THE ILLUSIONARY 
 THEORY OF MIND 
 
 By 
 
 WILLIAM ARTHUR COLUNGS 
 
 SPOKANE, WASHINGTON 
 1922 
 
THE ILLUSIONARY 
 THEORY OF MIND 
 
 By 
 
 WILLIAM ARTHUR COLLINGS 
 
 SPOKANE, WASHINGTON 
 
 1922 
 
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 COATESHUGHES ^«ffl(aS3sgiK. PRINTING CO 
 
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 Copyrighted by 
 WILLIAM ARTHUR COLLINGS 
 
 1922 
 
 ©C! A 6 33 91 5 
 
 FEB 21 1922 
 
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14 
 
 MAN IN THE ILLUSION. 
 
 I've learned it is so, 
 
 Man ever must go 
 
 Through this whole wide world seeking 
 
 Himself that is lost; 
 
 And to him it will cost 
 
 The price of a self-conscious greeting. 
 
 Poor man, weak and blind, 
 
 It's high time that he find 
 
 It's himself, the one who is speaking. 
 
 No doubt you've all read 
 
 Of the master, Jesus, who said: 
 
 "Man, know thyself and be free." 
 
 That has long been the cry 
 
 As the years have rolled by; 
 
 It was meant for us both — you and me. 
 
 So let us list to the word 
 
 We've so often heard 
 
 And open our eyes and see. 
 
 It's the theory of mind 
 
 Which has made the world blind, 
 
 And placed us 'midst deepest confusion; 
 
 In the black darkness of night 
 
 I have searched for the light, 
 
 And have come to this grand conclusion: 
 
 I am free from worldwide illusion. 
 
old ideas and give the new a careful consideration be- 
 fore arriving at any conclusion. 
 
 Realizing the unconsciousness of the human race, 
 and in trying to find the cause, I have reached the con- 
 clusion that we are the cause of our own condition to 
 a large degree. We make our own troubles and un- 
 pleasant feelings. We have the power to be as we want 
 to be, when we stop creating the undesirable feelings 
 and thoughts. It is very important to know, if we do 
 not create feelings of sorrow and continually think of 
 something we would like to forget, be it pleasant to 
 think of or not, we would be free. 
 
 Sometimes pleasant thoughts cause the thinker the 
 greatest misery— wishing to be free from the girl he 
 loves, but cannot stop thinking of and praising her, 
 even if she chooses another man. 
 
 We must learn that we make our own conditions 
 largely by our thoughts ; then we will have the power 
 to be as we want to be. 
 
 WILLIAM ARTHUR COLLINGS. 
 
The Ulusionary Theory 
 of Mind 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Is consciousness '"you," Spirit Man ? 
 Consciousness talks and says, "I can." 
 Consciousness speaks on "my mind and soul." 
 Unconscious man has no goal. 
 Consciousness is the Man. (If not) 
 We see ourselves — we have forgot. 
 Consciousness seeking itself to find, 
 Speaking my spirit, my soul, my mind. 
 
 Man in His Own Created Mist. 
 
 After many years of study and careful consideration 
 of this subject of the mind and its power I cannot agree 
 with writers on the mind nor with the theory of the 
 all-wise ''I AM"; I find nearly all writers agree that 
 our real self is spirit, all wise, and perfection ; and the 
 large majority of readers accept the statement as 
 truth. We can see by such a statement that the real 
 man is Spirit and must be Infinite. It is impossible for 
 an Infinite, All-wise Being to gain in knowledge. Why 
 does such a being need to use mind or thoughts when 
 
it knows intuitively? Here we get a glimpse of the 
 Illusion. 
 
 Viewing this subject from all sides we can see that 
 such a being does not have to use this something called 
 mind. If we admit the existence of mind we cannot 
 realize one's self, and the supposed mind seems to be 
 a separate intelligence living in the same body. In 
 such a state we say all kinds of unconscious things and 
 our unconsciousness is the power that binds us; for 
 when a man speaks it must be the spirit' that speaketh. 
 When I say, "I will concentrate my mind on the I, or 
 myself," it must be the spirit or myself which made a 
 statement. 
 
 But I, myself, am supposed to be All-wise, and there- 
 fore do not have to use mind; I, myself, do all of the 
 thinking, so the I Am simply talks of concentrating 
 this supposed mind, and in reality the mind is my own 
 concept, my own creation, which seems to be a reality, 
 and the mind does not exist outside of myself. It is 
 plainly seen that the spiritual is all there is; but the 
 average man cannot think it is himself that speaks, 
 judging from the perfect spiritual self. 
 
 The great I Am we read so much about thinks it 
 might be the mind, or the soul, or the brain, or some- 
 thing outside of himself, and in this condition there 
 is very little progress. We cannot realize ourselves, 
 and we are in a divided condition, which shows that we 
 are not all-wise in such a state. It proves that I Am 
 is self-deluded, self-limited and self-bound. When the 
 I Am says it has a mind, it must be an unconscious 
 
 8 
 
expression, also an illusion, and ..a self -creation; and as 
 long as we use this supposed mind to center on our- 
 selves there cannot be any realization of ourselves. In 
 this condition we cannot be what we will to be, for we 
 are unconscious of ourselves, and therefore cannot 
 manifest our existing powers ; but we expect the pow- 
 ers to come from the mind, without creating them, 
 trusting to the illusion, using our own words on our- 
 selves, and cannot realize it. 
 
 We are self-hypnotized, and only when we can 
 realize our self-induced state can we relieve our- 
 selves; for we are powerful to attract conditions and 
 things we do not want nor like, and when we recognize 
 pur powers of attraction we can use our forces in the 
 right direction. 
 
 If we can discard the idea of developing a strong 
 mind, and see the mind only as our spoken word, and 
 discard the idea of developing will power, or developing 
 anything — in that state we would be more like per- 
 fection. 
 
 A perfect spiritual being cannot develop mind power 
 or will power — a perfect being cannot be added to ; but 
 if we have used our powers in the wrong direction, 
 and do not know it, is it possible to use them right until 
 we recognize our mistake? We do not know we have 
 any powers to use, because we do not know what sub- 
 stance we use. We think we have the power to attract 
 things that we like and want, but such is not the case, 
 as the forces or power does not exist to us, because we 
 do not know what we do. As Jesus said, "Father, for- 
 give them, for they know not what they do." 
 
It looks very clear to me that the spiritual self (if 
 I may use that term) must be all the Will, Mind, Sick- 
 ness, Sorrow, Happiness, Seeing and Hearing ; for when 
 the intelligence has passed out of the body all of these 
 illusions disappear. We make our conditions, either for 
 poverty or riches, happiness or sorrow, and all the rest 
 of our undesirable conditions. To realize our divine 
 nature and powers is to spread roses in our paths in- 
 stead of thorns. When the spirit goes out of the body 
 all thoughts and mind go at the same time ; thus it is 
 plainly seen by the advanced student that we are self- 
 deluded, and in such an unconscious state we make our 
 own destiny, whether good or bad. We must try and 
 see ourselves as one which is spirit, having divine pos- 
 sibilities and can become wise through experience and 
 by becoming conscious of our powers. We are what we 
 are conscious of; we are not as we desire, or wish, or 
 think, as we have no knowledge of any powers we can 
 use consciously to attract the things we desire most. 
 
 If they had such knowledge, the millions of people 
 would not live in poverty ; if they were conscious of any 
 knowledge or power they could use to attract the things 
 they desire most, they would use it for their happiness 
 and prosperity. 
 
 When we suggest adverse thoughts, such as "I am 
 growing old," "My memory is failing," "My eyes are 
 growing dim," etc., we see the effects of unconscious 
 powers aroused to produce those conditions in the body. 
 
 We produce in the body the state we are unconscious 
 of; that is the reason we find it a very hard task to 
 remove a pain. We are conscious of pain, but how we 
 
 10 
 
produce it we do not know, and we cannot remove it 
 consciously. We must be careful how we speak, feel 
 and act; and if we put enough feeling in our words 
 they become alive and are either liberating; or binding 
 on ourselves. It seems the spirit Ourself is incased in 
 iron bands of its own creation. 
 
 It can plainly be seen from these statements that 
 there can be very little progress so long as we rely on 
 the mind, or think we have any connection with it, for 
 the spirit is not able to realize its own powers. 
 
 The spirit assumes by centering something it calls 
 mind on itself, it cannot awaken itself into a realization 
 of itself. Such are the teachings advocated, when it 
 is plainly seen that the I Am, or spirit, is doing the 
 centering act of the supposed mind, showing the illu- 
 sionary condition. In such an unconscious state it 
 cannot manifest any power, because it relies on the 
 mind to arouse, awaken or produce the feelings or 
 power. The spirit does not act or feel or try to mani- 
 fest its divine possibilities but by expecting the mind 
 to be strong ; it is self-limiting and self-binding, expect- 
 ing powers from where there are none without creating 
 them. 
 
