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Glossary
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Q & A
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The primary praise for the creation of The Master Key System is due to Charles F. Haanel, a spiritual visionary and master metaphysical philosopher of the early 20th century. Countless lives have been transformed for the better because of the book you now hold in your hands.
We are also indebted to the Founder and Leader of The Master Key System Institute, who has dedicated his energies to teaching the principles found in this book to people all over the world. It is one thing to read the text; it is another, more beneficial experience, to be led in the practical exercise of the principles herein.
I
Before any environment, successful or otherwise, can be created, action of some kind is necessary, and before any action is possible, there must be thought of some kind, either conscious or unconscious, and as thought is a product of mind, it becomes evident that Mind is the creative center from which all activities proceed.
It is not expected that any of the inherent laws which govern the modern business world as it is at present constituted can be suspended or repealed by any force on the same plane, but it is axiomatic that a higher law may overcome a lower one. Tree life causes the sap to ascend, not by repealing the law of gravity but by surmounting it.
To control circumstances a knowledge of certain scientific principles of mind-action is required. Such knowledge is a most valuable asset. It may be gained by degrees and put into practice as fast as learned. Power over circumstances is one of its fruits; health, harmony and prosperity are assets upon its balance sheet. It costs only the labor of harvesting its great resources.
The naturalist who spends much of his time observing visible phenomena is constantly creating power in that portion of his brain set apart for observation. The result is that he becomes very much more expert and skillful in knowing what he sees, and grasping an infinite number of details at a glance, than does his unobserving friend. He has reached this facility by exercising his brain. He deliberately chose to enlarge his brain power in the line of observation, so he deliberately exercised that special faculty, over and over, with increasing attention and concentration. Now we have the result: a man learned in the lore of observation far above his fellows. Or, on the other hand, one can, by stolid inaction, allow the delicate brain matter to harden and ossify until his whole life is barren and fruitless.
Every thought tends to become a material thing. Our desires are seed thoughts that have a tendency to sprout and grow and blossom and bear fruit.
We are sowing these seeds every day. What shall the harvest be? Each of us to-day is the result of his past thinking. Later we shall be the result of what we are now thinking. We create our own character, personality and environment 10
by the thought which we originate, or entertain. Thought seeks its own. The law of mental attraction is an exact parallel to the law of atomic affinity.
Mental currents are as real as electric, magnetic or heat currents. We attract the currents with which we are in harmony—are we selecting those which will be conducive to our success? This is the important question.
Lines of least resistance are formed by the constant action of the mind. The activity of the brain reacts upon the particular faculty of the brain employed.
The latent power of the mind is developed by constant exercise. Each form of its activity becomes more perfect by practice. Exercises for the development of the mind present a variety of motives for consideration. They involve the development of the perceptive faculties, the cultivation of the emotions, the quickening of the imagination, the symmetrical unfolding of the intuitive faculty, which without being able to give a reason frequently impels or prohibits choice, and finally the power of the mind may be cultivated by the development of the moral character.
"The greatest man," said Seneca, "is he who chooses right with invincible determination." The greatest power of the mind, then, depends upon its exercise in moral channels, and therefore requires that every conscious mental effort should involve a moral end. A developed moral consciousness modifies consideration of motives, and increases the force and continuity of actions; consequently the well developed symmetrical character necessitates good physical, mental and moral health, and this combination creates initiative, power, resistless force, and necessarily success.
It will be found that Nature is constantly seeking to express Harmony in all things, is forever trying to bring about an harmonious adjustment, for every discord, every wound, every difficulty; therefore when thought is harmonious, nature begins to create the material conditions, the possession of which is necessary in order to make up an harmonious environment.
When we understand that the mind is the great creative power, what does not become possible? With Desire as the great creative energy, can we not see why Desire should be cultivated, controlled and directed in our lives and destinies? Men and women of strong mentality, who dominate those around them, and often those far removed from them, really emanate currents charged with power which, coming in contact with the minds of others, causes the desires of the latter to be in accord with the mind of the strong individuality. Great masters of men possess this power to a marked degree.
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Their influence is felt far and near, and they secure compliance with their wishes by making others "want" to act in accord with them. In this way men of strong Desire and Imagination may exert powerful influence over the minds of others, leading the latter in the way desired. The magnetic persons attract, allure and draw. They are emotional, and capture the will of others.
No man is ever created without the inherent power in himself to help himself.
The personality that understands its own intellectual and moral power of conquest will certainly assert itself. It is this truth which an enfamined world craves to-day. The possibility of asserting a slumbering intellectual courage that clearly discerns, and a moral courage that grandly undertakes is open to all. There is a divine potency in every human being.
We speak of the sun as "rising" and "setting," though we know that this is simply an appearance of motion. To our senses the earth is apparently standing still, and yet we know it is revolving rapidly. We speak of a bell as a
"sounding body," yet we know that all that the bell can do is to produce vibrations in the air. When these vibrations come at the rate of sixteen a second they cause a sound to be heard in the mind. It is possible for the mind to hear vibrations up to the rate of 38,000 a second. When the number increases beyond this all is silence again; so that we know that the sound is not in the bell; it is in our own mind.
We speak and even think of the sun as "giving light," yet we know it is simply giving forth energy which produces vibrations in the ether at the rate of four hundred trillion a second, causing what are termed light waves, so that we know that what we call light is simply a mode of motion, and the only light that there is, is the sensation caused in the mind by the motion of these waves.
When the number of vibrations increases, the light changes in color, each change in color being caused by shorter and more rapid vibrations; so that although we speak of the rose as being red, the grass as being green, or the sky as being blue, we know that these colors exist only in our minds, and are the sensation experienced by us as the result of the vibrations of light. When the vibrations are reduced below four hundred trillion a second, they no longer affect us as light but we experience the sensation of heat.
So we have come to know that appearances exist for us only in our consciousness. Even time and space become annihilated, time being only the experience of succession, there being no past or future except as a thought relation to the present. In the last analysis, therefore, we know that one 12
principle governs and controls all there is. Every atom is forever conserved; whatever is parted with must inevitably be received somewhere. It cannot perish and it only exists for use. It can go only where it is attracted, and therefore required. We can receive only what we give, and we may give only to those who can receive; and it remains with us to determine our rate of growth and the degree of harmony that we shall express.
