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THOUGHT VIBRATIONS ~
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3. A TALK ABOUT THE MINDMan has but one Mind, but he has many mental faculties--each faculty being capable of functioning along two different lines of mental effort. There are no distinct dividing lines separating the two several functions of a faculty, but they shade into each other--as do the colors of the spectrum. An active
effort of any faculty
of the Mind is the result of a direct impulse imparted at the time of
the effort. A passive
effort of any faculty of
the Mind is the result
of either:
The active
effort is new-born--fresh
from the mint--whilst the passive
effort is of less-recent
creation, and, in fact, is often the result of vibratory impulses
imparted in ages long past. The active
effort makes its own
way--brushing aside the impeding vines and kicking from its path the
obstructing stones. The passive effort travels along the beaten path. A thought-impulse, or motion-impulse, originally caused by an active effort of faculty, may become--by continued repetition, or habit-- strictly automatic; the impulse given it by the repeated active effort developing a strong momentum; which carries it on, along passive lines--until stopped by another active effort, or its direction changed by the same cause. On
the other
hand,
thought-impulses, or motion-impulses, continued along passive
lines may
be terminated or corrected by an active
effort. The active
function
creates, changes or destroys. The active function produces the thought-habit, or motion-habit and imparts to it the vibrations--which carry it on along the passive lines thereafter. The active function also has the power to send forth vibration--which neutralize the momentum of the thought-habit, or motion-habit. It also is able to launch a new thought-habit, or motion-habit with stronger vibrations--which overcomes and absorbs the first thought, or motion, and substitutes the new one. All
thought-impulses, or
motion-impulses, once started on their errands, continue to vibrate
along passive
lines until
corrected or terminated by subsequent
impulses imparted by the active
function, or other controlling power.
The continuance of the original impulse adds momentum and force to
it--and renders its correction or termination more difficult. This explains that which is called the "force of habit." I think that this will be readily understood by those who have struggled to overcome a habit which had been easily acquired. The Law applies to good habits as well as bad. The moral is obvious. Several of the faculties of the mind often combine to produce a single manifestation. A task to be performed may call for the combined exercise of several faculties, some of which may manifest by active effort and others by passive effort. The meeting of new conditions--new problems--calls for the exercise of active effort; whilst a familiar problem or task can be easily handled by the passive effort, without the assistance of his more enterprising brother. There
is in
Nature an instinctive
tendency of living organisms to perform certain actions--the tendency
of an organized body to seek that which satisfies the wants of its
organism. This tendency is sometimes called "Appetency." It is really a
passive
mental impulse,
originating with the impetus imparted by the
Primal Cause and transmitted along the lines of evolutionary
development--gaining strength and power as it progresses. The impulse
of the Primal Cause is assisted by the powerful upward attraction
exerted by the Absolute. In
plant life
this tendency is
plainly discernible--ranging from the lesser exhibitions in the lower
types to the greater in the higher types. It is that which is generally
spoken of as the "life-force" in plants. It is, however, a
manifestation of rudimentary mentation, functioning along the lines of passive
effort. In some of the higher forms of plant life there appears a faint color of independent "life action"--a faint indication of choice of volition. Writers on plant life relate many remarkable instances of this phenomenon. It is, undoubtedly, an exhibition of rudimentary active mentation. In the lower animal kingdom a very high degree of passive mental effort is found. And, varying in degree in the several families and species, a considerable amount of active mentation is apparent. The lower animal undoubtedly possesses reason only in a lesser degree than man, and, in fact--the display of volitional mentation exhibited by an intelligent animal is often nearly as high as that shown by the lower types of man or by a young child. As a child, before birth, shows in its body the stages of the physical evolution of man--so does a child, before and after birth, until maturity, manifest the stages of the mental evolution of man. Man--the
highest type of life yet
produced, at least upon this planet-- shows the highest form of passive
mentation and also a much higher development of active
mentation
than
is seen in the lower animals. And yet the degrees
of that
power vary
widely among the different races of men. Even among men of our race, the different degrees of active mentation are plainly noticeable--these degrees not depending by any means upon the amount of "culture," social position or educational advantages possessed by the individual. Mental culture and mental development are two very different things. You
have but
to look around you
to see the different stages of the development of active
mentation in
man. The reasoning of many men is scarcely more than passive
mentation--exhibiting but
little of the qualities of volitional thought. They prefer to let other men think for them. Active mentation tires them and they find the instinctive, automatic, passive mental process much easier. Their minds work along the lines of least resistance. They are but little more than human sheep. Among the lower animals and the lower types of men, active mentation is largely confined to the grosser faculties--the more material plane; the higher mental faculties working along the instinctive, automatic lines of the passive function. As
the lower
forms of life
progressed in the evolutionary scale, they developed new faculties
which were latent within them. These faculties always manifested in the
form of rudimentary passive
functioning and afterwards worked up
through higher passive
forms,
until the active
functions
were brought
into play. The evolutionary process still continues--the invariable tendency being toward the goal of highly-developed active mentation. This evolutionary progress is caused by the vibratory impulse imparted by the Primal Cause--aided by the uplifting attraction of the Absolute. This
law of
evolution is still in
progress, and man is beginning to develop new powers of mind, which, of
course, are first manifesting themselves along the lines of passive
effort. Some men have developed these new faculties to a considerable
degree, and it is possible that before long Man will be able to
exercise them along the line of their active
functions. In fact, this power has already been attained by a few. This is the secret of the Oriental occultists--and of some of their Occidental brethren. The
amenability of the mind to
the will
can be increased by
properly directed practice. That which we
are in the habit of referring to as the "strengthening of the will"
is
in reality the training of the mind to recognize and absorb the Power
Within. The will
is strong enough--it
does not need strengthening. But
the mind
needs to be trained
to receive and act upon the suggestions of
the will.
The will
is the outward
manifestation of the I AM. The will-current
is flowing in
full-strength along the spiritual wires--but you
must learn how to raise the trolley-pole to touch it, before the mental
car will move. This is a somewhat different idea from that which you have been in the habit of receiving from writers on the subject of will-power, but it is correct--as you will demonstrate to your own satisfaction, if you will follow up the subject by experiments along the proper lines. The
attraction
of the Absolute is
drawing man upward, and the vibratory force of the Primal Impulse has
not yet exhausted itself. The time of evolutionary development has come
when man can help himself. The man who understands the Law can accomplish wonders by means of the development of the powers of the mind--whilst the man who turns his back upon the truth will suffer from his lack of knowledge of the Law. He
who
understands the laws of
his mental being develops his latent powers and uses them
intelligently. He does not despise his passive
mental
functions but
makes good use of them also--charges them with the duties for which
they are best fitted--and is able to obtain wonderful results from
their work, having mastered them and trained them to do the bidding of
the Higher Self. When
they fail
to do their work
properly, he regulates
them. And his knowledge prevents him from meddling with them unintelligently--and
thereby doing himself harm. He
develops
the
faculties and powers latent within him and learns how to manifest them
along the line of active
mentation as well as passive.
He
knows that
the Real Man within him is the Master to whom both active
and passive
functions are but tools. He has found himself. He has learned the secret of the I AM. $11.95 + FREE Shipping! Click on bookcover to look inside book   |
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