 If I try to influence with the mind, I have no knowl- 
 edge of myself, and do not rely on myself but in my 
 supposed mind. It seems very plain to me it is 
 only thoughts or words of the spirit, Ourself, we use 
 our own words on ourself and call them mind. And in 
 such a condition we cannot speak positively or com- 
 mandingly, because we are unconscious of ourselves, 
 and thereby lose our force or powers. We must learn 
 
 n 
 
to speak consciously from our spiritual self — the one 
 that is talking— and the I Am would become powerful. 
 To become conscious of ourselves we would be in pos- 
 session of knowledge and power. We must try to live 
 in the consciousness that we are spirit, manifesting in 
 a fleshy body of our own creation, for the body is the 
 reflection of our consciousness. The very act of con- 
 centration is binding, for the I Am is doing the act and 
 does not know it. If a man can speak consciously from 
 his true nature he does not need the illusionary method 
 of concentrating his mind. 
 
 We find by this method that some people have de- 
 veloped strong minds, and others weak minds, showing 
 *that by acting through the mind it is a slow process 
 for development, for the spirit is not conscious of its 
 own acts; so to speak commandingly and positively, 
 direct from our own true nature, without acting- 
 through the mind, would be the proper method, trying 
 to realize out powers and drawing from the great uni- 
 verse, which is all the power there is. Thus we would 
 cause our words to become, alive, speaking from a con- 
 scious spirit, which would be all-wise when it would 
 realize the same or its divine possibilities, drawing- 
 health, happiness, knowledge and power from the great 
 infinite, universal supply and becoming conscious of the 
 act of drawing and of our growing in wisdom and 
 power. 
 
 When we awake to the fact that we make our own 
 conditions, we can see that we can rise above any ma- 
 terial condition that surrounds us, and we are spirit, 
 and our consciousness of ourselves is all the power that 
 
 12 
 
we manifest in drawing material things. Fear is our 
 enemy; the thing we do not want is unconsciously 
 drawn to us, and it proves we have no power to help 
 ourselves. No one would attract undesirable condi- 
 tions; desiring the opposite or best things for them, 
 none would attract sickness by desiring health. If 
 there is an attracting power within the physical body 
 of man it is not known. When we understand our- 
 selves we can build a perfect body. 
 
 We must try and recognize our perfection always, 
 by speaking of it, until we become conscious of this 
 attractive power that is so often spoken of by differ- 
 ent writers. Then we could vitalize our body and 
 charge it with powerful spiritual influence that could 
 be felt by others coming in contact with us. So we can 
 make ourselves over by living and acting and feeling 
 that we are spirit and possessing the power to be what 
 we want to be. If we were all wise, we could not de- 
 velop anything, but we would possess the thing we 
 want. The more consciousness, the more the power, 
 and we would make our body perfect ; for as a man is 
 conscious, so is he in body and also spirit; for it must 
 be the spirit that is the real man that does the think- 
 ing, and the spirit can say what it pleases. But when 
 the spirit becomes conscious of its divine nature it will 
 be all-wise and powerful, for it shows very plainly that 
 we develop this something which we call Mind, and we 
 give this supposed mind its intelligence. The mind is 
 just as we make it, and the maker of this supposed 
 mind gave it its power. I quote a passage from a work 
 entitled "Light on the Path." You will find these 
 words: 'Those that ask shall have." Though the 
 
 13 
 
average man asks perpetually, his voice is not heard, 
 because he asks with his mind only. According to such 
 writers we have to make the mind before we can use 
 it : then we ask with the mind instead of with our 
 direct intelligence. The I Am is asking through the 
 illusion called Mind ; therefore the voice is not heard. 
 This shows the illusion and the unconsciousness of man 
 and the writers of such bosh. 
 
 It is plain to see that to trust to this so-called mind 
 for power is to fail. Try to hold your mind on a 
 thought, and then ask yourself where this thought 
 comes from. The man or spirit, or the great I am is 
 all- wise and powerful, thereby does not have to use 
 mind. The man or spirit controlled by mind would not 
 become conscious of any thing. To control oneself is 
 to control the mind in the act. In fact, the mind has 
 no powers than the spirit is supposed to impart to it. 
 and it does not exist outside of the I Am : this supposed 
 mind is spoken words of the spirit. By not recognizing 
 the mind it would not have any power over us. We 
 must remove all such illusions and clear our conscious- 
 - : then we will be more cognizant of our acts, and 
 we will live in a clear atmosphere, and our words and 
 consciousness of ourselves will show us our mistakes. 
 
 This mind theory seems to be the stumbling block 
 chat stops us from becoming conscious of ourselves ; 
 every reasoning person can see that he does not know 
 himself, and it is impossible to progress but slowly. 
 Xo matter what we do or feel or act. the recognition of 
 self is so slow that it sometimes seems that the human 
 family must go to its grave in a dark condition. There 
 
 14 
 
is something wrong. We have tried the different 
 known suggestions and teachings with very little sat- 
 isfactory results — and we seem to long for the power 
 to be strong to influence and draw the things we need ; 
 but we can say they do not come that way. Assuming 
 that the mind exists outside of self, this theory is very 
 deceptive, and there will be a slow recognition of self. 
 As long as we use this illusion on ourselves we fail to 
 awaken into a recognition of ourselves. 
 
 Just think of a spirit using something it calls mind 
 to awaken itself, to show the unconsciousness of the 
 man or spirit. In such a condition we cause uncon- 
 sciousness and thereby limit ourselves and annul our 
 powers. How is it possible to ask with the mind ? How 
 is the distinction made? The real man is supposed to 
 be spirit, and we can see the man asked ; but the writer 
 of "Light on the Path" says he asks with mind only. 
 In other words, he asked with his mind instead of his 
 intelligence, when it was himself that asked. It shows 
 very plainly that such teachings are not easy to under- 
 stand ; in fact the riddle of the universe is much easier. 
 
 It appears very plainly to me that there is no such 
 thing as mind. I am Spirit or Intelligence assuming 
 the existence of something we call mind ; my words are 
 consciousness instead of the puzzling riddle called 
 "Mind." It all shows the mixed state of both man and 
 the writers. Has the mind any power or intelligence 
 more than the Spirit imparts to it? They say, "You 
 must concentrate your mind/' "Develop your mind," 
 "make your mind positive" ; in other words, the I Am 
 must make the illusion of its own mind before he can 
 
 15 
 
use it. And then the theory says the spirit is ruled and 
 governed by its own creation. The mind becomes so 
 strong that the spirit cannot control it. This shows the 
 wonderful power of the illustion— it gets stronger than 
 its maker. What a puzzle to understand. When I say 
 I have a mind I recognize the supposed mind, and if I 
 find it hard to control, in what condition is the I Am? 
 It cannot recognize itself, and the illusion seems to 
 have its own way, when in reality the I Am, or spirit. 
 is at war with himself, showing the unconsciousness of 
 man. But when we affirm in our unconscious condi- 
 tion "I am spirit," "I am power, I can control myself," 
 we progress slowly. The adverse suggestion, "I cannot 
 control myself," "I am so nervous," "I fly all to pieces," 
 etc., we find in such statements that we arouse powers 
 unconsciously and we experience the results. So the 
 I Am is able to liberate or bind itself into happiness or 
 misery. If we are all-wise and powerful we could not 
 develop power by the act of concentrating the mind, 
 but we could become conscious of powers, which shows 
 we are not all- wise and powerful. Concentration means 
 a recognition of something we do not possess, or else 
 we have no knowledge of our great power of attraction. 
 If the Spirit, the Man is all-wise it could not desire any- 
 thing, it would possess the thing. An infinite, all-wise 
 being cannot be added to. The better way is try and 
 manifest and put into operation the powers that exist. 
 
 If we are not perfect we can never become perfect by 
 concentrating the mind. Concentration is a lack of 
 faith, trying to draw to ourselves something we pos- 
 sess, if the all-wise and powerful statement is true. 
 
If we have not done the best for ourselves, recognize 
 it, and we would have the power to do the opposite and 
 best thing for us. We suffer for our mistakes here ; and 
 now, by recognizing our mistakes, we would grow into 
 a consciousness of our power to do the right and best 
 thing for us without dealing in or with the mind. 
 
 I have read lots of theories concerning the conscious 
 and sub-conscious mind. The conscious is supposed to 
 govern us in our awakened state and the subconscious 
 when we are asleep. What becomes of the Spirit, the 
 Man ? The two-mind theory attempts to show that the 
 two minds are all that are necessary for intelligent ac- 
 tion and movement of the body. And may I ask what 
 becomes of the two minds after the spirit or intelli- 
 gence has passed out of the body ? Who or what does 
 the centering act of the supposed mind? You must 
 center your mind on the I Am. Who is the You? What 
 distinction is made between the YOU, the Mind, the 
 Soul, the I am ? If we develop a supposed strong mind 
 the I Am does the directing instead of the You. when 
 in reality it is the spirit assuming the existing mind. 
 We place more confidence in this supposed mind than 
 we do in ourselves. We find it a hard task to control 
 our mind sometimes. But if we control ourselves the 
 mind is controlled also. By what has been said con- 
 cerning the supposed mind it proves it does not exist 
 outside of ourselves. It is plainly seen it is the spirit's 
 own words reacting on itself by the spirit recognizing 
 it. and that is the reason it is so slow a process to quit 
 our habits — in trying to control the mind. The habits 
 we would like to become master over do not exist in the 
 mind but in the man, the I Am. by admitting their 
 
existence. The better way is not to recognize the mind ; 
 do not give it a place in your consciousness. Ignore it 
 absolutely, and see the habit existing in yourself; see 
 yourself creating it; do not allow it to come into your 
 consciousness. By so doing you will destroy the unde- 
 sirable habit and it will not trouble you. But if you 
 recognize the mind, and the habit in the mind, it lives 
 in yourself, the I Am, and is created by the I Am, your- 
 self. If we believe we have animal passions, hard to 
 control, we create them. Trying to control them, there 
 is not anything existing in the mind having power over 
 us. It is impossible to kill these animal passions and 
 desires when we are creating them by fighting to con- 
 trol them. Non-recognition is the proper method, for 
 as a man is conscious, so is he. It is impossible to be- 
 come master of ourselves by trying to control the mind, 
 for the habit exists in ourselves by recognizing it. In 
 trying to control the mind to be free from habit or un- 
 desirable thought, we are conscious of the thing we 
 wish to be free from, and the undesirable thought must 
 exist first in ourselves; then we transfer our thought 
 to the illusion, and think they exist in the mind. 
 