The laws under which we live are designed solely for our advantage. These laws are immutable and we cannot escape from their operation. All the great eternal forces act in solemn silence, but it is in our power to place ourselves in harmony with them and thus express a life of comparative peace and happiness.
Difficulties, disharmony, obstacles, indicate that we are either refusing to give out what we no longer need, or refusing to accept what we require. Growth is attained through an exchange of the old for the new, of the good for the better; it is a conditional or reciprocal action, for each of us is a complete thought entity and the completeness makes it possible for us to receive only as we give. We cannot obtain what we lack if we tenaciously cling to what we have.
The Principle of Attraction operates to bring to us only what may be to our advantage. We are able consciously to control our conditions as we come to sense the purpose of what we attract, and are able to extract from each experience only what we require for our further growth. Our ability to do this determines the degree of harmony or happiness we attain.
The ability to appropriate what we require for our growth continually increases as we reach higher planes and broader visions, and the greater our ability to know what we require, the more certain we shall be to discern its presence, to attract it and to absorb it. Nothing may reach us except what is necessary for our growth. All conditions and experiences that come to us do so for our benefit. Difficulties and obstacles will continue to come until we absorb their wisdom and gather from them the essentials of further growth.
That we reap what we sow, is mathematically exact. We gain permanent strength exactly to the extent of the effort required to overcome our difficulties.
The inexorable requirements of growth demand that we exert the greatest degree of attraction for what is perfectly in accord with us. Our highest 13
happiness will be best attained through our understanding of and conscious cooperation with natural laws.
Our mind-forces are often bound by the paralyzing suggestions that come to us from the crude thinking of the race, and which are accepted and acted upon without question. Impressions of fear, of worry, of disability and of inferiority are given us daily. These are sufficient reasons in themselves why men achieve so little—why the lives of multitudes are so barren of results, when all the time there are possibilities within them which need only the liberating touch of appreciation and wholesome ambition to expand into real greatness.
Women, perhaps even more than men, have been subject to these conditions.
This is true because of their finer susceptibilities making them more open to thought-vibrations from other minds, and because the flood of negative and repressive thoughts has been aimed more especially at them.
But it is being overcome. Florence Nightingale overcame it when she rose in the Crimea to heights of tender sympathy and executive ability before unknown among women. Clara Barton, the head of the Red Cross, overcame it when she wrought a similar work in the armies of the Union. Jenny Lind overcame it when she showed her ability to command enormous financial rewards while at the same time gratifying the passionate desire of her nature and reaching the front rank of her day in musical art. And there is a long list of women singers, philanthropists, writers and actresses who have proved themselves capable of reaching the greatest literary, dramatic, artistic and sociological achievement.
Women as well as men are beginning to do their own thinking. They have awakened to some conception of their possibilities. They demand that if life holds any secrets, these shall be disclosed. At no previous time has the influence and potency of thought received such careful and discriminating investigation. While a few seers have grasped the great fact that mind is the universal substance, the basis of all things, never before has this vital truth penetrated the more general consciousness. Many minds are now striving to give this wonderful truth definite utterance. Modern science has taught us that light and sound are simply different intensities of motion, and this may lead to discoveries of forces within man that could not have been conceived of until this revelation was made.
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A new era has dawned, and now, standing in its light, man sees something of the vastness of the meaning of life—something of its grandeur. Within that life is the germ of infinite potencies. One feels convinced that man's possibility of attainment cannot be measured, that boundary lines to his onward march are unthinkable. Standing on this height he finds that he can draw new power to himself from the infinite energy of which he is a part.
II
Some men seem to attract success, power, wealth, attainment, with very little conscious effort; others conquer with great difficulty; still others fail altogether to reach their ambitions, desires and ideals. Why is this so? Why should some men realize their ambitions easily, others with difficulty, and still others not at all? The cause cannot be physical, else the most perfect men, physically, would be the most successful. The difference, therefore, must be mental—must be in the mind; hence mind must be the creative force, and must constitute the sole difference between men. It is the mind, therefore, which overcomes the environment and every other obstacle in the path of men.
It is the actualizing of interior quality through the creative power of thought which has given us great leaders like Alexander, Napoleon, Cromwell, Marlborough and Washington; captains of industry like Carnegie, Morgan, Rockefeller and Leverhulme; inventors like Stephenson, Morse, Marconi, Edison, Tesla, and hosts of others. If, then, the only difference between men lies in their ability to think, to use and control their thought, to develop it—if the secret of all success, all power, all attainment is the creative power of mind, the force of thought—surely the ability of think correctly should become the paramount object of every man.
When the creative power of thought is fully understood, its effect will be seen to be marvelous. But such results cannot be secured without proper application, diligence and concentration. The student will find that the laws governing in the mental and spiritual world are as fixed and infallible as in the material world. To secure the desired results, then, it is necessary to know the law and to comply with it. A proper compliance with the law will be found to produce the desired result with invariable exactitude. The student who learns that power comes from within, that he is weak only because he has depended on help from outside, and who unhesitatingly throws himself on his own 15
thought, instantly rights himself, stands erect, assumes a dominant attitude, and works miracles.
Scientists tell us that we live in the universal ether. This is formless, of itself, but it is pliable, and forms about us, in us and around us, according to our thought and word. We set it into activity by thinking about it. Then that which manifests to us objectively is that we have thought or said.
Thought is governed by law. The reason we have not manifested more faith is because of lack of understanding. We have not understood that everything works in exact accordance with definite law. The law of thought is as definite as the law of mathematics, or the law of chemistry, or the law of electricity, or the law of gravitation. When we begin to understand that happiness, health, success, prosperity and every other condition or environment are results, and that these results are created by right thinking, either consciously or unconsciously, we shall realize the importance of a working knowledge of the laws governing thought.
Those coming into a conscious realization of the power of thought find themselves in possession of the best that life can give; substantial things of a higher order become theirs, and these sublime realities are so constituted that they can be made tangible parts of daily personal life. They realize a world of higher power, and keep that power constantly working. This power is inexhaustible, limitless, and they are therefore carried forward from victory to victory. Obstacles that seem insurmountable are overcome. Enemies are changed to friends, conditions are overcome, elements transformed, fate is conquered.
