In the preceding lessons, I have given you an explanation of the manner whereby one person may attract another, in a personal interview, by means of the power of suggestion, etc. The person thus making the impression upon another is aided in his work by two other forces. The first of these assisting forces is what is known as the Adductive Quality of Thought, of which I will speak in subsequent lessons; the second is the Volative influence of the mind of one person over the mind of another. There is a marked difference in these two manifestations of the power of the mind. In the first instances, the Adductive Quality of Thought, once being set in motion, affects others without a conscious effort of your mind; your mere thinking strongly of certain things, setting a mighty force in motion which influences others. In the case of Volation, the mental vibrations are sent out and impelled by the conscious exercise of the will power of the sender, and are directed toward some special object; when the impelling power is withdrawn, the vibrations cease.
I find no term in general use, which is especially applicable to this form of thought force, and I do not desire to continue to speak of it as "the conscious effort of the will, producing thought- vibrations, and impelling the same toward a given object." I am driven, by necessity, to the coining of a name to express this idea. I shall, accordingly, hereafter use the term Volation, to indicate the idea above defined, the said word being derived from the Latin word Volos, the will. This word must not be confounded with Volition, meaning the free exercise of the will in making a choice. I shall also use the term VOLIC (from the same source), meaning "of the will." The Volic power is one of nature's most potent forces, and at the same time is the least understood. It is exerted, more or less, unconsciously by all men. Some are aware of its effects without understanding the laws of its production and development. It may be greatly increased by intelligent practice and training, if one will devote to the task the necessary time and effort. I will give you exercises for the proper development of this power, in the lesson on Concentration.
To be able to make intelligent use of the Volic Force, it is necessary to understand the real nature of the will; and to understand the real nature of the will; you must realize what is the real MAN.
Many of us have been in the habit of thinking of the Ego - the "I" of ourselves - as merely the physical body. This is the materialistic point of view. Others think of their "I" as a mental creature having control of the body, and having his abode in the brain. This is partially correct, but is only half the truth. Others realize that there is a "higher self" in the man, and a few have recognized that "higher self," and live in accord with its dictates. The real Ego, or "I," is as much higher than Mind, as Mind is higher than the body; and both body and mind are subordinate to it. Both are its tools and are used for its work, when it sees fit to use them. The real self is that which we feel when in times of reverie and introspection, we think or say, "I AM." All of us have felt this consciousness of the real self, at certain times in our lives, but have failed to realize its full importance. Lay down this book for a few moments, and, relaxing the muscles of your body and assuming a passive state of mind, think quietly and calmly on the words "I AM," and endeavor to picture your real self, superior to both mind and body. If you have secured the proper state of mind and body, you will perceive a glimmer of the presence of the real self within you. Continue the practice. It will awaken in your mind a perception of the truth. Nothing can injure or destroy the real self. The body and mind may pass away, but the "I AM" is eternal, and impregnable to harm. It is powerful, and, when the mind has learned to adapt itself to its influence, man becomes like another being, and acquire hither to unknown powers.
The purpose of this series of lessons does not permit me to dwell at length upon this subject. Its importance demands a work of many volumes to do it even faint justice, but I wish, at this point, to direct the attention of the student to this vital truth, with all the earnestness of which I am capable. Take whatever view you wish regarding the instructions given you in this course, accept its teachings or reject them, as you see fit, but let this one thought sink deeply into your mind: THE I AM IS YOUR REAL SELF. When your mind recognizes its master, you will have learned the secret of Life. I have planted this thought seed in you mind, and it will grow and evolve into a beautiful plant bearing a flower whose fragrance will surpass that of earth's fairest blossoms. When its leaves unfold and show the flower in all its beauty, then will you know that you have found yourself.
Lord of a thousand worlds am I,
And I reign since time began;
And night and day, in cyclic sway,
Shall pass while their deeds I scan.
Yet time shall cease ere I find release,
FOR I AM THE SOUL OF MAN.
Charles H. Orr
That which we mean when we say "the will" is a manifestation of; the I AM of the individual, bearing nearly the same relation to it that thought it does to the mind. When we speak of "developing the will," we really mean the developing of the mind to recognize and be controlled by the will. The will is strong enough; it does not need "developing." This is contrary to the generally accepted doctrine, but is it correct, nevertheless. A strong will current is flowing over the psychic wires, but you must learn to raise the trolley pole to the wire, before you are able to move the mental car.
Man thinks along different lines. One class of thinking which we have called Passive Mentation is little more that instinctive effort - it sort of "thinks itself," and requires little or no Volic Force for its production. Another class of mental effort, which we will call Active Mentatioin, is produced by a greater or lesser demand of the mind upon the power of the will. I can merely call your attention to this fact, as a detailed treatment of the matter is without the scope of this work. I have gone deeper into you. In this work I am called upon to teach "How" and not "Why," and, therefore, I do not care to take you beyond the border of the realm of theory. The more man thinks along the lines of Active Mentation, the stronger and more forceful are his thoughts. The reverse is, of course, likewise true. The man who understands the law of Mental Control is placed at the immense advantage over his brother, who follows the "calf path" of Passive mental effort.
Thoughts of all kinds are projected by the mind, and their vibrations go out from the individual, influencing others to a greater or lesser degree, according to the force of the impelling effort. Passive thoughts are less powerful than active thoughts, but the former, if constantly repeated, have much force. It will be seen, readily, that in order to produce a direct effect upon the mind of another by thought vibrations, an effort of Volation is required; the stronger the effort, the stronger the effect.
The next lesson will be devoted to the subject of the exercise of the power of Volation.
Direct Volation
Volation, the measure of success - Leaders of men possess it - Unconscious acquirement - Napoleon Bonaparte aware of the truth - Strong men feel the "I" – Desire - Some not willing to "pay the price" of success - Men who have mastered occult power - The vibratory force - Telepathy, thought transference and mind reading - Masters of the art guard their secrets - The prime requisite for acquirement - Exercise of volation in personal interview – Expectation - Some men but puppets - General instructions - Power must not be used to harm others - A warning - Satan's terrible example - How to "will" a thing - Exercise I: Making a person turn around - Exercise 2: Influencing a person in a public place - Exercise 3: Influencing a person without looking directly at him - Comical results - Exercise 4: Suggesting a forgotten word - Remarkable results obtained by a German student - Exercise 5: Directing the motions of another person - Exercise 6: Window exercises - Influencing passers-by - Fascinating experiments - To be used for your own development, not for amusement or to satisfy vulgar curiosity.
The exercise of Volation differs very materially, in degree, among different men. It maybe states, broadly, that a man exerts an influence over other men in an exact ratio to his measure of Volation. The ledger of men has developed