Real.
Thousands of persons, all over the world, have sought to demonstrate the power to create or to improve their environment, circumstance, health, success and ability, by means of Right Thinking. Many have fully demonstrated their ability to create (or at least to improve to a great extent) their own environment; to control circumstances; and to determine their own destiny; by the Power of Thought. They have proceeded upon the general principles expressed in the Biblical adage, “As a man thinketh, so is he”; and in the equally ancient Buddhistic adage, “We are that which we have thought.” Wrong Thinking is held by them to produce undesirable results and effects; while Right Thinking is held to produce desirable effects and results. The general conception may be expressed in the aphorism: “Ideas tend to reproduce themselves in external form and effects; the Ideal pattern tends to build around itself an objective material Reality.”
In most of these teachings, however, the element of Idea or Thought has been most strongly emphasized—overemphasized, in some cases, many have thought—while, at the same time, the element of Will has been underemphasized. In fact, this last element—that of Will—has been practically neglected in some cases, and in others even denounced as evil by some who prefer explaining the subject in the terms of quasireligious transcendentalism. But it is now being perceived by many of the most careful thinkers “along these lines” that a failure to include the Power of Will in connection with the Power of Thought results in depriving the individual of onehalf of his Mental Creative Power. The effort to exclude Will from association with Idea is akin to trying to assert the existence of a magnet with only one pole.
As a matter of fact, all the results obtained through the Power of Thought have been in part due to the correlated and co-ordinated Power of Will, though the persons obtaining these results have not been aware of this fact. Ideation without Volition—Thought without Will—is but the paralyzed, keensighted giant of the fable, who can do nothing of himself, but who requires the strong body, strong arms, and sturdy legs of the blindgiant before effective results may be obtained.
But, at the same time, we must ever remember that it is equally true that the blindgiant of Will cannot proceed intelligently or effectively until he has raised the paralyzed, keensighted Ideation to his shoulders. In this union alone is there the real strength of that which is called MindPower, ThoughtForce, or ThoughtPower. Of these two combined, coordinated, and correlated mental elements may it be said: “‘United, they stand; divided, they fall.”
To the many persons who are earnestly seeking to manifest Thought in action, objective form, and material results, but who, while obtaining results sufficiently satisfactory to justify them in asserting that “there is something in it”, still feel that they have “somehow, someway, not quite got hold of it”, the idea of the correlation and co-ordination of Ideation and Volition—Thought and Will—the partnership of the two giants—will come as a welcome revelation. Many such persons, once this idea has been presented to them, will recognize its truth by reason of their own experience. They will realize that they have at last discovered the secret of Personal Power,