The supply of Good is inexhaustible, and the demand can be made along whatever lines we may desire. This is the mental law of demand and supply.
Our circumstances and environment are formed by our thoughts. We have, perhaps, been creating these conditions unconsciously. If they are unsatisfactory, the remedy is to consciously alter our mental attitude and see our circumstances adjust themselves to the new mental condition. There is nothing strange or supernatural about this; it is simply the Law of Being. The thoughts which take root in the mind will certainly produce fruit after their kind. The greatest schemer cannot "gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles." To improve our conditions we must first improve ourselves. Our thoughts and desires will be the first to show improvement.
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To be in ignorance of the laws governing in the mental world is to be like a child playing with fire, or a man manipulating powerful chemicals without a knowledge of their nature and relations. This is universally true, because Mind is the one great cause which produces all conditions in the lives of men and women.
Admitting that you agree with everything that has been stated, thus far, and most persons will take no exception to anything that has been said, it still remains to make a practical application of the law.
In order to take advantage of this law, and put ourselves into a harmonious relationship with it, so that the benefit may be made manifest in our lives, it is necessary to see that the conditions are all met for its proper operation. We may know the laws governing electricity, we may have all the proper mechanism, the lamps, the wires, the switches, and we may even know how to generate the power, but if the connections are not properly made, we can work the switch till doomsday and no light will appear; so with the law of attraction—it is in operation all the time, everywhere, something is constantly being created, something is appearing, everything is continually changing, but to take advantage of this process, it is just as necessary to comply with the law as it is in the case of electricity or gravitation.
Mind is creative and operates through the law of attraction. We are not to try to influence any to do what we think they should do. Each individual has a right to choose for himself, but aside from this we would be operating under the law of force, which is destructive in its nature and just the opposite of the law of attraction. A little reflection will convince you that all of the great laws of nature operate in silence and that the underlying principle is the law of attraction. It is only destructive processes such as earthquakes and catastrophes that employ force. Nothing good is ever accomplished in that way.
To be successful, attention must invariably be directed to the creative plane; it must never seek to deprive. You do not wish to take anything away from anyone else, you want to create something for yourself, and what you want for yourself you are perfectly willing that everyone else should have.
You know that it is not necessary to take from one to give to another, but that the supply for all is abundant. Nature's storehouse of wealth is inexhaustible and if there seems to be a lack of supply anywhere it is only because the channels of distribution are as yet imperfect.
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Abundance is a natural law of the universe. The evidence of this law is conclusive; we see it on every hand. Everywhere Nature is lavish—wasteful, extravagant. Nowhere is economy observed in any created thing. Profusion is manifested in everything. The millions and millions of trees and flowers and plants and animals and the vast scheme of reproduction where the process of creating and recreating is forever going on, all indicates the lavishness with which Nature has made provision for man. That there is an abundance for everyone is evident, but that many seem to have been separated from this supply is also evident; they have not yet come into a realization of the Universality of all substance, and that mind is the active principle which starts causes in motion whereby we are related to the things we desire.
It is evident, therefore, that he who fails to fully investigate and take advantage of the wonderful progress which is being made, in this last and greatest science, will soon be as far behind as the man who would refuse to acknowledge and accept the benefits which have accrued to mankind through an understanding of the laws of electricity.
Of course, the mind creates negative conditions just as readily as favorable conditions, and when we consciously or unconsciously visualize every kind of lack, limitation and discord, we create these conditions; this is what many are unconsciously doing all the time.
This law as well as every other law is no respecter of persons, but is in constant operation and is relentlessly bringing to each individual exactly what he has created; in other words, "Whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap."
Abundance, therefore, depends upon a recognition of the laws of Abundance, and the fact that Mind is not only the creator, but the only creator of all there is. Certainly nothing can be created, before we know that it can be created and then make the proper effort. There is no more Electricity in the world to-day than there was fifty years ago, but until someone recognized the law by which it could be made of service, we received no benefit; now that the law is understood, practically the whole world is lit by it. So with the law of Abundance; it is only those who recognize the law and place themselves in harmony with it, who share in its benefits.
A recognition of the law of abundance develops certain mental and moral qualities, among which are Courage, Loyalty, Tact, Sagacity, Individuality and Constructiveness. These are all modes of thought, and as all thought is 18
creative, they manifest in objective conditions corresponding with the mental condition. This is necessarily true because the ability of the individual to think is his ability to act upon the Universal mind and bring it into manifestation, it is the process whereby the individual becomes a channel for the differentiation of the Universal. Every thought is a cause and every condition an effect.
This principle endows the individual with seemingly transcendental possibilities, among which is the mastery of conditions through the creation and recognition of opportunities. This creation of opportunity implies the existence or creation of the necessary qualities or talents which are thought forces and which result in a consciousness of power which future events cannot disturb. It is this organization of victory or success within the mind, this consciousness of power within which constitutes the responsive harmonious action whereby we are related to the objects and purposes which we seek. This is the law of attraction in action; this law being the common property of all, can be exercised by any one having sufficient knowledge of its operation.
Courage is that power of the mind which manifests in the love of mental conflict; it is a noble and lofty sentiment, it is equally fitted to command or obey. Both require courage. It often has a tendency to conceal itself. There are men and women, too, who apparently exist only to do what is pleasing to others, but when the time comes and the latent will is revealed, we find under the velvet glove an iron hand—and make no mistake about it. True courage is cool, calm and collected, and is never foolhardy, quarrelsome, ill-natured or contentious.
Accumulation is the power to reserve and preserve a part of the supply which we are constantly receiving, so as to be in position to take advantage of the larger opportunities which will come as soon as we are ready for them. Has it not been said, "To him that hath shall be given." All successful businessmen have this quality well developed. James J. Hill, who recently died leaving an estate of over fifty-two million dollars, said: "If you want to know whether you are destined to be a success or a failure in life, you can easily find out. The test is simple and it is infallible: Are you able to save money? If not, drop out.
