The Science of Mind

by Ernest Holmes

  FACTORS NECESSARY FOR A DYNAMIC PERSONALITY

  It goes without saying that all people desire a dynamic, radiant personality; and it is self-evident that certain palates are essential to produce this result. The external personality really reflects the soul, and its building may be likened to a mental garden where the harvest depends upon the kind of seed that is sown. Each one chooses for himself just what kind of materials he will use and each builds according to the pattern of his own desires. "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." Just as a fine architect uses only the best materials and plans most carefully how to construct his building, so should we, in the building of personality, choose most carefully the kind of materials we wish to use.

  HIGH CHARACTER.—First of all, it should be founded upon the rock of high character, high ideals, and built for Eternity as well as for to-day.

  SINCERITY.—Sincerity in every human relationship is essential.

  ABILITY.—To be a master of one thing and to daily improve.

  ENTHUSIASM.—A keen interest in people and things at home and abroad; it has been called "The Fortune-Teller of Life." Enthusiasm is compelling and sweeps everything before it.

  SERVICE.—Service is the keynote to success and implies constructive work; also, loyalty to your work and to all concerned in it.

  WHOLESOMENESS.—A clean-minded man with high ideals is always sought after. The reading of fine books, listening to good music and becoming acquainted with the best in art and literature will soon implant in the mentality a quality of wholesomeness that is most desirable.

  SUCCESS.—A consciousness of success must be developed; this can be done by creating clear pictures of success and working toward them daily. Decision and assertion are aids to this end and must not be overlooked.

  SELF-CONFIDENCE.—Implies peace and poise and knowing what to do in every situation.

  POWER AND STRENGTH.—Are also born of peace and poise.

  SENSE OF HUMOR.—This is most necessary to have, as it lightens the burdens of life and makes one's self and others happy. Without it things seem dull and drear.

  This has no barb or sting and implies the ability to laugh at one's own expense.

  GOOD MANNERS.—Not servile but courteous.

  TACT.—Saying or doing the right thing at the right time.

  THOROUGHNESS.—Implies system and the ability to carry things out to a definite conclusion. This quality is essential to success.

  CHARM.—Personal charm is that indefinable something which makes every one a friend. It is the result of genuine friendliness, sympathy, kindliness and unselfish interest in others.

  MAGNETISM.—The result of an abundant vitality on the physical plane; of intellect and temperament on the mental plane; and of atmosphere or consciousness on the Spiritual plane.

  TENDERNESS.—Sympathetic union with people; real compassion.

  LOVE.—The Universal Urge to express, the Self-givingness of Spirit.

  ORIGINALITY.—Try to create; do not imitate; think for yourself. Read Emerson's Essay on "Self-Reliance."

  INCENTIVE.—Have wholesome ambitions and definite objectives which are constructive in their nature. Any ambition is wholesome which brings only good results to one's self and all concerned.

  SUITABLE HUMILITY, SIMPLICITY AND GENUINENESS.—These attributes keep one from being over-ambitious and from being too aggressive.

  EMOTIONAL CONTROL.—Presupposes poise and self-mastery.

  SPIRITUALITY.—Looking for the good in all and having faith, belief, and trust.

  HEALTH.—Is a great factor in creating a dynamic, vibrant personality.

  VOICE.—A clear, resonant, well-modulated tone at all times.

  DRESS.—Clothes reflect one's idea of "The Eternal fitness of things." Colors particularly have a peculiarly subtle effect on the wearer and upon those with whom he comes in contact.

  Strictly speaking, personality is the use that we make of our individuality. Individuality means that which we really are; it means the point in Life where we exist and can say, I AM. Perhaps it could be defined as a point in Mind where Life recognizes Itself as some Person. Each person is an Individualized Center of God-Consciousness, a self-knowing center of Life and Action.

