Have you ever read the story by Richard Harding Davis of “The Man Who Could Not Lose?” In it the hero is intensely interested in racing. He has studied records and “dope” sheets until he knows the history of every horse backward and forward.
The day before the big race he is reclining in an easy chair, thinking of the morrow’s race, and he drops off to sleep with that thought on his mind. Naturally, his subconscious mind takes it up, with the result that he dreams the exact outcome of the race.
That was mere fiction, of course, but if races were run solely on the speed and stamina of the horses, it would be entirely possible to work out the results in just that way. Unfortunately, other factors frequently enter into every betting game.
But the idea behind Davis’ story is entirely right. The way to contact with your subconscious mind, the way to get the help of the “Man Inside You” in working out any problem is:
First, fill your mind with every bit of information regarding that problem that you can lay your hands on.
Second, pick out a chair or lounge or bed where you can recline in perfect comfort, where you can forget your body entirely.
Third, let your mind dwell upon the problem for a moment, not worrying, not fretting, but placidly, and then turn it over to the “Man Inside You.” Say to him — “This is your problem. You can do anything. You know the answer to everything. Work this out for me!” And utterly relax. Drop off to sleep, if you can. At least, drop into one of those half-sleepy, half-wakeful reveries that keep other thoughts from obtruding upon your consciousness, Do as Aladdin did — summon your Genii, give him your orders, then forget the matter, secure in the knowledge that he will attend to it for you. When you waken, you will have the answer!
For whatever thought, whatever problem you can get across to your subconscious mind at the moment of dropping off to sleep, that “Man Inside You,” that Genie-of-your-Mind will work out for you.
Of course, not everyone can succeed in getting the right thought across to the subconscious at the first or the second attempt. It requires understanding and faith, just as the working out of problems in mathematics requires an understanding of and faith in the principles of mathematics. But keep on trying, and you WILL do it. And when you do, the results are sure.
If it is something that you want, VISUALIZE it first in your mind’s eye, see it in every possible detail, see yourself going through every move it will be necessary for you to go through when your wish comes into being. Build up a complete story, step by step, just as though you were acting it all out. Get from it every ounce of pleasure and satisfaction that you can. Be thankful for this gift that has come to you. Then relax; go on to sleep if you can; give the “Man Inside You” a chance to work out the consummation of your wish without interference.
When you waken, hold it all pleasurably in thought again for a few moments. Don’t let doubts and fears creep in, but go ahead, confidently, knowing that your wish is working itself out. Know this, believe it — and if there is nothing harmful in it, IT WILL WORK OUT!
For somewhere in Universal Mind there exists the correct solution of every problem. It matters not how stupendous and complicated, nor how simple a problem may appear to be. There always exists the right solution in Universal Mind. And because this solution does exist, there also exists the ability to ascertain and to prove what that solution is. You can know, and you can do, every right thing. Whatever it is necessary for you to know, whatever it is necessary for you to do, you can know and you can do, if you will but seek the help of Universal Mind and be governed by its suggestions.
Try this method every night for a little while, and the problem does not exist that you cannot solve.
Chapter 6 — See Yourself Doing It
You’ve often heard it said that a man is worth $2 a day from the neck down. How much he’s worth from the neck up depends upon how much he is able to SEE.
“Without vision the people perish” did not refer to good eyesight. It was the eyes of the mind that counted in days of old just as they do today. Without them you are just so much power “on the hoof,” to be driven as a horse or an ox is driven. And you are worth only a little more than they.
But given vision — imagination — the ability to visualize conditions and things a month or a year ahead; given the eyes of the mind — there’s no limit to your value or to your capabilities.
The locomotive, the steamboat, the automobile, the aeroplane — all existed complete in the imagination of some man before ever they became facts. The wealthy men, the big men, the successful men, envisioned their successes in their minds’ eyes before ever they won them from the world. From the beginning of time, nothing has ever taken on material shape without first being visualized in mind. The only difference between the sculptor and the mason is in the mental image behind their work. Rodin employed masons to hew his blocks of marble into the general shape of the figure he was about to form. That was mere mechanical labor. Then Rodin took it in hand and from that rough-hewn piece of stone there sprang the wondrous figure of “The Company.
That was art!
The difference was all in the imagination behind the hands that wielded mallet and chisel. After Rodin had formed his masterpiece, ordinary workmen copied it by the thousands. Rodin’s work brought fabulous sums. The copies brought day wages. Conceiving ideas — creating something — is what pays, in sculpture as in all else. Mere handwork is worth only hand wages.
“The imagination,” says Glenn Clark in “The Soul’s Sincere Desire,” “is of all qualities in man the most God-like — that which associates him most closely with God. The first mention we read of man in the Bible is where he is spoken of as an ‘image.’ ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.’ The only place where an image can be conceived is in the imagination. Thus man, the highest creation of God, was a creation of God’s imagination.
“The source and center of all man’s creative power — the power that above all others lifts him above the level of brute creation, and that gives him dominion, is his power of making images, or the power of the imagination. There are some who have always thought that the imagination was something, which makes-believe that which is not. This is fancy — not imagination. Fancy would convert that which is real into pretense and sham; imagination enables one to see through the appearance of a thing to what it really is.”
There is a very real law of cause and effect, which makes the dream of the dreamer come true. It is the law of visualization — the law that calls into being in this outer material world everything that is real in the inner world. Imagination pictures the thing you desire. VISION idealizes it. It reaches beyond the thing that is, into the conception of what can be. Imagination gives you the picture. Vision gives you the impulse to make the picture your own.
Make your mental image clear enough, picture it vividly in every detail, and the Genie-of-your-Mind will speedily bring it into being as an everyday reality.
That law holds true of everything in life. There is nothing you can rightfully desire that cannot be brought into being through visualization.
Suppose there’s a position you want — the general manager-ship of your company. See yourself — just as you are now — sitting in the general manager’s chair. See your name on his door. See yourself handling his affairs as you would handle them. Get that picture impressed upon your subconscious mind. See it! Believe it! The Genie-of-your-Mind will find the way to make it come true.
The keynote of successful visualization is this: See things, as you would have them be instead of as they are. Close your eyes and make clear mental pictures. Make them look and act just as they would in real life. In short, daydream — but day dream with a purpose. Concentrate on the one idea to the exclusion of all others, and continue to concentrate on that one idea until it has been accomplished.
Do