You will lose. You may think not, but you will lose as sure as you live. The seed of success is not in you." This is very good so far as it goes, but anyone who knows the biography of James J. Hill, knows that he acquired his fifty million dollars by following the exact methods we have given. In the first 19
place, he started with nothing; he had to use his imagination to idealize the vast railroad which he projected across the western prairies. He then had to come into a recognition of the law of abundance in order to provide the ways and means for materializing it; unless he had followed this program he would never have had anything to save.
Accumulation acquires momentum; the more you accumulate the more you desire and the more you desire the more you accumulate, so that it is but a short time until the action and reaction acquire a momentum that cannot be stopped. It must, however, never be confused with selfishness, miserliness or penuriousness; they are perversions and will make any true progress impossible.
Constructiveness is the creative instinct of the mind. It will be readily seen that every successful business man must be able to plan, develop or construct.
In the business world it is usually referred to as initiative. It is not enough to go along the beaten path. New ideas must be developed, new ways of doing things. It manifests in building, designing, planning, inventing, discovering, improving. It is a most valuable quality and must be constantly encouraged and developed. Every individual possesses it to some degree, because he is a center of consciousness in that Infinite and Eternal Energy from which all things proceed.
Water manifests on three planes, as ice, as water and as steam; it is all the same compound, the only difference is the temperature, but no one would try to drive an engine with ice; convert it into steam and it easily takes up the load. So with your energy; if you want it to act on the creative plane, you will have to begin by melting the ice with the fire of imagination, and you will find that the stronger the fire, and the more ice you melt, the more powerful your thought will become, and the easier it will be for you to materialize your desire.
Sagacity is the ability to perceive and cooperate with Natural Law. True Sagacity avoids trickery and deceit as it would the leprosy; it is the product of that deep insight which enables one to penetrate into the heart of things and understand how to set causes in motion which will inevitably create successful conditions.
Tact is a very subtle and at the same time a very important factor in business success. It is very similar to intuition. To possess tact one must have a fine feeling, must instinctively know what to say or what to do. In order to be 20
tactful one must possess Sympathy and Understanding, that understanding which is so rare, for all men see and hear and feel, but how desperately few
"understand." Tact enables one to foresee what is about to happen and calculate the result of actions. Tact enables us to feel when we are in the presence of physical, mental and moral cleanliness, for these are to-day invariably demanded as the price of success.
Loyalty is one of the strongest links which bind men of strength and character. It is one which can never be broken with impunity. The man who would lose his right hand rather than betray a friend will never lack friends.
The man who will stand in silent guard, until death, if need be, beside the shrine of confidence or friendship of those who have allowed him to enter will find himself linked with a current of cosmic power which will attract desirable conditions only. It is inconceivable that such a one should ever meet with lack of any kind.
Individuality is the power to unfold our own latent possibilities, to be a law unto ourselves, to be interested in the race rather than the goal. Strong men care nothing for the flock of imitators who trot complacently behind them.
They derive no satisfaction in the mere leading of large numbers, or the plaudits of the mob. This pleases only petty natures and inferior minds.
Individuality glories more in the unfolding of the power within than in the servility of the weakling.
Individuality is a real power inherent in all and the development and consequent expression of this power enables one to assume the responsibility of directing his own footsteps rather than stampeding after some self-assertive bellwether.
Truth is the imperative condition of all well-being. To be sure, to know the truth and to stand confidently on it is a satisfaction beside which no other is comparable. Truth is the underlying verity, the condition precedent to every business or social relation. Truth is the only solid ground in a world of conflict, doubt and danger.
Every act not in harmony with Truth, whether through ignorance or design, cuts the ground from under our feet, leads to discord, inevitable loss, and confusion, for while the humblest mind can accurately foretell the result of ever correct action, the greatest, most profound and penetrating mind loses its way hopelessly and can form no conception of the results due to a departure from correct principles.
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Those who establish within themselves the requisite elements of true success have established confidence, organized victory, and it only remains for them to take such steps from time to time as the newly-awakened thought force will direct, and herein rests the magical secret of all power.
Less than ten per cent. of our mental processes is conscious, the other ninety per cent. is subconscious and unconscious, so that he who would depend upon his conscious thought alone for results is less than ten per cent. efficient.
Those who are accomplishing anything worthwhile are those who are enabled to take advantage of this greater storehouse of mental wealth. It is in the vast domain of the subconscious mind that great truths are hidden, and it is here that thought finds its creative power, its power to correlate with its object, to bring out of the unseen the seen.
Those familiar with the laws of Electricity understand the principle that electricity must always pass from a higher to a lower potentiality and can therefore make whatever application of the power they desire. Those not familiar with this law can effect nothing; and so with the law governing in the Mental World, those who understand that Mind penetrates all things, is Omnipresent and is responsive to every demand, can make use of the law and can control conditions, circumstances and environment; the uninformed cannot use it because they do not know it.
The fruit of this knowledge is, as it were, a gift of the Gods; it is the "truth"
that makes men free, not only free from every lack and limitation, but free from sorrow, worry and care, and is it not wonderful to realize that this law is no respecter of persons, that it makes no difference what your habit of thought may be the way has been prepared.
With the realization that this mental power controls and directs every other power which exists, that it can be cultivated and developed, that no limitation can be placed upon its activity, it will become apparent that it is the greatest fact in the world, the remedy for every ill, the solution for every difficulty, the gratification of every desire, in fact, that it is the Creator's magnificent provision for human emancipation.
III
The scientific spirit now dominates every field of effort, relations of cause and effect are no longer ignored.
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The discovery of a reign of law marked an epoch in human progress. It eliminated the element of uncertainty and caprice from men's lives, and substituted law, reason and certitude.
Men now understand that for every result there is an adequate and definite cause, so that when a given result is desired, they seek the condition by which alone this result may be attained.
The basis upon which all law rests was discovered by inductive reasoning which consists of comparing a number of separate instances with one another until the common factor which gives rise to them all is seen.
It is this method of study to which the civilized nations owe the greater part of their prosperity and the more valuable part of their knowledge; it has lengthened life, it has mitigated pain, it has spanned rivers, it has brightened night with the splendor of day, extended the range of vision, accelerated motion, annihilated distance, facilitated intercourse, and enabled men to descend into the sea and to soar in the air, what wonder then that men soon endeavored to extend the blessings of this system of study to their method of thinking, so that when it became plainly evident that certain results followed a particular method of thinking it only remained to classify these results.