 In "Light on the Path" I find the following words: 
 "The mind may recognize truth, but the spirit cannot 
 receive it." You will find the statement on page 30. 
 What is the meaning of such a statement? It seems 
 to show the mind has an independent power, which is 
 intelligence, existing outside of the all-wise I Am or 
 Spirit. Again, this same writer says, "the spirit within 
 you is all-wise and powerful, and the all-wise spirit 
 cannot recognize truth or receive it, but the mind can." 
 
 18 
 
It is impossible to understand such teachings, and yet 
 this is claimed to be "eastern wisdom." 
 
 Most students of psychology view the mind as some- 
 thing which the spirit can use, and they are trying to 
 make or develop a strong mind to use when they care 
 to influence any one, and they rely on the mind instead 
 of themselves. 
 
 This same spirit, according to most people, is all- 
 wise; then again it is considered very ignorant, for it 
 cannot receive truth, but the mind can. Under such 
 conditions man cannot understand himself, for when he 
 tries to find himself with the aid of the mind what does 
 he discover? The supposed mind and body. But he 
 never recognizes himself as spirit doing the act. 
 Things we do not know anything about cannot exist in 
 our consciousness, and we have no knowledge of the 
 infinite. So in that state we make our own Gods. We 
 cannot recognize the infinite, so it cannot exist to us. 
 The Bible and writers agree that the body is the temple 
 of the spirit, and that the spirit dwelleth within. There 
 is only one spirit — that you and I are part of the all. 
 Is it possible that some parts are ignorant and others 
 wise? Why are we different if we are all one spirit? 
 How many people understand themselves? Why is it 
 so hard a task for man to know himself? When we 
 concentrate our minds on ourselves we never locate the 
 center intelligence; the spirit, ourself, always escapes 
 us. We are never conscious of our true spiritual self, 
 and we are not any better off. 
 
 It must be that the I Am is trying to locate himself, 
 and in such an unconscious state it is impossible to 
 
 19 
 
find himself; for he does not know it is himself making 
 such statements. So in such an unconscious state very 
 little progress toward real intelligence is made. Christ 
 is supposed to have been a master man, and I never 
 understood him as concentrating his mind to accom- 
 plish his works. He spoke the living word, and spoke 
 with a consciousness of the indwelling spiritual self, 
 clear of the illusion of the mind. Christ never spoke of 
 his mind being strong; he could see himself as one — a 
 central intelligence — and not live in the illusion of be- 
 ing divided into separate parts of intelligence and pow- 
 ers. It is impossible for man to try and influence with 
 the supposed mind without himself being attracted to 
 the person or thing he is trying to influence; for the 
 feelings, thoughts and desires he would like to trans- 
 mit to the other party live in himself, and we be- 
 come self-influenced. By adverse thinking we may 
 attract and become. We have the power to be what 
 we would like to be when we guard our feelings, 
 thoughts and desires, always live in our ideal of what 
 we would like to be and refuse to talk of and become 
 conscious of the things we do not want : for, as a man 
 is conscious, so is he. 
 
 Fear is a mighty, invisible, unconscious power with- 
 in the individual, and it very often prevents us from 
 reaching our ideals. So we use our powers in the wrong 
 direction, and we get the things we fear. We can 
 readily see that most people do not understand the 
 powers they possess, for most people have the things 
 they do not want, as the things we fear come upon us. 
 Like attracts like; misery loves company; happiness 
 follows suit. We can have either, for we have the 
 
 20 
 
power to choose and attract when we understand our- 
 selves. Then we can consciously use our forces in the 
 right direction. 
 
 In concluding this chapter I ask some questions and 
 make some statements about the mind and its work- 
 ings, or the illusion and its supposed powers, in line 
 with the teaching's of different writers and teachers, 
 that the spirit within man is all-wise and powerful : 
 
 QUESTIONS. 
 
 1. If the spirit within the physical body is all-wise 
 and is perfection, what can it learn from material ex- 
 periences ? 
 
 2. If the mind acts of its own volition, is it possible 
 for the mind to become more powerful than the spirit? 
 
 3. If the all-wise spirit uses the mind on itself, does 
 the spirit do the suggesting- to itself through the me- 
 dium called the mind? 
 
 4. Does the mind exist outside of the spirit (our- 
 self ) ? If so, what benefit could a perfect being derive 
 from it? 
 
 5. Does the mind suggest to the all-wise spirit that 
 it is all-wise and powerful ? 
 
 6. Does the spirit direct the mind and give it its 
 powers and knowledge? If so, what benefit is the sup- 
 posed mind ? 
 
 7. Does the spirit suggest to itself through the 
 mind by stating it is spirit? 
 
 21 
 
8. What is the meaning of controlling- the mind? 
 Is the mind more powerful than the spirit ? 
 
 I ask these questions to make my ideas plain to the 
 reader. To use the unconscious "mind" causes uncon- 
 sciousness in the individual, and we cannot derive any 
 benefit from its use. 
 
 There is no one who has any definite knowledge con- 
 cerning the mind, and we can see that it does not exist 
 outside of our own concept. We make our minds and 
 also our Gods, but that does not prove their existence 
 and cause them to be living reality. 
 
 22 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 Concentration. 
 
 Judging from the ideas expressed by different writ- 
 ers — and I would be safe in saying all agree on the 
 concentration of the mind and all agree they have 
 a mind to concentrate with — I am safe in saying those 
 people will not agree with me when I say the mind is 
 shown to be only their conception of the mind and that 
 mind has no existence outside of one's own concept. 
 
 Most people who have been reading books on mind 
 "powers" and "thought force" and trying to develop 
 powers by dealing in the concentration of the mind, 
 have been sitting in a passive condition, trying to make 
 a strong mind and trying to center it on some one or 
 something, and they believed they were using some in- 
 visible power outside themselves ; that the mind would 
 impress or transfer the power and be the means of the 
 desired end. These same writers say, "look within for 
 power, for the spirit within you is all-wise and power- 
 ful." If such is true, why does an all- wise spirit need 
 to act through a mist called "mind" when it possesses 
 the thing desired ? 
 
 If you will open the "Gnani Yoga," turn to page 150 
 and you will find these words : "Spiritual evolution 
 
 23 
 
does not mean the growth of the spirit, for the spirit 
 cannot grow ; it is already perfect." 
 
 If such statements are true a perfect being could not 
 benefit by concentrating the mind or trying to obtain 
 knowledge outside itself. The act of concentrating is a 
 recognition of something which we do not possess, and 
 a perfect being could not desire anything. What is the 
 meaning of "you must sit and center your mind on the 
 I am or all-wise spirit" ? I would like an explanation con- 
 cerning the you — the you do the centering act of the 
 supposed mind. It shows very plainly the parties in- 
 terested in awakening the all-wise spirit — the you and 
 the mind — have the allotted task of awakening the all- 
 wise, perfect being. It looks very doubtful, according 
 * to these writers, that the all-wise spirit would forever 
 remain in its dormant condition had it not been for you 
 and the mind; but with the aid of these outside agen- 
 cies the all-wise spirit is awakened from its ignorant 
 state. And what could cause an all-wise, perfect, all- 
 powerful spirit to become so overpowered has always 
 puzzled me — that it needed the You; and this party 
 named You must use something it calls mind and must 
 suggest to the all-wise spirit all kinds of absurd things ; 
 calling in a loud voice, you are spirit, all-wise and pow- 
 erful. Such are the formulas advocated. And it seems 
 we are all deluded by those theories. When we assume 
 the attitude of concentration we recognize our defi- 
 ciency and thereby we defeat ourselves in that uncon- 
 scious state ; for as a man is conscious, so is he. So, 
 to concentrate for anything, is to have in our conscious- 
 ness the power to defeat ourselves, because we cannot 
 realize our existing powers, and by concentrating we 
 
 24 
 
would keep in our consciousness the desire for some- 
 thing we do not possess, showing the spirit is not all- 
 wise. 
 
 May I ask what keeps us from becoming conscious of 
 one's self? How can we gain any knowledge by talk- 
 ing to ourself and assuming that something or some 
 one — the mind or soul — or some one else outside our- 
 self is doing the talking? So it can be seen that con- 
 centrating means we are trying to develop latent pow- 
 ers — making a strong mind, strengthening the will and 
 adding powers by concentrating for them. So we read, 
 "As a man thinketh, so is he." When we concentrate 
 we must be thinking of something we do not possess. 
 
