The subjective mind is a picture gallery, upon whose walls are hung the pictures of all the people whom the individual has ever known and all the incidents which he has ever experienced.
SUGGESTION AND SUBJECTIVITY
The subjective mind being deductive only in its reasoning powers is compelled by its nature to retain all the mental impressions that it has ever received. It, therefore, contains much that the objective mind has never consciously known. When we realize that the individual's subjectivity is his use of the One Subjective Mind, we shall see that a subjective unity is maintained between all people, and that individual mentalities which are in sympathetic vibration with each other must, more of less, mingle, and receive suggestions from each other. This is the meaning of mental influence, which is, indeed, a very real thing. This also means that the subjective mind receives suggestions from the race and is, more or less, influenced by its environment; all this takes place on the silent side of life and is mostly unknown to the receiver.
Race-suggestion is a very real thing, and each individual carries around with him, and has written into his mentality, many impressions that he never consciously thought of or experienced; for there is a silent influence going on at all times between people under this law.
SUBJECTIVE COMMUNICATION
It is almost certain that between friends there is, at all times, a silent communication, a sort of unconscious mental conversation going on subjectively. When this rises to the surface of conscious intelligence, it is called mental telepathy. This communication with others is going on at all times, whether the conscious mind is aware of the fact or not. We are always receiving impressions that are more or less vague, and it is seldom that they come to the surface; but they are there nevertheless and are gradually building into our mentalities impressions and forms of thought that are unconsciously and silently perceived.
SUBJECTIVE MIND AND INSPIRATION
Since the subjective mind is the storehouse of memory, it retains all that the eye has seen, the ear heard or the mentality conceived. Since it contains much that the outer man never consciously knew, and is the receptacle of much of the race-knowledge, through unconscious communication, it must, and does, have knowledge that far surpasses the objective faculties.
Realizing that the subjective draws to itself everything that it is in sympathy with, or vibrates to, we see that any one who is sympathetically inclined toward the race, or vibrates to the race-thought, might pick up the entire race-emotion and experience, and, if he were able to bring it to the surface, he could consciously depict it. Many of the world's orators, actors, and writers have been able to do this; which explains the reason why many of them have been so erratic; for they have been more or less controlled by the emotions which they have contacted.
Our greatest speakers are able to contact the subjective mentality of their audiences and in this way, not only to tell the audience what it wishes to be told, but also to send out a strong vibration that will make an equally strong subjective impression on those who are listening. It is a well-known fact that many speakers are able to connect with the mentality of an audience in such a manner as to be able to completely control it. Napoleon seemed to be able to do this, which was one of the reasons why he had such tremendous influence over his followers.
Singers and poets generally enter into more or less of a subjective state while singing or writing. In the case of a singer or actor, this enables him to respond to the emotion of his listeners and to be able to reflect back to them an equally strong emotion. It might work the other way; that is, he might, himself, awaken the emotion in his hearers. This we call temperament, and no singer, speaker or actor can be a great success without it.
In the case of a writer, this enables him to enter into the race-thought and perfectly depict race-emotion and race-endeavor. Poets are an especially good example of this ability; for poetry, like song, is the language of the soul, and none can write good poems unless he allows the soul to come to the surface. We could not imagine a great poem written mechanically. Artists lose themselves in their work and musicians often do the same; this we call inspiration.
In preaching, it is probable that the orator of the pulpit often so enters into the longings of men's hearts that he reveals them to themselves. He is able to depict their thoughts and emotions, and coupling his own with theirs, give birth to a great discourse; we say that he is inspired.
Any one contacting the subjective side of the race-mentality with the ability to permit it to come to the surface, will have at his disposal a knowledge that many lifetimes of hard study could not possibly accumulate. But, if one had to surrender his individuality in the process, he would be better off to remain ignorant.
Enough has been said on this subject to show the source of human inspiration. There is, of course, a much deeper seat of knowledge than the subjective mind; that is, the Spirit. But direct contact with Spirit is Illumination, and is a quality which has been developed in but few people; the few who have developed this quality have given the world its greatest literature, religion and law.
MENTAL ATMOSPHERES
Each person has a mental atmosphere which is the result of all that he has thought, said, done, and consciously or unconsciously perceived. This mental atmosphere is very real and is that subtle influence which constitutes the power of personal attraction; for personal attraction has but little to do with looks; it goes much deeper and is almost entirely subjective. This will explain the likes and dislikes for those with whom we come in daily contact. We meet some, only to turn away without a word, while others we are at once drawn toward, and without any apparent reason; this is the result of their mental atmosphere or thought vibration. No matter what the lips may be saying, the inner thought outspeaks them and the unspoken word often carries more weight than the spoken. As Emerson said: "What you are speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say."