This method is scientific and it is the only method by which we shall be permitted to retain, that degree of liberty and freedom which we have been accustomed to look upon as an inalienable right, because a people is safe at home and in the world only if national preparedness means such things as growing surplus of health, accumulated efficiency in public and private business of whatever sort, continuous advance in the science and art of acting together, and the increasingly dominant endeavor to make all of these and all other aspects of national development center and revolve about ascending life, single and collective, for which science, art and ethics furnish guidance and controlling motives.
The Master Key is based on absolute scientific truth and will unfold the possibilities that lie dormant in the individual, and teach how they may be brought into powerful action, to increase the person's effective capacity, bringing added energy, discernment, vigor and mental elasticity. The student who gains an understanding of the mental laws which are unfolded will come into the possession of an ability to secure results hitherto undreamed of, and which has rewards hardly to be expressed in words.
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It explains the correct use of both the receptive and active elements of the mental nature, and instructs the student in the recognition of opportunity; it strengthens the will and reasoning powers, and teaches the cultivation and best uses of imagination, desire, the emotions and the intuitional faculty. It gives initiative, tenacity of purpose, wisdom of choice, intelligent sympathy and a thorough enjoyment of life on its higher planes.
The Master Key teaches the use of Mind Power, true Mind Power, not any of the substitutes and perversions; it has nothing to do with Hypnotism, Magic or any of the more or less fascinating deceptions by which many are led to think that something can be had for nothing.
The Master Key cultivates and develops the understanding which will enable you to control the body and thereby the health. It improves and strengthens the Memory. It develops Insight, the kind of Insight which is so rare, the kind which is the distinguishing characteristic of every successful business man, the kind which enables men to see the possibilities as well as the difficulties in every situation, the kind which enables men to discern opportunity close at hand, for thousands fail to see opportunities almost within their grasp while they are industriously working with situations which under no possibility can be made to realize any substantial return.
The Master Key develops Mental Power which means that others instinctively recognize that you are a person of force, of character—that they want to do what you want them to do; it means that you attract men and things to you; that you are what some people call "lucky," that "things" come your way; that you have come into an understanding of the fundamental laws of Nature, and have put yourself in harmony with them; that you are in tune with the Infinite; that you understand the law of attraction, the Natural laws of growth, and the Psychological laws on which all advantages in the social and business world rest.
Mental Power is creative power, it gives you the ability to create for yourself; it does not mean the ability to take something away from someone else. Nature never does things that way. Nature makes two blades of grass grow where one grew before, and Mind Power enables men to do the same thing.
The Master Key develops insight and sagacity, increased independence, the ability and disposition to be helpful; it destroys distrust, depression, fear, melancholia, and every form of lack, limitation and weakness, including pain 24
and disease; it awakens buried talents, supplies initiative, force, energy, vitality
—it awakens an appreciation of the beautiful in Art, Literature and Science.
It has changed the lives of thousands of men and women, by substituting definite principles for uncertain and hazy methods—and principles are the foundation upon which every system of efficiency must rest.
Elbert Gary, the chairman of the United States Steel Corporation, said: "The services of advisors, instructors, efficiency experts in successful management are indispensable to most business enterprises of magnitude, but I deem the recognition and adoption of right principles of vastly more importance." The Master Key teaches the right principles, and suggests methods for making a practical application of the principles; in that it differs from every other course of study. It teaches that the only possible value which can attach to any principle is in its application. Many read books, take home study courses, attend lectures all their lives without ever making any progress in demonstrating the value of the principles involved. The Master Key suggests methods by which the value of the principles taught may be demonstrated and put in actual practice in the daily experience.
There is a change in the thought of the world. This change is silently transpiring in our midst, and is more important than any which the world has undergone since the downfall of Paganism.
The present revolution in the opinions of all classes of men, the highest and most cultured of men as well as those of the laboring class, stands unparalleled in the history of the world.
Science has of late made such vast discoveries, has revealed such an infinity of resources, has unveiled such enormous possibilities and such unsuspected forces, that scientific men more and more hesitate to affirm certain theories as established and indubitable or to deny certain other theories as absurd or impossible, and so a new civilization is being born; customs, creeds, and cruelty are passing; vision, faith and service are taking their place. The fetters of tradition are being melted off from humanity, and as the dross of materialism is being consumed, thought is being liberated and truth is rising full-orbed before an astonished multitude.
The whole world is on the eve of a new consciousness, a new power and a new realization of the resources within the self. The last century saw the most 25
magnificent material progress in history. The present century will produce the greatest progress in mental and spiritual power.
Physical Science has resolved matter into molecules, molecules into atoms, atoms into energy, and it has remained for Sir Ambrose Fleming, in an address before the Royal Institution, to resolve this energy into mind. He says:
"In its ultimate essence, energy may be incomprehensible by us except as an exhibition of the direct operation of that which we call Mind or Will."
Let us see what are the most powerful forces in Nature. In the mineral world everything is solid and fixed. In the animal and vegetable kingdom it is in a state of flux, forever changing, always being created and recreated. In the atmosphere we find heat, light and energy. Each realm becomes finer and more spiritual as we pass from the visible to the invisible, from the coarse to the fine, from the low potentiality to high potentiality. When we reach the invisible we find energy in its purest and most volatile state.
And as the most powerful forces of Nature are the invisible forces, we find that the most powerful forces of man are his invisible forces, his spiritual force, and the only way in which the spiritual force can manifest is through the process of thinking. Thinking is the only activity which the spirit possesses, and thought is the only product of thinking.
Addition and subtraction are therefore spiritual transactions; reasoning is a spiritual process; ideas are spiritual conceptions; questions are spiritual searchlights and logic, argument and philosophy are spiritual machinery.
Every thought brings into action certain physical tissue, parts of the brain, nerve or muscle. This produces an actual physical change in the construction of the tissue. Therefore it is only necessary to have a certain number of thoughts on a given subject in order to bring about a complete change in the physical organization of a man.