 I say, as a man is conscious of definite knowledge, so 
 is he. As a man thinketh in most cases he is not, and 
 possibly he may never become as he thinks. A little re- 
 flection will prove that as a man thinketh he is not, but 
 he is trying to become as he thinks. But the conscious 
 knowledge of anything gives one the power to do the 
 thing desired. Conscious knowledge is power. Think- 
 ing of power is not possessing the power, which every- 
 one must agree; and when a man is concentrating his 
 mind he is talking to himself and does not know it. 
 
 25 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 We must see and hear and know. 
 All our ideas come and go. 
 The Creator sure is hard to find. 
 Consciousness thinks sub-conscious mind; 
 The sub-conscious mind is hard to find. 
 Words and theories is the mind — 
 Theories of consciousness we all can see. 
 This being a truth, we are all free. 
 
 Suggestion and Its Powers. 
 
 In considering* the effect of suggestion it will be nec- 
 essary to call the attention of the reader to the fact 
 that the intelligence which governs the body has been 
 divided into different terms, such as the You, the Mind, 
 the Soul and the Spirit. It is impossible to define the 
 governing power if we recognize these terms. I may 
 say that every one makes such divisions and talks of 
 the spirit and the other strangers, and in such an un- 
 conscious state there is no recognition of self; we sim- 
 ply talk unconsciously of the other terms or words, and 
 in such a state we cannot know ourself; thereby we 
 control ourself in obedience to the suggestion when 
 spoken in a positive manner by another, accepting- such 
 statements and acting upon them without reasoning, 
 such as we see in hypnotic performances. 
 
 In considering the hypnotic state we can say sugges- 
 
 27 
 
tion is the only power that we have any knowledge of 
 that is used in inducing such a condition, and the power 
 that controls the subject is within the subject; this 
 power is aroused by the suggestion of another, sho wing- 
 that the intelligence within the body can induce any 
 state in the body — such a condition as controlling the 
 circulation of the blood, drawing it away from any part 
 of the body — this in obedience to the suggestion of an- 
 other — and also to increase or decrease the action of 
 the heart. The subject will accept almost any absurd 
 suggestion. To bark like a dog or swim on the board 
 platform is a very different state; one shows intelli- 
 gent control over the body and the other shows the 
 suggestion is acted upon without reason. Think of the 
 , all- wise spirit accepting the suggestion that it is a dog 
 and proceeding to bark and acting upon ignorant sug- 
 gestions, using its own powers in accordance with the 
 operator's desires and feelings and words: this shows 
 the unconsciousness of such a person. Here we see the 
 power of suggestion operating in different ways : We 
 see suggestion arouse a wonderful intelligent power in 
 controlling the blood and heart action, and the reverse, 
 to bark like a dog. And can we say such a spirit or 
 person is all- wise and perfect? The reverse is true. 
 How, then, can we accept such statements as God is 
 within you or the physical body and that you are an 
 all-wise spirit ? 
 
 There is a dormant power within man which can be 
 aroused by suggestion to act either way, and it would 
 not act ignorantly if it were all-wise. But we must 
 learn by experience. When we assert ourself con- 
 sciuosly we cannot be adversely affected; but if we 
 
 28 
 
acquiesce in the suggestion and doubt our own power, 
 the suggestion from the operator works unconsciously 
 in the subject and produces fear. The subject uncon- 
 sciously controls himself through fear. We produce 
 the feelings by thinking about them. Some individuals 
 have more intelligence than others, and we find the 
 power of resistance against suggestion in accordance 
 to the degree of intelligence of the individual. To as- 
 sert "You cannot affect me ; I know how to protect my- 
 self," if spoken consciously, is protection against sug- 
 gestion. 
 
 So we see that the consciousness of man brings into 
 action powers that will protect him. Such power seems 
 to be dormant and can only be awakened by a conscious 
 recognition of the individual, or can be aroused by the 
 suggestion of another person, and acts contrary to the 
 will or desire of the subject, showing the unconscious 
 state of the subject. The common method for controll- 
 ing a subject for entertainment is simple tests, such 
 as stand erect, place your feet together, hold your hands 
 by your side, tip your head backwards, look up toward 
 the ceiling, close your eyes and concentrate your mind 
 on falling backward; then the operator stands behind 
 the subject and is supposed to concentrate his mind on 
 the subject and suggests to the subject that he is fall- 
 ing backward, until the subject falls backward. In both 
 parties there is supposed unconscious power used, and 
 the illusion is in the concentrating of the mind. The 
 subject thinks he is centering his mind on falling back- 
 ward, and in such a state the feeling he thinks is in his 
 mind is in himself and produced by himself ; he is not 
 conscious of himself, but thinks his mind is being con- 
 
 29 
 
trolled by the operator and he becomes self -controlled 
 or self-hypnotized. The operator stands and makes all 
 kinds of suggestions, such as "I will you to fall back- 
 ward; you are falling backward; you cannot resist." 
 The operator asserted the "I Am": "I command you 
 to fall backward." In reality the mind had nothing to 
 do with the performance at all; it merely showed the 
 unconscious state of both parties who were trying to 
 recognize the supposed mind. The operator makes use 
 of the terms, "I centered my mind on him and I willed 
 him to fall backward." The "I" was asserted and acted 
 through the illusion, the mind. Anyone who has stud- 
 ied this subject knows that there is a state of uncon- 
 sciousness that is puzzling to understand, such a state 
 as going from a conscious to an unconscious state, and 
 is based on suggestion of another. But, viewing the 
 subject from another light, submitting that the hyp- 
 notic subject's powers are aroused to action by the 
 suggestions of the operator and can be thrown into 
 different states by the words and feelings of the oper- 
 ator, we can see how the conscious to the unconscious 
 state is reached in the subject — the subject is self- 
 controlled. By expecting the feeling to come from the 
 operator the state or feeling is self-induced. 
 
 I have heard such suggestions as, "I transmit a sleepy 
 feeling to you; you will feel sleepy; you are thinking 
 of sleep; you will soon be fast asleep," and the subject 
 is expecting the feeling to be transmitted; but when 
 sleep is induced it is caused by the subject and not by 
 the operator. One may ask, "And is there no hypnotic 
 power to be transmitted?" Yes, if you can succeed in 
 causing a person to arouse his feeling by mental or 
 
verbal suggestion or to transfer sufficient feeling to 
 control the party you wish to influence. I do not believe 
 there is ever sufficient feeling transferred from the 
 operator to the subject to control the subject. If there 
 was the operator would not have to use suggestion ; the 
 suggestions of the operator causes the subject to arouse 
 his own feeling unconsciously. I do not believe there 
 is ever any great amount of power transmitted one to 
 another, but a mental suggestion will arouse the feel- 
 ing, thoughts and desires of another person, and they 
 will not know the cause of how they feel. These feelings 
 come unconsciously to the party being influenced, but 
 the party influences himself unconsciously and in obe- 
 dience to the suggestion given. Instead of transmit- 
 ting power, the power or feeling within, the person 
 does as you suggest transmits the feeling, and as soon 
 as the feel-like state is induced the party arouses his 
 powers unconsciously and is self-controlled by the sug- 
 gestion and feelings of the other party. 
 
 It is possible to suggest to people mentally and cause 
 them to induce in themselves unconsciously the sug- 
 gested feelings. In accordance to the mental demand, 
 suggestion is the power which liberates or binds the 
 powers within man, and the stronger the subject be- 
 lieves that he has a mind that can be controlled the 
 easier he is influenced, because he has no conscious 
 knowledge of himself. 
 
 It seems we are at war with ourself ; we have been 
 trying to find ourself by using suggestion, not realizing 
 who is giving the suggestion. We can readily see the 
 effects of suggestion, as spoken words of others arouse 
 
 31 
 
angry feelings within us and the feelings came against 
 our will; so it can be seen that we arouse our feelings 
 and powers unconsciously in relation to the suggestion 
 given. But when we try to control ourself by using 
 auto-suggestion or self-suggestion we can sometimes 
 hold our feelings and powers in check, and when we 
 become conscious of this truth we will be able to guard 
 ourself and protect ourself under any and all circum- 
 stances; for we will be able to use our powers con- 
 sciously in the opposite direction. 
 
 Why have we talked so much about our mind and 
 spent so much time trying to control it and centering 
 it, making it pointed, as some teachers advocate ? Why 
 do-we spend so much time in unconscious thinking and 
 talking? Do we ever try to become conscious of the 
 party that is talking or influencing us ? We have, been 
 divided by the terms Mind, Soul, You and Spirit. I 
 have heard men and women talking of their mind and 
 soul and spirit, and I couldn't understand who the talk- 
 ing party was— whether it was the You, the Mind, the 
 Soul or the Spirit. Just think of an intelligent man 
 talking about his soul and mind and spirit as though 
 they were separate entities. So we must be unconscious 
 of ourself as long as we use unconscious talk. And in 
 proportion to our consciousness of self we liberate or 
 bind ourself, for suggestion^ is the power that moves 
 the levers which turn the feelings or power on or off. 
 So it becomes important that we hold the suggestions 
 in check. But we must first find ourself before we can 
 hold suggestion in check, and that is the greatest task. 
 