  It follows, then, that personality is much greater than it seems to be; for it is the use of Divine Individuality and has, back of it, a limitless possibility. It is the coming forth of God, or Life, into Self-Expression.

  Man's personality is not a thing to be lightly spoken of or decried as human or ineffective. Within and behind it are boundless possibilities, and few, indeed, realize what a tremendous power it wields, either for good or for ill.

  To-day we are hearing much about this power and the way to develop it; for as yet we express only in part, being unaware of the Whole. Latent forces surge to express through man; Divine impulse seek expression through him; a Cosmic Urge forever beats against the threshold of his consciousness, demanding expression; hence, all his subtle longings and unspoken thoughts.

  To develop or express the self is the great need of the human race; but though feeling, sensing, inwardly knowing and realizing a greater good, man stumbles blindly along the pathway of life, expressing only in part.

  Like all the other faculties of the Great Within, personality may be consciously unfolded and expressed, if we let it come through.

  We all desire a powerful personality, and all may have one if they pay attention to a few fundamental facts of Being; for personality is the expression of something that already exists and simply needs to be allowed to come forth.

  Any one wishing to develop a pleasing personality must first become pleasant. He must think pleasing thoughts. All animosity and vindictiveness must be swept aside if the soul is to express itself in terms of greatness.

  There is no place for smallness in the full life and no place for meanness in the liberal mind. A broad-minded, tolerant attitude must be maintained toward all. This is not a goody-goody idea but a plain statement of fact.

  A sense of calm and peace is essential to a well-rounded personality. The din and roar of the outer struggle for existence must not find entrance to the soul if Reality is to be expressed.

  Poise and balance are the mainsprings of reality and cannot be overlooked. We are not attracted to people who are always fussed up and fretful, who are never satisfied and are always unhappy. Misery and unhappiness are unknown to the Spirit of man, and we should make them unknown to the outer man.

  Sensitiveness and morbidity must be swept side as unworthy of the great Ideal. Refuse to have the feelings hurt. Friends do not wish to hurt the feelings of those whom they love, and none but friends need be admitted.

  Personality is but half expressed until we realize that within we are complete. Wholeness is the keynote to perfection and self-esteem is not egotism but is self-realization. Completion is from within and not from without; and no one can add to, or take from, that which is already complete. The Soul and Spirit are already perfect and whole.

  Love is the great loadstone of Life; and without this quality of Spirit, shining through Life's action, everything becomes dull and drear. Goodness and human kindness are the handmaids of Love and Life, and cannot be separated from Reality.

  Irritation, vexation and confusion go hand in hand to rob man of his birthright to peace, comfort and harmony. As children of the dust they must be brushed aside as unfit companions of the soul.

  Anger and malice, revenge and animosity cannot breathe the same atmosphere as goodness and purity, and they will fall away as we climb to those heights where the Indwelling Spirit lives.

  Self-confidence and courage go hand in hand with real worth and are but the declarations of man's Wholeness. There is nothing petty or little about greatness.

  Mental alertness and animation but signify that man lives in a life of everlasting interests and activities.

  Honesty and sincerity show forth the fundamental principles of Being, and without them man expresses on
ly a make-shift of himself, a false and deluded sense of Reality. No real person can be dishonest or insincere. Truth alone shines to Eternal Day.

  The complete, well-rounded, dynamic personality contains all of these qualities and attributes; and they will come forth into expression to the exact degree that we allow them to flow through us.

  Personality is not false but real; it is the shining through of the Real Self,—the man God made.

  Physical appearance has but little to do with those inner, subtle powers of attraction which decide what the Indwelling Ego is to attract to Itself. The Inner Man transcends all that is external and compels attention without effort. To be conscious of this Inner Self is to know the Real Man, to know the truth about personality and the power of attraction. As a rose unfolds, so the personality of man unfolds and blossoms forth into complete expression.