This is the process by which failure is changed to success. Thoughts of courage, power, inspiration, harmony, are substituted for thoughts of failure, despair, lack, limitation and discord, and as these thoughts take root, the physical tissue is changed and the individual sees life in a new light, old things have actually passed away, all things have become new, he is born again, this time born of the spirit, life has a new meaning for him, he is reconstructed and is filled with joy, confidence, hope, energy. He sees opportunities for success to which he was heretofore blind. He recognizes possibilities which 26
before had no meaning for him. The thoughts of success with which he has been impregnated are radiated to those around him, and they in turn help him onward and upward; he attracts to him new and successful associates, and this in turn changes his environment; so that by this simple exercise of thought, a man changes not only himself, but his environment, circumstances and conditions.
You will see, you must see, that we are at the dawn of a new day; that the possibilities are so wonderful, so fascinating, so limitless as to be almost bewildering. A century ago any man with an airplane or even a Gatling gun could have annihilated a whole army equipped with the implements of warfare then in use. So it is at present. Any man with a knowledge of the possibilities contained in the Master Key has an inconceivable advantage over the multitude.
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The Master Key Psychological Chart It is a psychological fact that ninety per cent of our mental power is never or seldom used. Therefore, most men have the power to achieve ten times as much as they ever accomplish.
This chart will tell you exactly where you stand, what you are accomplishing and what you can accomplish if you make the necessary effort.
Copy the following table out and fill it in as instructed below .
Mental Product
%
Health
%
Time Efficiency
%
Creative Power
%
Concentration
%
_____
Total
%
Divide by 5—Average
%
The first test is your Mental product. What is it worth? Are you getting full value for it? What you get for your mental product depends entirely upon your ability to sell it to the best advantage. The chances are that many men with no more ability than yourself are being paid ten, twenty or fifty times more than you are, for a product no better than yours. If so, there is a reason, and this chart will explain it.
Estimate the value of what you have to sell, your knowledge, your experience, your loyalty, your energy, and if you are marketing it at its full rate value give yourself 100 per cent.; if you are only getting one-half of what it is worth, give yourself fifty per cent., but be fair; do not underestimate the value of what you have to offer; remember that loss leads to greater loss and most loss comes from self-depreciation. Cause and effect do not operate somewhere, 28
sometimes, but everywhere, always. This is an invariable law, so that whatever we receive, good or bad, is the result of a definite cause and reaches us either as a penalty or a reward.
And remember this, your ability to sell your mental product as the rate of 5
per cent annually, on $100,000, does not depend upon ability or knowledge either; you may be selling your product for $400 a year, and it may be more valuable than that of many who are being paid at the rate of $5,000 a year.
The reason is plain. Knowledge does not apply itself; you are allowing it to remain in static form; you must convert it into dynamic form by applying creative power and concentration. The lack of concentrated, intelligent, charted effort may be costing you $4,000 a year.
Next, take Health. If you eat well, sleep well, take a reasonable amount of recreation, and can attend to your business, profession or household duties without any consideration for or thought of the state of your health, give yourself 100 per cent.; but if your body needs constant attention, if you have to be continually worried about what to eat or what not to eat, if you cannot sleep, or if you have aches or pains of any description, deduct from the 100
per cent.; if you think your health is 90 per cent. of what it should be, give yourself 90 per cent., or if you are only 50 per cent. efficient, put it down—be absolutely fair.
Remember that your physical body is maintained through a process of continuous destruction and reconstruction. Life is simply an exchange of the old for the new, and health is only the equilibrium which nature maintains during the process of creating new tissue and eliminating the old or waste tissue.
Birth and death are constantly taking place in our body, new cells are constantly being formed by the process of converting food, water and air into living tissue. Every action of the brain, every movement of a muscle means the destruction and consequent death of some of these cells and the accumulation of these dead, unused and waste cells is what causes pain, suffering and disease. The symptoms depend upon what organs are being taxed in their effort to eliminate the waste matter.
An understanding of these laws and a consequent knowledge as to how to preserve an equilibrium between the new cells which are being created and the old cells which are being eliminated is the secret of perfect health.
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Next in importance comes Time Efficiency because time is all that we have, and what we accomplish depends entirely upon what use we make of our time. If you work eight hours, sleep eight hours, and use eight hours for recreation, study and self-improvement and all the time is fully utilized, give yourself 100 percent.
But if any part of the eight hours which should be sold at a profit is spent in idleness, or gossip, or any form of mental dissipation; if any part of this time is wasted, or worse than wasted by allowing your thought to rest on critical, discordant or inharmonious subjects of any kind, cut down your percentage accordingly. If you fall asleep the minute your head touches the pillow, all right, but if you spend from fifteen minutes to an hour trying to get to sleep, cut your percentage down again: if your sleep is disturbed by dreams or fear or worry of any kind, cut your percentage down again.
If you jump up early and feel refreshed and vigorous, if you bathe and make your toilet without the loss of any unnecessary time, well and good, but if you idle or dream or fritter away from fifteen minutes to a half-hour needlessly, cut your percentage down again. If you spend the rest of your time in good healthy recreation, which benefits you, both physically and mentally, well and good; you are acquiring capital which will have a cash value, but if you let the time get away from you with nothing to show for it, you are not better physically, mentally or morally; if the time has gone and left nothing of value, then it has been lost for it may leave something detrimental, something which will prove a handicap in your race for success. Here again you must be fair with yourself and give yourself exactly the percentage to which you are entitled.
Next comes your Creative Power. If most persons whom you meet do what you want them to do; if they feel toward you as you wish them to feel; if they think what you want them to think, give yourself 100 percent., because everything we get must come from others; there is no other channel by which success can reach us. This creative power must be unconsciously exercised, it must be your personality; if, however, you have to make a tremendous effort when you wish to accomplish something, if you have to exert will power, if you must fret and worry and stew over the result of an important interview, cut your percentage down to 50 percent. or 40 percent. or even less, because you do not understand the principle involved.
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When you understand there will be no cause for anxiety; you will know, because in the first place you will never want or expect anyone to do anything except what is best for them; you will understand that every transaction must benefit both parties. When you understand these laws, when the principles become a vital part of your life, when they are involved in your mental attitude, you will have found the Master Key and all doors will be open to you, because you will understand that every event, every condition, everything was first an idea, and that just to the extent that you grew quiet, and focused your attention on that idea, stilling all the activities of the mind, and eliminating all other thoughts from your consciousness, will the various phases and possibilities of the idea develop; and just in accordance with the definiteness with which you picture that idea, and the extent with which the idea takes possession of you will the creative power do its work, and the creative power will eventually take control and direct every activity of both mind and body and will begin to shape every condition related to the idea, so that sooner or later the idea will come forth in definite tangible form. If you understand this thoroughly, and have demonstrated it time and time again, so that you can mold and shape and determine conditions, I say again, give yourself 100 percent.