 Man, know thyself! We will never be able to know 
 
 32 
 
ourself until we become conscious of the party that is 
 doing and acting and talking ; for there is but one intel- 
 ligence or spirit that is ruling the body, and we are self- 
 governed, self-bound and self-limited and can hypnotize 
 ourself and not be conscious of our act and produce the 
 state in ourself that is suggested by others, and do it 
 unconsciously. With self-knowledge we can apply our 
 powers against the suggestion given and not be affected 
 in the least, knowing that it is ourself that affects our- 
 self. When we think of the great mind of the other 
 party and speculate on how powerful such a man is, we 
 entertain fear, and the things we fear come upon us, for 
 we admit a lack of faith in ourself. Knowledge is 
 power — self-knowledge, self-protection, self-control. 
 
 False education is the cause of our present condition, 
 but a large majority of the people seem to be satisfied. 
 A few have awakened, however, to the self-induced con- 
 dition and are trying to be free from the race thought. 
 Most people have the habit of talking about their mind 
 and other people's minds, until they believe they have 
 a mind and cannot be convinced to the contrary, and 
 that is the race thought. One influences the other; 
 parents influence their children when young and they 
 have no chance to gain consciousness, and talk just like 
 their parents. Such is the condition, that I have never 
 heard a man that could speak clear from his spiritual 
 self without dealing in some kind of an illusion ; speak- 
 ing unconsciously and using terms such as "my mind" 
 and other absurdities. 
 
 A little reflection will show the reader his uncon- 
 scious condition. 
 
 n n 
 
We have been talking of my spirit, my. soul, my mind, 
 and I may add my dog; and if called upon for an ex- 
 planation as to who the one is that is talking, then we 
 can get a glimpse of our unconsciousness. 
 
 We do not know where it is— the Mind or Soul or 
 Spirit, for we are taught to believe that the I Am— 
 ourself — is the All-Wise. So we must come to this con- 
 clusion, that the I Am is not talking and doing, because 
 we are not all-wise — at least we do not act so. Then 
 I ask who is talking — is the Mind, the You or the Soul ? 
 Or is it self-created illusion assuming the existence of 
 the other parties? What is your answer? It is plain 
 to be seen that these terms are misleading to the stu- 
 dents of psychology, on account of this unconscious talk 
 in regard to the Mind and Spirit and Soul, and it is a 
 •slow process of self -recognition. 
 
 The idea of men talking of their Spirit, Soul and 
 Mind without the slightest glimpse of the one that is 
 talking about this Spirit, Soul and Mind. Ask any one 
 who the one is that is talking. You will always get a 
 simple answer ; you will hear words spoken uncon- 
 sciously, for no one knows who the party is that talks 
 and recognizes the supposed mind and spirit and the 
 other parties. 
 
 So we must stay in bondage until we remove this 
 self -created and deluded condition, for this unconscious 
 talk is the power that stops our progress; for, as a 
 man's consciousness, so is he. We must be unconscious 
 until we know ourselves, and it is impossible to know 
 ourselves as long as Ave see ourselves in so many differ- 
 ent terms. 
 
 34 
 
The You is supposed to be the center of the supposed 
 mind, and the expression "my spirit" shows the non- 
 recognition of self, or the one that is talking of the 
 other parties. 
 
 These are master words, "Man know thyself," which 
 is impossible in such a mixed state. So we see our 
 mixed illusionary condition is the power that binds us, 
 for we are not conscious of our acts or talk, and in that 
 state we assume the mind as a separate intelligence, 
 also the soul, but we never try to locate ourselves — the 
 party that is trying to recognize the illusion. 
 
 When we become conscious of ourselves we will see 
 that these illusions are unnecessary and do not exist 
 outside of ourselves. Then we will refuse to bind our- 
 selves by our unconsciousness by acting and trying to 
 prove their existence. Then we will become conscious 
 of ourselves, and the suggestions of others would cease 
 to affect us, for we would not affect ourselves con- 
 sciously. 
 
 It has been proven that spoken words or suggestions 
 of others arouse a power in us unconscious^ in relation 
 to the suggestion given ; but when we become conscious 
 of self we can control and protect ourselves under any 
 circumstances. Then, again, if we are conscious of 
 ourselves and our power, why do we become angry and 
 use these words ("I cannot control myself," "He said 
 so and so," "It made me so angry") ? I find the power 
 within the person aroused, and they are unconscious of 
 its source and cannot control themselves because they 
 aroused the feelings and powers within themselves un- 
 consciously. 
 
 35 
 
The man obeys the suggestion, and thereby awakens 
 his own powers and feelings and admits he could not 
 help himself, or admits he had no power to help him- 
 self, because he aroused the angry feelings uncon- 
 sciously. In other words, we do not know why or how 
 we become" so angry or what force or power we use; a 
 feeling that comes uncalled for in many cases, and we 
 are sorry for our actions and the way we expressed 
 ourselves. This is a true statement. 
 
 I often hear people expressing the inability to control 
 themselves and how sorry they are for their actions. 
 I do not believe there ever was a man that was con- 
 scious of the force or power he was operating. In giv- 
 ing a hypnotic performance the powers used are un- 
 # seen ; we do not know anything about it. 
 
 We use terms, words, to express something we know 
 absolutely nothing about. We say, "mind over mind/' 
 "the strongest controls the weakest," and still both 
 parties are unconscious of the forces employed or what 
 is active in producing the desired effect. Yet it is a 
 scientific fact that all depends on the subject for the 
 success of the hypnotist. If the subject has no faith 
 or conscious knowledge of himself and submits to the 
 suggestions of the hypnotist and produces the feelings 
 in himself that are suggested by the hypnotist, he must 
 become self-controlled, and if he refuses to accept the 
 suggestions given and refuses to influence himself, the 
 hypnotist finds that he cannot transmit the feelings 
 and powers that he thinks he can, and the subject is 
 not affected. The hynotist finds he has no power over 
 
 36 
 
the subject when the subject holds his feelings and 
 powers in check. 
 
 If it was possible for man to possess such a power 
 he could control others against their wish or will, no 
 matter what they do or say; but a four-year-old child 
 can withstand the powerful attacks of a hypnotist be- 
 cause it refuses to influence itself, and the hypnotist 
 cannot influence the child with his own power. 
 
 I have seen it tested and proven, and it is not pos- 
 sible for a hypnotized person to help himself nor resist 
 the hypnotist, because the subject is obeying the de- 
 sires of the hypnotist unconsciously, using his own 
 powers and feelings to please the hypnotist. We find, 
 however, there have been certain states forced upon 
 the subject against his moral nature, and we find the 
 subject has aroused his own power to protect himself 
 and refuses to accept the suggestions given ; and if the 
 operator insists, he loses control over the subject, show- 
 ing the hypnotist has no power over the subject out- 
 side of the subject, but he must make the subject use 
 his own powers unconsciously ; then the hypnotist suc- 
 ceeds, if not he is a failure. 
 
 If it was possible for the subject to realize his 
 self-induced state he could relieve himself instantly, 
 for he would cease to affect himself; thus it proves 
 the unconsciousness of the man — of the real power 
 that is used in producing such an unconscious state. 
 Thinking that he has the power to induce such a 
 state and that he is throwing large amounts of 
 magnetism over the subject, compelling the person 
 by his power to do as he wishes; but if the person 
 refuses to be affected and has a conscious knowl- 
 
 37 
 
edge of his own powers, we find it a complete failure. 
 It all depends upon the positive nature of the subject 
 or the consciousness of self. The greater the degree of 
 consciousness the more power, or the greater will be 
 the resistance against suggestion. Self-knowledge is 
 self-protection. 
 
 Knowledge of self brings into action powers to do as 
 we wish or to think as we wish as opposed to the 
 suggestions of the hypnotist. The success of the hyp- 
 notist depends upon the subject's consciousness of 
 self. We find the hypnotist says and thinks certain 
 things, and we see certain results; the force or power 
 used to produce those results are unknown. Most hyp- 
 notists think it is their ow r n powers that control the 
 subject, but in reality the subject is self -con trolled un- 
 consciously. In other words, the hypnotist presses the 
 button and the subject does the rest unconsciously, and 
 in that unconscious state the subject cannot resist the 
 suggestions of the hypnotist. It has been plainly seen 
 why. 
 
 We are all affected by suggestion to a certain degree, 
 and there are many different kinds of suggestions. 
 Material things act as a powerful suggestion to others. 
 For example, the clothing one wears speaks mentally 
 to. the one taking observations. Mental suggestion di- 
 rected to another person produces certain results, de- 
 pending on the positiveness or consciousness of the 
 person. 
 
 The eyes act as a silent suggestion to the person you 
 wish to influence, and we find it a difficult task to influ- 
 ence or hypnotize a person that can consciously protect 
 himself. We find consciousness of self power. 
 
 . 38 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Oh Spirit Man, where are you? Why- 
 Make your body diseased with wrinkled brow ? 
 Speaking mind is something that you own; 
 You cannot see your conception of mind — you have none. 
 Living in your own creation (confusion), 
 Trying to recognize mind (the illusion), 
 Oh, Spirit, Man, where are you? Why the delusion? 
 
 Suggestion and Its Relation to What Is Known as 
 Divine Healing. 
 