  A few simple practices will soon develop such a powerful personality that it will become a magnet, drawing to its center with a force that cannot be denied. THESE PRACTICES BEGIN AND END WITHIN MAN; FOR HE IS THE CENTER OF HIS OWN UNIVERSE, AND NOTHING HAPPENS TO HIM UNLESS HE LETS IT.

  Know that Life flows through you and cannot be hindered in Its expression. Know that the All Good is yours now. Act, think, believe, speak as though you were now all that you have ever dreamed. AND BE SURE THAT YOU BELIEVE THE SAME THING ABOUT ALL PEOPLE, FOR NONE OF US LIVES UNTO HIMSELF ALONE, BUT EACH LIVES UNTO ALL, WITHIN THE ONE LIFE.

  Live constantly from this inner conviction, never stooping to anything less than the All Good; and you will soon discover that something is taking place that never took place before in your experience. DO NOT TRY TO MAKE THINGS HAPPEN; SIMPLY KNOW THAT THEY ARE HAPPENING.

  Daily realize your Unity with the Whole and the Unity of the Whole with you. YOU WILL SOON DEVELOP SUCH A POWERFUL PERSONALITY THAT ALL WHO COME IN CONTACT WITH YOU WILL WISH TO REMAIN IN YOUR PRESENCE.

  REPRESSION AND SUBLIMATION

  THE SPIRIT OF SEX

  We have discovered, from the preceding chapters, that the Universe is threefold in Its nature. It is Spirit, Soul and Body; Spirit as the active, projective, masculine factor; Soul as the receptive, creative, feminine factor; and Body, which is the result of the union of Spirit with Soul. The Spirit impregnates the Soul with Its Ideas, and the Soul gives form to these Ideas and clothes them with flesh. But this is the Trinity of Unity, a Triune Oneness; for the Three are really one.

  Life is Androgynous, i.e., It contains within Itself both the masculine and the feminine factors. The male and the female of Creation come from One Principle; all come from the One and all will return to the One; all are now in the One and will forever remain in the One.

  DESIRE

  Back of all manifestation must be the desire to create, the urge to express; this is called the "Divine Urge." But this Urge, operating as Law produces energy. Desire gathers energy for creative purposes and utilizes power to express itself. So dynamic is this Urge that it will cause a little seed to break open the most solid earth, in order that it may express itself in the form of a plant. It is the coming forth of Spirit into expression, the loosing of energy into action, and is apparent in all Creation.

  THE SPIRIT IS EXPRESSED

  The Spirit, being Absolute, is always expressed; It has no unfulfilled desires. IT IS ALWAYS SATISFIED AND HAPPY BECAUSE IT IS ALWAYS EXPRESSED. Creation is the result of the desire of Spirit to express Itself; It is the unfoldment of the Divine Ideas, Evolution is the time and process of this unfoldment. Involution is the idea in Mind, and evolution is the coming forth of the idea into expression. Involution precedes evolution, and evolution follows involution with a mathematical precision, propelled by an Immutable Law.

  That which is involved must evolve, else the Spirit would remain unexpressed. As this is unthinkable, we may set it down that evolution, or the manifestation of desire and energy, is bound to take place whenever desire sets power and energy in motion. From this law we cannot hope to escape, and it would be useless to make the attempt.

  MAN REËNACTS THE DIVINE NATURE

  Man, as we have discussed, reënacts the Divine Nature and makes use of the same Laws that God uses. We find in man the same androgynous nature that we find in God. This nature we call his objective and subjective faculties. His objective mentality impregnates his subjective with ideas; and in its turn, the subjective, gathering force and energy, projects these ideas into forms.

  Back of every act of man is some form of desire to express. This desire, of course, is purely mental in its nature. All that man is, is his mentality, both conscious and subconscious, plus what he expresses.

  The Divine Urge is strong in man and constantly causes him to seek some form of self-expression. It is Divine because It is the desire of Spirit to express Itself through him; and like all the other forces of Nature, this energy can work through man only at his bidding; consciously or unconsciously, for he is an individual and has self-choice.