Next comes Concentration. Can you concentrate? Do you know what it means to concentrate? Can you direct the thought to any problem which may arise, for five minutes, ten minutes or fifteen minutes, to the absolute exclusion of everything else? Can you unravel, disintegrate, take the problem apart, see every phase of it, see the cause which brought it about, see the solution, see it definitely, conclusively, and finally, and know that your solution is correct? Can you then dismiss the matter and turn your attention to something else without ever recurring to the matter again? If you can do this, give yourself 100 percent. If, however, you are haunted by fears, troubles, anxieties. If, when you have no problem to solve, you make one for yourself, by drawing on your imagination; if you are afraid of what this one says, or the other one thinks, or someone else does, then cut down your percentage, because if you knew how to concentrate you would not be afraid of anyone or anything; you would be in possession of a power which would make every other known power sink into insignificance. Be careful to give yourself exactly the percentage to which you feel you are entitled.
Now strike an average. See where you stand. If you are a little above the average, your chart will be something like this
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50%
Health
80%
Time Efficiency
80%
Creative Power
50%
Concentration
10%
_____
Total
270%
Divide by 5—Average
54%
Assuming that you are earning $1,000 a year and that you feel that your mental product should be worth $2,000 a year, which is the basis for your calculation, then any method which would assist you to increase your earning power to $2,000 a year would be worth $1,000 a year to you.
Again, any method which would bring you health, efficiency in your time, efficiency in your creative power, or increase your ability to concentrate, would be worth at least $1,000 a year. Many have found that the Master Key teaching does all of this and much more.
ADVICE
Remember—
Fully to understand grand and beautiful thought requires, perhaps, as much time as to conceive it.
If you wish to enjoy the utmost practical benefit from "The Master Key"—go slowly.
Transfuse into your mind the contents of one part only, each week for twenty-four weeks.
Realize the meaning of every phrase.
Consult "The Master Key" constantly, as your perpetual help and stimulus.
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Each time you read the work you will get a better understanding of the eternal cosmic principles.
Tell others of "The Master Key" so that more and more people may reciprocate with you, as conscious adepts in harmony.
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TELLS upon what possession is based, explains the cause of all gain, explains the cause of loss as well as all other experiences in life. It explains how power is secured. It tells of a world within and how this world is governed. It explains how the solution for every problem in life may be found. It tells how practical men and women find the courage, power, hope, enthusiasm and confidence by which they are given the intelligence and wisdom to make their dreams come true. It tells how more efficiency is obtained and retained, and how our future may be placed under our own control instead of being at the mercy of any capricious or uncertain external power. It explains the cause of every condition, the reason for every experience, the origin of all power, and why all power is absolutely under our own control.
INTRODUCTION. PART ONE.
Would you bring into your life more power? Get power consciousness. More health? Get health conscious. More happiness? Get happiness consciousness.
Live the spirit of these things until they become yours by right. It will then become impossible to keep them from you. The things of the world are fluid to a power within man by which he rules them.
You need not acquire this power. You already have it. But you want to understand it; you want to use it; you want to control it; you want to impregnate yourself with it, so that you can go forward and carry the world before you.
Day by day, as you go on and on, as you gain momentum, as your inspiration deepens, as your plans crystallize, as you gain understanding, you will come to realize that this world is no dead pile of stones and timber, but that it is a living thing! It is made up of the beating hearts of humanity. It is a thing of life and beauty.
It is evident that it requires understanding to work with material of this description, but those who come into this understanding are inspired by a new light, a new force, they gain confidence and greater power each day, they realize their hopes and their dreams come true, life has a deeper, fuller, clearer meaning than before.
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1. That much gathers more is true on every plane of existence, and that loss leads to greater loss is equally true.
2. Mind is creative, and conditions, environment and all experiences in life are the result of our habitual or predominant mental attitude.
3. The attitude of mind necessarily depends upon what we think. Therefore, the secret of all power, all achievement and all possession depends upon our method of thinking.
4. This is true because we must "be" before we can "do" and we can "do" only to the extent that we "are," and what we "are" depends upon what we "think."
5. We cannot express powers that we do not possess. The only way by which we may secure possession of power is to become conscious of power, and we can never become conscious of power until we learn that all power is from within.
6. There is a world within—a world of thought and feeling and power; of light and life and beauty and, although invisible, its forces are mighty.
7. The world within is governed by mind. When we discover this world we shall find the solution for every problem, the cause for every effect; and since the world within is subject to our control, all laws of power and possession are also within our control.
8. The world without is a reflection of the world within. What appears without is what has been found within. In the world within may be found infinite Wisdom, infinite Power, infinite Supply of all that is necessary, waiting for unfoldment, development and expression. If we recognize these potentialities in the world within they will take form within the world without.
9. Harmony in the world within will be reflected in the world without by harmonious conditions, agreeable surroundings, the best of everything. It is the foundation of health, and a necessary essential to all greatness, all power, all attainment, all achievement and all success.
10. Harmony in the world within means the ability to control our thoughts, and to determine for ourselves how any experience is to affect us.
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11. Harmony in the world within results in optimism and affluence; affluence within results in affluence without.
12. The world without reflects the circumstances and the conditions of the consciousness within.
13. If we find wisdom in the world within, we shall have the understanding to discern the marvelous possibilities that are latent in this world within, and we shall be given the power to make these possibilities manifest in the world without.
14. As we become conscious of the wisdom in the world within we mentally take possession of this wisdom, and by taking mental possession we come into actual possession of the power and wisdom necessary to bring into manifestation the essentials necessary for our most complete and harmonious development.
15. The world within is the practical world in which the men and women of power generate courage, hope, enthusiasm, confidence, trust and faith, by which they are given the fine intelligence to see the vision and the practical skill to make the vision real.