In contacting people, we are instantly attracted or repelled, according to the vibrations which we feel. A person whose atmosphere is one of love and sunshine, whose nature is to be happy, who lives a clean, wholesome life in a free atmosphere, will always attract friends.
Children feel mental atmosphere very keenly and are drawn to those who are inwardly right, shunning those who are inwardly wrong. It has been truly said that people whom children and dogs do not like are dangerous. Animals are almost entirely subjective and feel mental atmospheres more keenly than do most people. A dog instinctively knows one's attitude toward him and, acting accordingly, is immediately a friend or foe. Personal atmospheres vary in their intensity, there being as many varieties as there are people; for each creates his own atmosphere in Mind.
HOW TO CREATE PERSONAL CHARM
Personal charm may be easily created by learning to love all and hate none. Truly did the great Emerson say: "If you want a friend, be one." If one wishes to have friends, he should become friendly; if he wishes love, he should learn to love. There is no excuse for any one being without a power of attraction, since it is a mental quality and may be consciously induced through right practice.
THE ATMOSPHERE OF PLACES
As all people have a mental atmosphere, so do all places; and as the atmosphere of people is the result of their thoughts, so the atmosphere of places is the result of the thoughts that have been created in them. Places are permeated with the thoughts of the people who inhabit them; in this way, mental atmospheres are created and may be easily felt by those contacting them.
How often we have had the experience of going into a place, only to feel that we were not wanted, and became so disturbed that we wished immediately to leave. How often, on the other hand, we have gone into places where we felt such a warmth and inner glow that we wished to remain. This is the result of the mental atmosphere surrounding the place or room. This is why we love our homes; they are filled with love and affection and we feel at peace within their walls. This is why one likes to return home after his day's work; for he knows that here is a plac
e where he will be away from the world with all of its cares and worries. It is a wise wife who understands this law and who keeps the atmosphere of the home pleasant. Such a one will seldom lose her mate, but will hold him through the strong ties of love and affection with which she floods his abode. Many an unhappy home could be harmonized if this law were better understood and practiced.
The atmosphere of the home should never be clouded with the uncertainties of the outside world. Here, in the palace of human love, all else should be forgotten and an atmosphere maintained which will be a shelter from the world. Here love should be the ruling passion and harmony should reign supreme. Here, above all other places, should the Kingdom of God be established and families should dwell together in peace and joy.
Too often, jealousy and deceit rob the home of its joy, while mistrust and doubting make it so unpleasant that it becomes an impossible place in which to live. But all this can be changed by reversing the wrong thoughts and in their place creating thoughts of love and tenderness toward one another.
There is nothing more unfortunate for a child's mind than to be compelled to live in an unhappy home. The home should stand for heaven on earth, and unless it does, it will not stand long, but will be buried in the ashes of dead hopes.
The atmosphere of the desert is wonderful, for it is free from the thoughts of men's confusion and fear, and so is a place of great peace. Here, indeed, away from the haunts of men's terrible struggles, quiet may be found and peach regained. It is the same with the mountains, the lakes and the trackless deep. This is what we love about Nature; her marvelous calm and deep peace; for she speaks to us and tells of a life undisturbed by the strife of man. She does, indeed, bear a message from On High, and happy is the one who can talk to her and learn from her, for she is wonderful and filled with light.
Even the slightest things seem to be possessed of a soul, or subjective atmosphere. How often we see a familiar coat or hat hanging on a peg, while in it we seem to see the person who wears it; it seems to look like him, and so it does, for it retains the emanation of his atmosphere, and really is permeated with his personality. Everything has an atmosphere which we sense and to which we react accordingly; if it is pleasant we like it, and if unpleasant we dislike it.
THE RACE-MIND
Just as each person, place or thing has a subjective atmosphere or remembrance, so each town, city, or nation has it individual atmosphere. Some towns are bustling with life and action while others seem dead; some are filled with a spirit of culture, while others seem filled with a spirit of commercial strife. This is the result of the mentalities of those who live in these places. A city given over to the pursuit of the higher endeavors will react with an atmosphere of culture and refinement, while one whose dominant thought is to acquire wealth will react to an atmosphere of grasp and grab. This is very definite and is felt by all who enter such places.
Just as a city as its atmosphere, so does a whole nation; for a nation is made up of the individuals who inhabit it; and the combined atmospheres of all the people who inhabit a nation creates a national mentality which we speak of as the psychology of that people.
THE MIND OF HISTORY
When we remember that Subjective Mind is Universal, we will come to the conclusion that the history of the race is written in the mental atmosphere of the globe on which we live. That is, everything that has ever happened on this planet has left its imprint on the walls of time; and could we walk down their corridors and read the writings, we should be reading the race history. This should seem simple when we realize that the vibrations of the human voice can be preserved in the receptive phonographic disc, and reproduced at will. If we were to impress one of these discs with the vibration of some one's voice and lay it away for a million years, it would still reproduce those vibrations.