 We all have desires for certain things, but we do not 
 know definitely how we become possessed of such de- 
 sires. We know when we become conscious of them, 
 but what force or power brought them to our con- 
 sciousness we do not know. To prove the why of 
 things proves to a man how great is the unconscious- 
 ness of the human race. We say we know we exist. 
 Can we prove it? We may say, "yes we can." We can 
 say, "I am." That is about all we can say of ourselves. 
 We are not conscious of ourselves during sleep, our 
 dreams are as real to us as in our conscious or awak- 
 ened state. We say, "That was only a dream," but the 
 dream was real to us in that state. Can we prove which 
 is the real? Do we exist to ourselves when we are 
 asleep? Can we prove we exist? We may say only one 
 part of our earth life— the other part— is spent in sleep 
 
 39 
 
or in an unconscious condition of material surround- 
 ings of the earth. In our supposed conscious state we 
 affect ourselves unconsciously, which has been proven 
 in the preceding chapter. 
 
 It is very difficult to understand the causes of these 
 different states of consciousness, if I may so call it. 
 The things we do in a dream are as real to us as what 
 we do in our awakened state. We would not adversely 
 affect ourselves, and if we do not know ourselves, do 
 we exist to ourselves? We do not understand the 
 powers we possess. If we do not understand or know 
 ourselves, do we exist? Have we any proof? Any 
 number of people believe they possess the power to heal 
 themselves when they are sick or affected, but they 
 have no definite knowledge how to cause the healing 
 forces to operate, showing the unconsciousness of the 
 human race. 
 
 I have seen healing done, and I find the healers do 
 not know nor understand the forces used. We see the 
 effects only. A percentage are healed, the others were 
 anxious to be healed. We find the forces employed are 
 not understood. The causes of those manifestations 
 are invisible or hidden. We find two men desiring to 
 be healed of disease, and I have seen a failure in both 
 while a third party was healed. We do not know 
 whether the healing power was transmitted from the 
 healer or whether the healing force was in the individ- 
 ual. It proves that whenever those forces are em- 
 ployed they are used unconsciously. 
 
 There has been much written on the subject of how 
 to heal; and if the parties understood the forces they 
 
 40 
 
were operating, or claiming- they understood how it was 
 performed, they would heal in spite of unbelief. If the 
 healer possessed the power and understood how to 
 transmit it, they could do more good by healing the 
 sick than trying to teach others the art of healing. We 
 understand those theories do not reveal the unconscious- 
 ness of man, for all those people professing to heal the 
 sick meet with complete failure. There is only one 
 power within the physical body of man, and it works 
 either way — can destroy the body or make it wholly 
 free from disease, which we have proven to be true. 
 Man is unconscious of his powers, and thereby uses 
 them to create disease in himself, and those powers 
 can be aroused and caused to heal himself, and still he 
 will not be conscious of his own acts, and the healer 
 gets the credit. 
 
 If a man understood how to operate this infinite life 
 force, he would never fail and would always get the 
 same results, for he could not conceive of failure when 
 drawing from God, the Infinite. 
 
 Whether a person believes in God or not, the healer 
 has the power to heal because he feels it, and receives 
 power from the source of all the power there is, and is 
 fully conscious of his act, and knows how to draw this 
 life and healing invisible force and can transmit it to 
 all and heal all. 
 
 When I see a failure it is evident that the healer could 
 not cause the patient to arouse his own healing powers, 
 for I am quite sure such a man had no connection with 
 Divine power, or that God was working through such 
 a man — in other words, I do not think there was any 
 
 41 
 
great amount of outside power used, for the healino- 
 powers were within the sick man. If the healer sue" 
 ceeds in causing the man to arouse his own healino- 
 powers, the man is healed; if not, he fails, showing that 
 the infinite God of the universe was not interested in 
 the affair. 
 
 My understanding of divine healing is through God 
 drawing powers from the infinite supply. It would be 
 an impossibility to fail if God or the Infinite Intelli- 
 gence had any part in the affair. We must also know 
 that God knew all about the sick man, and if he saw 
 fit to heal him he would do so without some preacher 
 asking him. If God is all the power there is, and ere- 
 ated everything, did it not include disease? If every- 
 thing has any meaning, he must have created the dis- 
 ease, also the bad and good. If God created everything 
 there was nothing for man to do but to make use of 
 what is created— materially and mentally. 
 
 A'2 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 Easy Methods for Influencing — What Is Love? 
 
 I find absolute Truth, definite Knowledge represents 
 the ability or powers to do and attain our ideals. We 
 can see that consciousness constitutes the man and con- 
 scious knowledge produces the feeling and says, "I can 
 and I will." I find to entertain feelings of can or I can- 
 not measures the powers accordingly. Every one. knows 
 the results of entertaining thoughts and feelings of 
 fear and the opposite feelings of fearlessness. Feel- 
 ings have a greater control over us than thoughts. We 
 think of doing something, but we do not feel like it, 
 and the "feel like" state will always rule, depending 
 in a degree on the ability of the person to produce the 
 opposite. We can prove these statements by enter- 
 taining feelings of fear. To develop the ability to pro- 
 duce feelings we are developing powers. I do not mean 
 for you to just think you possess certain feelings and 
 do not; but when a man can produce in himself con- 
 sciously a certain forceful feeling he knows the differ- 
 ence between feeling and thinking, and will also begin 
 to realize that feelings rule most people. He will also 
 know and realize his inability to produce the feeling in 
 himself, and thereby have to wait, or trust to thoughts 
 and wait until they liberate the feeling-like state in the 
 party he wishes to influence, instead of transmitting 
 
 43 
 
the feeling which would be the easier way of influen- 
 cing. 
 
 Conscious thoughts and also unconscious thoughts 
 and impressions liberate the feelings of sickness and 
 disease, happiness and sorrow. Feelings control us and 
 thinking liberates the feelings. So we must be on the 
 watch to create in us the opposite, or the feeling de- 
 sired. And as we produce a feeling and expect certain 
 results, we can see it does not require another power, 
 named Will Power, to let go or transmit the first, nor 
 does it require any concentrating of the will to let go 
 of something that we are conscious of. 
 
 If I am conscious of a powerful feeling, and I am try- 
 ing to develop another power we call will, to liberate 
 the first feeling and the consciousness of developing it 
 annuls the first power, and we do not let go, but hold 
 the power in trying to liberate it with what is termed 
 Will, we are trying to become conscious of a second 
 feeling and we cease to produce the first, and by so do- 
 ing defeat ourselves. 
 
 A better way than trying to use will is by cultivat- 
 ing the habit or ability of becoming filled with the feel- 
 ings you desire and then let go and feel those feelings 
 flowing from you; no will or concentrating required. 
 Just be calm and positive, directing the power to the 
 desired end, therby proving your faith and confidence 
 in yourself. To use will, or something we do not under- 
 stand, will correspond to using the mind — the illusion 
 — and prove we do not understand ourselves or the will 
 powers we are supposed to be using. 
 
 44 
 
The easiest way is, first produce the feelings in your- 
 self, then let go — not retain them by trying to concen- 
 trate or become conscious of another power and thereby 
 fail to produce the first, but turn our consciousness in 
 producing the second. 
 
 If a man can produce in himself a positive feeling 
 and wishes to transmit it to another, just think of a 
 person going into a sick room filled with feelings of 
 health and happiness, and let go, as it were, of those 
 health-giving feelings; no will is required; just think 
 I have opened the door, and then try and feel the power 
 passing through you to the sick man. It becomes an 
 easy method of healing. As you become conscious of 
 your ability to create power you will also have plenty 
 in store, and those feelings produce in the party you 
 wish to influence the same feelings which you entertain, 
 depending, however, upon the positiveness of the per- 
 son you wish to influence. 
 
 We find an unconscious man cannot manifest will 
 power, we also find consciousness is all the will there is ; 
 we can also see that to use will is to use consciousness 
 and call it will power, while it is plainly seen will power 
 does not exist outside of consciousness. We cannot 
 possess a separate power named Will to use in trans- 
 mitting our feelings, thoughts and desires. 
 
 To become conscious of those feelings flowing out 
 from us would be the greatest will power that could be 
 applied. Consciously adding feelings corresponding 
 with those transmitted until the desired results are 
 obtained. Judging consciousness as we see it and know 
 it from the effects on the material body, an unconscious 
 
 45 
 
man cannot speak or move consciously, the reason 
 thereof being the lack of will power, proving that con- 
 sciousness is will power. 
 
 It is plainly seen that we could not produce feelings 
 without consciously thinking of the feelings we wish 
 to entertain, realizing the unconscious process or the 
 effects of some unknowable power within man. There- 
 fore it behooves us to practice until we can produce or 
 fill ourselves with power, health and happiness; then 
 we will know how to transmit it to others. We do not 
 know how feelings are produced, but we do know when 
 we feel them ; we know when we become filled with feel- 
 ings of fear, but we do not know how we produced 
 them. We might say by thinking about them, and we 
 could say thinking liberates them. All we know is we 
 are conscious of feelings, even if we do not know how 
 they are produced. 
 
 We feel a pain, but we do not know how we created 
 it. Pain has more effect upon us than does the think- 
 ing of pain, for it is a feeling. Feeling has more power 
 over us than thinking, and thinking of power without 
 feeling it would be trying to use something we do not 
 possess. Therefore we must trust to thoughts to 
 arouse the feelings in the other party. We must feel 
 the power before we can transmit it, and, according to 
 our ability to feel, so will our powers be. When you 
 have induced the feeling in a person you have induced 
 the power. 
 