16. Life is an enfoldment, not accretion. What comes to us in the world without is what we already possess in the world within.
17. All possession is based on consciousness. All gain is the result of an accumulative consciousness. All loss is the result of a scattering consciousness.
18. Mental efficiency is contingent upon harmony; discord means confusion; therefore, he who would acquire power must be in harmony with Natural Law.
19. We are related to the world without by the objective mind. The brain is the organ of this mind, and the cerebro-spinal system of nerves puts us in conscious communication with every part of the body. This system of nerves responds to every sensation of light, heat, odor, sound and taste.
20. When this mind thinks correctly, when it understands the truth, when the thoughts sent through the cerebro-spinal nervous system to the body are constructive, these sensations are pleasant, harmonious.
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21. The result is that we build strength, vitality and all constructive forces into our body, but it is through this same objective mind that all distress, sickness, lack, limitation and every form of discord and disharmony is admitted to our lives. It is therefore through the objective mind, by wrong thinking, that we are related to all. destructive forces.
22. We are related to the world within by the subconscious mind. The solar plexus is the organ of this mind; the sympathetic system of nerves presides over all subjective sensations, such as joy, fear, love, emotion, respiration, imagination and all other subconscious phenomena. It is through the subconscious that we are connected with the Universal Mind and brought into relation with the Infinite constructive forces of the Universe.
23. It is the coordination of these two centers of our being, and the understanding of their functions, which is the great secret of life. With this knowledge we can bring the objective and subjective minds into conscious cooperation and thus coordinate the finite and the infinite. Our future is entirely within our own control. It is not at the mercy of any capricious or uncertain external power.
24. All agree that there is but one Principle or Consciousness pervading the entire Universe, occupying all space, and being essentially the same in kind at every point of its presence. It is all powerful, all wisdom and always present.
All thoughts and things are within Itself. It is all in all.
25. There is but one consciousness in the universe able to think, and when it thinks its thoughts become objective things to it. As this Consciousness is omnipresent it must be present within every individual; each individual must be a manifestation of that Omnipotent, Omniscient and Omnipresent Consciousness.
26. As there is only one Consciousness in the Universe that is able to think it necessarily follows that your consciousness is identical with the Universal Consciousness, or, in other words, all mind is one mind. There is no dodging this conclusion.
27. The consciousness that focuses in your brain cells is the same consciousness which focuses in the brain cells of every other individual. Each individual is but the individualization of the Universal, the Cosmic Mind.
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28. The Universal Mind is static or potential energy; it simply is; it can manifest only through the individual, and the individual can manifest only through the Universal. They are one.
29. The ability of the individual to think is his ability to act on the Universal and bring it into manifestation. Human consciousness consists only in the ability of man to think. Walker says, "Mind in itself is believed to be a subtle form of static energy, from which arises the activity called 'thought,' which is the dynamic phase of mind. Mind is static energy, thought is dynamic energy
—the two phases of the same thing." Thought is therefore the vibratory force formed by converting static mind into dynamic mind.
30. As the sum of all attributes is contained in the Universal Mind, which is Omnipotent, Omniscient and Omnipresent, these attributes must be present at all times in their potential form in every individual. Therefore, when the individual thinks, the thought is compelled by its nature to embody itself in an objectivity or condition which will correspond with its origin.
31. Every thought is therefore a cause, and every condition an effect; for this reason it is absolutely essential that you control your thoughts so as to bring forth only desirable conditions.
32. All power is from within, and is absolutely under your control; it comes through exact knowledge and by the voluntary exercises of exact principles.
33. It should be plain that when you acquire a thorough understanding of this law, and are able to control your thought processes, you can apply it to any condition; in other words, you will have come into conscious cooperation with Omnipotent law, which is the fundamental basis of all things.
34. The Universal Mind is the life principle of every atom which is in existence; every atom is continually striving to manifest more life; all are intelligent, and all are seeking to carry out the purpose for which they were created.
35. A majority of mankind lives in the world without; few have found the world within, and yet it is the world within that makes the world without; it is therefore creative and everything which you find in your world without has been created by you in the world within.
36. The Master Key will bring you into a realization of power which will be yours when you understand this relation between the world without and the 38
world within. The world within is the cause, the world without the effect; to change the effect you must change the cause.
37. You will at once see that this is a radically new and different idea; most men try to change effects by working with effects. They fail to see that this is simply changing one form of distress for another. To remove discord, we must remove the cause, and this cause can be found only in the world within.
38. All growth is from within. This is evident in all nature. Every plant, every animal, every human being is a living testimony to this great law, and the error of the ages is in looking for strength or power from without.
39. The world within is the Universal fountain of supply, and the world without is the outlet to the stream. Our ability to receive depends upon our recognition of this Universal Fountain, this Infinite Energy of which each individual is an outlet, and so is one with every other individual.
40. Recognition is a mental process, mental action is therefore the interaction of the individual upon the Universal Mind, and as the Universal Mind is the intelligence which pervades all space and animates all living things, this mental action and reaction is the law of causation, but the principle of causation does not obtain in the individual but in the Universal Mind. It is not an objective faculty but a subjective process, and the results are seen in an infinite variety of conditions and experiences.
41. In order to express life there must be mind; nothing can exist without mind. Everything which exists is some manifestation of this one basic substance from which and by which all things have been created and are continually being re-created.
42. We live in a fathomless sea of plastic mind substance. This substance is ever alive and active. It is sensitive to the highest degree. It takes form according to the mental demand. Thought forms the mold or matrix from which the substance expresses.
43. Remember that it is in the application alone that the value consists, and that a practical understanding of this law will substitute abundance for poverty, wisdom for ignorance, harmony for discord and freedom for tyranny, and certainly there can be no greater blessing than these from a material and social standpoint.
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44. Now make the application; Select a room where you can be alone and undisturbed; sit erect, comfortably, but do not lounge; let your thoughts roam where they will but be perfectly still for from fifteen minutes to half an hour; continue this for three or four days or for a week until you secure full control of your physical being.
45. Many will find this extremely difficult; others will conquer with ease, but it is absolutely essential to secure complete control of the body before you are ready to progress. In Part Two you will receive instructions for the next step; in the meantime you must have mastered this one.