It is not hard then to understand how the walls of time may be hung with the pictures of human events and how one who sees these pictures may read the race history.
TELEPATHY
Telepathy, or thought-transference, is such a commonly known fact that it is useless to do other than to discuss it briefly. However, there are some facts which might be overlooked unless we give them careful attention. The main fact to emphasize is that mental telepathy would not be possible unless there were a medium through which it could operate. This medium is Universal Mind; and it is through this medium that all thought-transference or mental telepathy takes place. Forms in matter and solid bodies may begin and end in space, but thought is more fluent.
Telepathy is the act of reading subjective thought, or of receiving conscious thought without audible words being spoken. But there must be a mental tuning in, so to speak, just as there must be in radio. We are surrounded by all sorts of vibrations, and if we wish to catch any of them distinctly, we must tune in; but there is a great deal of interference, and we do not always get the messages clearly. We often get the wrong ones, and sometimes many of the vibrations come together and seem to be nothing but a lot of noises, without any particular reason for being. It is only when the instrument is properly adjusted to some individual vibration that a clear message may be received.
This is true of mental telepathy, which is the transmission of thought. The receiver must tune in with the sender. It does not follow, however, that the sender knows that he is being tuned in on; in other words, one might pick up thoughts just as he picks up radio messages; and just as the one broadcasting may not know who is listening in, so the one sending out thought may not know who is listening in. Happily, but few people can listen in mentally, and these few only with more or less certainty of success. It would be terrible to be compelled to listen in on all the thoughts that are floating around. But, fortunately, we can only receive those messages to which we vibrate; and so the whole thing is a matter of our own choice. We are individuals in the mental world just as in the physical; and a wise person will protect himself mentally just as he would physically.
TUNING IN ON THOUGHT
Some seem to have the ability to tune in on thought and to read it, much as one would read a book. These people we call psychics; but all people really are psychic, since all have a soul or subjective mind. What we really mean is, that a psychic or medium is one who has the ability to objectify that which is subjective; to bring to the surface of conscious thought that which lies below the threshold of the outer mind. The medium reads from the book of remembrance; and it is marvelous how far-reaching this book of remembrance is.
MENTAL PICTURES
As everything must exist in the subjective world before it can in the objective, and as it must exist there as a mental picture, it follows that whatever may have happened at any time on this planet is today within its subjective atmosphere; i.e., the experiences of those who have lived here. These pictures are hung upon the walls of time, and may be clearly discerned by those who can read them.
Accordingly, since the Universal Subjectivity is a Unit and is Indivisible, all these pictures really exist at any, and every, point within It simultaneously; and we may contact anything that is within It at any point, because the whole of It is at every point. Consequently we may contact at the point of our own subjective mind (which is a point in Universal Subjective Mind) every incident that ever transpired on this planet. We may even see a picture that was enacted two thousand years ago in some Roman arena; for the atmosphere is filled with such pictures. This has been called "The Illusion of Mind" (the psychic sea). This does not mean that Mind is an illusion, but that it might present us with an illusion unless we are very careful and are quite sure that what we are looking at is a real form and not simply a picture.
It is very important that we understand this; for each person in his objective state is a distinct and individualized center in Universal Mind; but in his subjective state every one, in his stream of consciousness, or at his rate of vibration, is universal, because of the Indivisibility of Mind. Wherever and whenever any individual contacts another upon the subjective side of life, if
he is psychic, i.e., if he objectifies subjectivity, he may see a thought form of that person, but it does not necessarily follow that he would be really seeing the person.
CONDITIONS NECESSARY FOR THE BEST RESULTS
The conditions necessary for the best results in psychic work are faith and expectancy; for the subjective responds to faith and seems clouded by doubts. Doubt appears to throw dust in its eyes, while sympathetic faith and willing belief render the veil much thinner and the consequent messages much clearer. This explains why many unbelieving investigators fail to receive the desired results, and go away saying that the whole thing is a fraud. Whatever the nature of the subjective may be, we did not make and we cannot change it; we shall be compelled to use this force, like all other forces in nature, according to its own laws, and not according to the way we think it should act.
It has been completely proved that the subjective mentality responds more completely when fully believed in; and any one wishing to investigate the psychic life would much better accept this fact and act upon it, rather than dispute it and receive no results. If the law is complied with the results will be certain.
Some psychics go into a trance while giving subjective readings, while some can do this in a normal state. The trance state varies from a slight subjectivity to a completely submerged mentality, i.e., from simply getting in tune with thought while in a conscious state of mind, to becoming completely submerged in an unconscious state in order to get in tune with thought. It is never good to lose one's self-control, but many people do this and, in so doing, have brought to light remarkable evidence of the ability of the inner mind to perform wonderful tasks.
The Science of Mind Page 19