  This Urge or Energy is called "Libido," which means "The emotional craving, or wish, behind all human activities, the repression of which leads to psycho-neuroses."

  CONGESTED EMOTIONS

  The energy set in motion through this urge is the dynamic power of Mind, and unless it becomes expressed, it will congest and cause a conflict within the mentality.

  Inhibited action produces conflicts and complexes which mentally tear and bind; and as they manifest their physical correspondents, they produce nervous disorders. It is claimed that a large percentage of diseases is caused by the suppression of some form of emotion. This does not necessarily mean the suppression of the sex emotion, but might mean any desire that remains unexpressed. Some form of desire is back of every impulse that the mind can conceive, some impulse to express life. Any unexpressed desire will eventually cause a complex. Things will stand just so much pressure and no more; when the limit is reached an explosion will follow, unless some avenue for expression is provided.

  IRRITATION, AGITATION AND FEAR

  People who are constantly being irritated have suppressed some desire to speak their minds. It may not appear as though this were the cause, but thought is very subtle, and only a careful study of its workings reveals the real facts. All irritation and agitation are mental in their cause, and a sense of calm and peace alone can heal them.

  Fear is an intense emotion, and if bottled up, secretes poison in the system. Fear must be removed from the mentality if one is to be healed and is to function normally.

  Anger, malice, vindictiveness and kindred emotions are but subtle forms of fear arising from a sense of inferiority. All of these emotions must be swept off the board if one is to gain peace, calm and poise. The union of peace, with calm and poise, alone can give birth to power; for without these attributes of reality, power is dissipated and lost in the shuffle.

  IF WE WERE EXPRESSED

  If we were completely expressed we would never become sick or unhappy. The average person goes through life expressed only in part and always with a sense of incompletion and dissatisfaction. Something must be done to make the individual complete if he is to remain normal and happy and really live.

  EMOTION AND INTELLECT

  Emotion is strong in man, and in the well-balanced person it is controlled by the intellect; but in many people there is a conflict between the emotions and the intellect; and in too many cases the emotion gains the ascendancy.

  Our strongest emotions center around the ideas of fear, hate, love, sex and worship, with all of their many ramifications and meanings.

  Emotion, uncontrolled, produces chaos; unexpressed it produces confusion, conflict and complex; for energy will have an outlet. Bottled up, it creates a pressure that is the cause of much damage to the physical man, and produces most of our nervous disorders. Expression is normal when the intellect decides how the emotion is going to manifest. "He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city."

  THE CONFLICT OF DESIRE
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br />   When an emotion conflicts with the will and becomes suppressed it returns to its subjective state, but remains active; it will come up in some other form; it will not be put down. It may remain in a subjective state for years; but eventually, unless neutralized, it will manifest. Let one go for years with some unexpressed longing and he will have created such a desire that it will have become irresistible in its inclination toward expression.

  People often become seething caldrons within because of inhibited action. Energy must find an outlet.

  THE EMOTION OF SEX

  Human love and the affections often go hand in hand with sex desire, even when not recognized as such. An affectionate nature is generally a passionate one. Love is the most wonderful thing in the world and creates the highest form of energy known to the mind of man. It will be expressed at the level of the passions or else become transmuted into Spiritual Coin of real and lasting value. But the ideas on sex are likely to become over-emphasized in modern literature along these lines. Sex is normal in its proper sphere; if it were not, it would not be; for nature does nothing without some good and ample reason.

  THE TRUE MEANING OF LOVE

  The true meaning of love is a wonderful thing; for it is the desire of the soul to express itself in terms of creation. Creation is brought about only through the self-givingness of the lover to the object of his love. This is why, when we love people, we will go to the limit to help or serve them; nothing is too great, no sacrifice is enough. The true lover gives all and is unhappy in not having still more of himself to give to the object of his adoration.