 Viewing this subject without creating an unknow- 
 able division, thus causing us to see ourselves divided 
 into several personalities, the conscious and sub-con- 
 
 46 
 
scious mind is our conscious and unconsciousness, as 
 we have no definite knowledge of the conscious mind or 
 the sub-conscious either — of what it is composed or the 
 benefits of its supposed powers. It is important to 
 notice that the actions and powers of the sub-conscious 
 mind are always performed unconsciously ; therefore 
 we are without any material evidence of what it could 
 be composed of and also its benefits. "Man, know thy- 
 self". Yes, if it were possible, but we cannot see the 
 illusion and confusion that we place ourselves in by 
 trying to recognize the mind and its theory. 
 
 The sub-conscious mind is supposed to contain power 
 and is intelligent, always looking for the good of its 
 possessor ; but we must direct it in order to cause it to 
 act, as we do not know anything about it or where it is 
 located. This impressing and directing is always done 
 unconsciously by us. If ever we obtain results they are 
 obtained unconsciously. We have no knowledge of the 
 mind, or a second power called sub-conscious or some- 
 thing outside of our consciousness; therefore we use 
 our power unconsciously and call it the workings of the 
 sub-conscious mind. 
 
 We understand or have desires for what we want, 
 and should have the powers to satisfy these desires, 
 without pleading or asking a second being or thing as 
 the sub-conscious mind. We create the power uncon- 
 sciously, thinking it is the sub-conscious mind, thereby 
 creating unconsciousness in ourselves. Consciousness 
 is power, and to continue to practice and do things un- 
 consciously holds and binds us in an unconscious state. 
 
 If the man which is called spirit is a portion of God, 
 
 47 
 
and is intelligent, has divine possibilities, learning 
 through experience, and still must trust to a mind to 
 give advice, and the Spirit, the Man, has no knowledge 
 of how such things are accomplished, the mind fur- 
 nishing such powers and knowledge, then the Spirit has 
 not profited in the least, because such power was not 
 known to the man or spirit or from what source it 
 came. 
 
 No one can cause the sub-conscious mind to perform 
 feats for them and they be conscious of its actions, 
 because we are trusting in the mind instead of our- 
 selves. If the sub-conscious mind performs or fur- 
 nishes us powers, and those powers are hidden and 
 never understood by us and we cannot cause it to per- 
 form things for us, and we are conscious of its actions, 
 what benefit can we ever receive from it? All the 
 workings of the sub-conscious mind are performed un- 
 consciously. We simply impress ourselves and think 
 of the sub-conscious mind, and in this unconscious act 
 we become self-deluded and divided, and by so doing 
 we annul our powers by trusting to the mind to create 
 powers, trusting in a second power in ourselves that we 
 have no knowledge of, and it does not exist to us. 
 Trusting to something we call sub-conscious mind, we 
 expect the mind to produce the powers instead of our- 
 selves — expecting something for nothing; waiting for 
 powers, waiting for our ideal to come to us by the 
 means of the mind ; living in the illusion and expecting 
 reality ; expecting powers without creating them ; trust- 
 ing and waiting for the nothing to become or produce 
 the real or the desired thing — when in reality we re- 
 ceive in proportion just what we contain or what we 
 
 48 
 
are fully conscious of ; and if we do not understand any- 
 thing whatsoever concerning the mind it cannot exist 
 to us. Therefore we are trying to operate something 
 we call mind that does not exist, proving that to look 
 to this illusion for powers is the cause of many failures. 
 
 Why are we so constituted that we must trust to the 
 sub-conscious part of us — the non-existing thing or 
 part we call the sub-conscious? What does a man 
 do when he impresses the sub-conscious mind for pow- 
 ers to accomplish a certain thing ? No man knows who 
 he is talking with when talking to or trying to impress 
 the illusion named sub-conscious mind. To talk to our- 
 selves about power, thinking of power, trusting to the 
 sub-conscious for power without creating it or the de- 
 sired feeling is a failure surely, since feelings are all the 
 powers we have any knowledge of. 
 
 We are divided into many different names. To use 
 the name Will Power and think we have created it or 
 developed a strong will, and think that you are using 
 your will, will not benefit you in the least. Will is con- 
 sciousness, no more nor less. To think you are power- 
 ful does not make you so. This has been proven by 
 experience. It takes a conscious effort to produce 
 power in ourselves, and any one who talks of their great 
 will and think they are using something which they have 
 named Will are not conscious of themselves or their 
 powers. To trust the unknowable for powers proves, if 
 ever we did succeed, that we had produced the desired 
 thing unconsciously. 
 
 Therefore we cannot ever receive any benefit from 
 unconscious process. We must understand that to use 
 
 49 
 
will is to use our consciousness, and concentrated will 
 represents concentrated consciousness, which terms 
 would cause us to look to ourselves for powers and 
 bring us back to self -consciousness. We are only what 
 we are conscious of, and to devolep consciousness we 
 would be only developing ourselves. Do not picture 
 your will as outside of yourself, as something you have 
 made, containing a store of power, and this power will 
 operate by you commanding it. Such is not the case. 
 If you have no knowledge of any power, you have no 
 will. Will is conscious knowledge, and the same is true 
 concerning the mind or soul. We cannot receive benefit 
 from such a source, and to trust to any of those illu- 
 sions for advice or power would bring us only failure, 
 which the writer has experienced. 
 
 If ever such terms are used by any one they should 
 be fully conscious of their full meaning. We would not 
 be responsible or have the power to choose if we were 
 dominated by any outside influences; but all those in- 
 fluences and divisions are just as we make them and 
 have no power to help us or affect us in any way what- 
 soever. We must make them all and set them aside 
 for consideration, as there is no power or influence in 
 them if we do not transmit it ; so, then, why use them, 
 thinking them separate intelligences, capable of gen- 
 erating power— such as the sub-conscious mind trust- 
 ing the sub-conscious for powers, without developing 
 and transmitting it — and if we can develop feeling or 
 power without the aid of either of those parties, what 
 benefit do we receive by using them ? 
 
 We must come to the understanding of our oneness, 
 
 50 
 
and that is impossible if we continue to talk uncon- 
 sciously, thereby creating unconsciousness. I under- 
 stand that we must use terms as a medium of express- 
 ing ourselves, but after ages have passed those same 
 terms are used and have come to be known as self-sug- 
 gestion, which is accepted as the truth by us. 
 
 However, that does not prove their existence, and we 
 accept things suggested to us in less time. When a 
 persons say they are using will they do not realize that 
 will has no existence outside of consciousness. It 
 proves it must be an unconscious expression, and if we 
 continue to use them we must grow into absolute un- 
 consciousness of self. We talk and do not know it ; non- 
 recognition of self is the power that binds lis. WE are 
 our worst enemies because we cling to the old ideas and 
 false teachings. We must assert our oneness of self- 
 existing without those theories and divisions and we 
 must grow into consciousness. 
 
 Realization of a certain thing when it becomes a truth 
 to us is a different degree of consciousness than as- 
 sumed knowledge. We see many degrees of conscious- 
 ness, according to our concept of subjects and things, 
 will be the degree of consciousness. We find that false 
 education is the cause of this humble position of the 
 human race, so earnestly waiting for the light to come 
 from some one else. That may seem and is a long way 
 off, but we must liberate ourselves ; if we cannot we are 
 hopeless and lost to self, hoping that some one will be 
 able to present the light that all will see it. Then we 
 will see that we are the makers of our own destiny, and 
 this book will become a reality. 
 
 51 
 
There is probably one reader in a thousand that will 
 be willing to give up the mind theory. They are self- 
 influenced to such an extent that they think they have 
 a mind outside of their own consciousness, and express 
 themselves as if something existed to them, but feel a 
 great sadness and pity for any one that tries to reason 
 with them to the contrary. I am sure there must be 
 some great mistake for people to think they are domi- 
 nated by this outside influence known as mind. These 
 people are so confused and hypnotized that they become 
 enraged and hostile and cannot receive any new ideas 
 outside of their own way of thinking; therefore they 
 limit themselves. 
 
 To accept a creed or doctrine means a limitation to 
 the one that accepts it, because before you can accept 
 anything new you must discard the old, as the Master 
 said you cannot serve two masters ; and if you cling to 
 the old teaching and will not reason and try to accept 
 anything new, you must be self-limited and live in a 
 very narrow zone, which says "touch me not." 
 
 What is known as truth grows; a truth today be- 
 comes a greater truth tomorrow 7 ; truth changes ac- 
 cording to our conception of it or of the subject or 
 thing, and the subject or thing grows brighter and 
 greater as we study it and becomes as great as endless 
 space. Everything has the unknowable part connected 
 with it, and that seems to be the trouble in the finding 
 of the unknowable. 
 
 Many people cannot recognize the unknowable part 
 and are satisfied with what they see and read about, 
 and refuse to be told about the life principle. In all 
 
 52 
 
things they will answer you by saying: "That does 
 not trouble me; I know that Jesus is the son of God, 
 and that his blood was shed for me." They, of course, 
 talk just as they were taught, and cannot receive any- 
 thing uplifting and beautiful, thus showing how limited 
 they are, and it means darkness and death to them — 
 non-recognition of self. 
 
 We can become self-influenced to a wonderful degree, 
 as we can see in different cases of what is called love 
 between man and wife. What is known as love in most 
 cases consists of nothing more or less than a self-in- 
 duced state. When something happens that seperates 
 the one from the other, if it be the man in the case, the 
 writer knows something of his state of feelings. The 
 woman walks away seemingly unaffected, possibly cen- 
 tering her affections on another man ; the husband finds 
 he is full of love for his wife, because he has enter- 
 tained thoughts for her that made him happy ; and 
 when she went away he was left with his self-induced 
 state, not realizing that it was himself that brought the 
 misery upon himself, and has, consequently, a great 
 battle to fight. 
 
 After a time has passed away, however, if he refuses 
 to think about it, he will find that he has become abso- 
 lutely free from the first party, especially if he has cen- 
 tered his thoughts and desires on some one else ; there- 
 fore he unconsciously releases himself. This shows 
 that we can become attached or self-governed, unknow- 
 ingly, or can release or free ourselves in the same way. 
 We will surely feel as we think, be it love thoughts or 
 the opposite. 
 
 58 
 
Mv advice would be, guard your feelings and thoughts 
 if them should be any danger of a separation from the 
 one that has caused you so mueh happiness when you 
 were together. A separation seems worse than death ; 
 but we must become master of our thoughts and not 
 continually think of something that causes misery. 
 The reason a person cannot stop thinking is because it 
 gives a certain degree of satisfaction in thinking about 
 the person beloved. Thus we find in that state the 
 party creates the condition of worry, sorrow and grief, 
 and they pray and long to be free. We have all heard 
 people wishing for death to liberate them, they were so 
 unhappy. But it is very doubtful if passing out of the 
 body would mean very much relief, as it is not the body 
 .fhat causes the misery, it is the something that gen- 
 erates wrong thought. 
 
 Non-recognition would be the best method to use; 
 just concentrate your thoughts, feelings and desires 
 upon some other person, and in a short time you will 
 experience relief and will have yourself under control. 
 We must realize this automatic self-acting principle 
 within man and must be on the watch that it does not 
 get started. Few people recognize it and it gets be- 
 yond their control, which they learn to their sorrow, 
 and, try as they think they do to drive out thoughts 
 that cause grief, they realize it is impossible. 
 
 Impossible because they recognize it so strongly they 
 create thoughts unconsciously; for it is impossible to 
 forget the thoughts if we constantly create them. Not 
 to recognize the thoughts that cause the sorrow and 
 think the act, and desire the opposite will bring speedy 
 
 ; 54 
 
relief, because it is ourselves who are causing: the 
 misery. We must change our thinking, thereby chang- 
 ing our feelings, as feelings control us. 
 
 The love of most people corresponds to the ability or 
 power of the person to change their thinking. Any- 
 thing that divides a person in their thinking towards 
 the one they are supposed to love destroys their love, 
 because it acts or stops that self-acting principle, and 
 the stopping of that powerful cause destroys all 
 thoughts of love, which is the keynote to self-control. 
 This self-acting principle operates either way. After 
 the uncontrollable state has been induced man becomes 
 a slave to his thoughts; it seems a state of hypnotism 
 because it works against a person's wish. We must 
 remember the undesirable thoughts are always fore- 
 most, always shining bright in our consciousness; so 
 thereby we create them, and to stop creating them we 
 must realize the truth. 
 
 I might say that all we have to do is simply to do 
 nothing, but that seems the hardest task. NON-REC- 
 OGNITION is the power that will stop this automatic, 
 self-acting principle. And as the days and months pass 
 by we will only laugh at our ignorance, although we 
 cannot forget. But we experience freedom, and after 
 we have proven this truth by experience we rejoice in 
 our new-found power, and will keep our lamps trimmed 
 and burning lest we be caught napping again. 
 
 Not only is non-recognition the best, but it is the 
 surest and quickest method of self-control. It will 
 work either way — recognizes the state you want, and 
 will not recognize the state. you do not want. With 
 
 55 
 
this recognition comes power that will control the un- 
 desirable and will also furnish and support powers that 
 will help us attain our desires. 
 
 There is nothing mysterious about this, it is only 
 simple scientific facts, so plain it seems a child should 
 understand it. Why should we recognize thoughts and 
 conditions when by so doing we bring sorrow 7 to our- 
 selves needlessly, because we have the power to refrain 
 from recognizing them. If we refuse to recognize them 
 we stop creating them; in a little while we experience 
 relief and become enthused and experience a seemingly 
 new-found power that acts as the means to freedom 
 and happiness. 
 
 .We make our own conditions, and a recognition of 
 this fact is the first step in self-control; for we refuse 
 to think of something that we long to be free from. 
 Knowing that we torture ourselves, we will be in a con- 
 dition to use our powers in the 'right direction without 
 wasting them in creating undesirable states or feelings. 
 
 It is a w r aste of power to create thoughts and feel- 
 ings we do not want. It also stops our progress. We 
 are fighting ourselves and are unconsciously divided, 
 and we cannot become what we should like to be. Rec- 
 ognition of this fact will add power to overcome the 
 undesirable thoughts or feelings. It is the greatest 
 will power that could be applied. 
 
 Knowledge is power. When we understand and know 
 the truth and the reaction of wrong thinking we are 
 developing powers of reverse nature, as we can use it 
 either way or stop creating thoughts of worry by try- 
 ing to control them by using" mind or will. There is 
 
 56 
 
only one method, non-recognition, or use the opposite. 
 Look for the I Am yourself, and see it back of all 
 thoughts. Lay them all aside and consider them ; prove 
 to yourself they have no power over you other than 
 what you gave them. If you refuse to recognize a 
 thought it will die, because you do not think about it. 
 Keep close to self — do not wander away and get lost in 
 the illusion (mind), for it destroys self-consciousness, 
 therefore is the cause of mental slavery. 
 
 By mental slavery is meant creating thoughts of 
 misery and sorrow and not realizing it is ourselves 
 that is doing it; therefore such a realization is a great 
 step towards self-control. It seems impossible to con- 
 trol ourselves if we have no knowledge of ourselves, but 
 by acquiring that knowledge of self, likewise we in- 
 crease our powers of self-control. If one can see his 
 mistakes it represents a possibility of development or 
 growth, if not he must wait and learn through sor- 
 rowful experience. One must realize it is himself 
 that creates the undesirable thoughts — then you will 
 be in a position to break the chains that bind you by 
 complying with this advice: Simply do not recognize 
 the thoughts. 
 
 Seemingly an easy method, but you must understand 
 you are fighting yourself. After one realizes this and 
 it becomes a truth to them, they cease to torture them- 
 selves. If they do not realize it, having but a vague 
 conception of the truth, they will continue to create the 
 undesirable thoughts, unknowingly, and will speak of 
 the mind and how they wish they could control it. Try 
 considering all of your thoughts and desires, and real- 
 ty 
 
iz£ that it is yourself that creates them. Practice kill- 
 ing- your thoughts by refusing to recognize them, and 
 say consciously "I can and I will control my thoughts, 
 my thinking." See yourself admitting thoughts which 
 you do not like, and they cause you sorrow; try and 
 realize that you have the power to stop thinking ; real- 
 ize the wonderful power of non-recognition— that is 
 the master key; Stop thinking of something you wish 
 to be. free from; develop opposite feelings in yourself. 
 In so doing you develop powers of self-control. While 
 feelings control us they also control others. 
 
 Do not recognize the mind or try to control, for the 
 recognition of the thought you wish to control or be 
 free from is to create it, and in trying to control the 
 m'ind or thoughts in the mind is to recognize and create 
 the very thought ,that sometimes causes us sorrow. 
 
 Ta recognize that we are thinking, be it good for us 
 or not, that non-recognition has the opposite effect, 
 proven by experience. It can be seen very clearly that 
 thinking good thoughts represents love thoughts and 
 angry thoughts the opposite of love; and we must ad- 
 mit that, according to our thinking, so will our love be. 
 
 The love of the human race exists in thoughts, and, 
 according to our ability to change our thinking, we 
 change our love. Thinking liberates feelings — love 
 thoughts liberate love feelings. The same is true of 
 angry thoughts, which liberate angry feelings, the op- 
 posite of love so-called. 
 
 It is an easy matter to see the real cause of so many 
 divorces and unhappy marriages. It is because they 
 do not know that it is their thinking and their actions 
 
 & -S8 
 
that destroy their love. Pure love cannot change. God 
 is love. We often hear, "I love so and so," and "I could 
 not live without them"; and in just a little while you 
 wall hear the opposite : ' "I used to love him, but now I just 
 detest him." Such is the love of the human race, and 
 it is very deceptive. It is simply a self -hypnotic condi- 
 tion and changes with the morality of the person, or 
 it changes with the thoughts and actions of the person. 
 There is a light shining for every one that is able to 
 grasp the real meaning of this chapter, and if under- 
 stood they would be free from sorrow and worry caused 
 by their supposed love acairs. 
 
 ^his chapter alone is worth more than the price of 
 this little book. If we desire to speak with power and 
 influence we must put feelings in our words. We must 
 create the feelings, however, before we can use it. ' I 
 repeat, if you wish to be powerful you must feel the 
 power. 
 
 b9 
 
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!rJ5P.£5.Y 0F CONGRESS 
 
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