THE WAY TO PERSONAL SUCCESS

© H.C. Fairbrother, Ph.D.
In Collaboration With
Richard, Duc de Palatine, D.D. Ph.D.

A Note to the Reader: The producers of this valuable booklet have passed out of incarnation, and it is offered here as a guide which will repay sincere study and reflection. No editorial changes have been made; it is as it came to us.

Preface

It is a proven fact that man has the ability to attract those things which he most desires, that is, so long as he firmly believes that this is possible. Every religious teacher has affirmed this and records show that a great many men have done just this. Prime examples are: Henry Ford who built his colossal empire, declaring that he had been able to do so only through his belief in his Abstract Self or Soul; Lord Nuffield who started with a small bicycle shop; and the Australian chocolates and candy multi-millionaire who began with an ice-cream cart which he himself pushed through the streets of Melbourne. These two also gave the same reason for their success. These are only three who have achieved material success through using this system. It can and does work on the other levels of thought and of life, too - sometimes even more quickly and effectively.

The gifts of Nature are unlimited to man, but man has to learn how to work with Nature in order to attract to himself these gifts. It is my considered opinion that this short course will enable you to do just that. There is nothing complex or difficult about it, the Authors have made it very easy to read and to apply.

It is my pleasure, therefore, to add this brief word and to very readily recommend this short course of 'The Way to Personal Success.' I know that it will work for you. If it does not, it will not be the fault of the writers who have, in this brief space, given you everything you need to know how to make it work.

John Martyn-Baxter, D.D.

Introduction

The object of this Course is to put you on the road to your heart's desire - quickly and efficiently. The fact that you already WANT success is important, for this is the trigger from which, provided you follow this course with your intelligence, understanding and determination, all will follow.

Perhaps you will have read other systems which deal with the subject of personal success and yet, however much you feel you have tried to master those systems, you seem to have failed in your objectives. On the other hand, you may have met people whom you regard as successful and possibly you have asked them how they arrived at their present condition - only to be told a formula that you know, with the best will in the world, would definitely not be suitable for you!

There are many reasons why people fail to reach their objectives but the most important is simply that all systems which are presented on the subject of success are the results of the personal experiences of the writer alone. Hence, when we attempt to put into practice his version of his success, we seem to fail. The writers of this Course have borne this difficulty in mind and present a series of universal principles which you, being part of Nature, must be able to apply. If we realise that no two human beings possess the same atomic make-up, neither do they possess the same sensational nature, and above all each man has his own, unique emotional and mental outlook, it is easy to understand why so many systems of all kinds fail; but armed with this, the knowledge of your own individuality, combined with your desire to succeed, you have already taken the first two steps on the path, and have avoided the opening pitfall that defeats so many people, unknowingly, right at the start.

Therefore, you can see why we stress that throughout this Course you keep in mind the vital and paramount factor of your own uniqueness. Remembering this, you will easily transform from the general principles the particular expression which applies to you, and you will find that you will forge ahead while others, who might still be ignoring their fundamental individuality and studying by emulation rather than participation, will find that their path seems to be blocked. Let us, who have taken the first and vital step, just go on walking...

Although you possess a body-machine, this machine is not all the consciousness and awareness which makes up the real you, you the Individuality. However, even this body-machine when you were born was formed for your use especially and it is unique to you, and you alone. This YOU, which gives life and consciousness, or ensouls and uses, the body-machine, is ever seeking to unfold and express its nature more efficiently, and this drive for expression could be called the success-mechanism which is an integral part of the real YOU.

We must also try to understand what this real You is, and comprehend its nature and the process whereby it can and does affect the body-machine, for unless we can, at least intellectually in the first place, separate this You from the body-machine, we can never achieve our objective. For example, if you have a car, you know that it is separate from you although you can see it; drive it, experiment with it and tune it to its maximum efficiency and use, but do not identify YOURSELF with the car. If we compare the body-machine with the car, we see that the driver of the car is YOU, so naturally in order to drive your car, your body-machine must be trained and disciplined to handle the controls and you must also learn to use the laws of good driving before you can arrive at your desired destination successfully.

The two examples of the Individuality and the body-machine, and the driver and the car, can be likened by what we termed the LAW OF CORRESPONDENCES, which we define thus: It is possible to trace a common principle, always found in man, from apparent coincidences external to man.

There is an important corollary to this Law which is vital to the understanding of You, the Individuality: Apparent coincidences are man's external projections.

Now, using this Law, we shall see that the human cerebellum in the head correspond to the driver's seat of the car, the pineal gland to the various levers, the cerebrum to the gasoline tank (woe be to he who is without fuel!), while the spinal cord is the passage-way from the fuel tank and the solar plexus corresponds to the motor speedometer. In fact, man has created the idea of his car from the pattern of the body-machine.

Therefore the driver of the physical car, or the Driver of the body-machine, must have within its nature certain characters, faculties and capabilities latent, and it is only with a form of discipline and training that this machine may be used with efficiency and benefit.

What Are You?

What is this 'You'? In spite of the many theories put forth concerning the real nature of man throughout the centuries, the answer to this question has always remained a mystery. It seems that we can only speak of the real nature of man in terms of the ways it makes itself known, but perhaps we could state that it is a mysterious force resident in, and forming a part of, the Real You; this real nature, in seeking to express itself, gives identity to your Self, the 'You.' In spite of our inability to understand the nature of this Self, nevertheless it remains the source of our being and prompts us into action of every kind, including love, co-operation and personal accomplishment.

Now this real, basic nature is the same for all of us - how it is expressed depends on knowledge, understanding, the body-machine and other factors. For the want of a better term, let us call this You, the Abstract Self. This real nature thus becomes the Abstract Self of all of us, and yet at the same time it is our personal Abstract Self. The important thing about this Abstract Self is that it is an aspect or function of the Abstract World and is therefore the world of design. Not only mathematicians know of this sphere of man's unconscious activity; the greatest of all scientists, artists, philosophers, engineers, etc., have always been those who are able to contact this Abstract world, and this full process is studied in most Mystery Schools. So, once we understand the mathematical theorems of the Abstract Self, we are able to make contact with it and draw down into the concrete or objective world its designs for us.

Above all, these designs already exist. When studying this Course, you need have no feeling of insecurity or doubts of any kind when dealing with this abstract world, since nothing in it will ever change. All the theorems, all the designs, all the possibilities, are already there, here and now. What this Course of Personal Success deals with is the application of these theorems, translated, as it were, from the mathematics, in our everyday life. We can now see that the laws which govern the universe as a whole, including mankind, are abstract laws, and physical laws are the expressions of these abstract laws. Therefore, by correspondence or analogy it follows that we will physically, mentally and emotionally succeed by understanding and using these abstract laws in everyday life. For instance, Galileo and Newton experimented on the forces of attraction between bodies, and from these and other experiments it was possible to predict the behaviour of other bodies under analogous conditions. These experiments were eventually formalised for convenience as the word-definitions known as the Laws of Gravity. But at the same time abstract mathematical laws were worked out for ease of prediction and as means of 'proving' these Laws! Hence physical behaviour is capable of being predicted by physical laws, but the manner in which these physical laws operate is mathematical, and from this we can follow that the physical obeys the abstract. In passing, it is interesting to note that even in this, post Einstein era, we still use Newtonian laws for solving certain types of problems: it is not that the abstract and mathematical real world has changed, but rather that we comprehend and discriminate more as we expand our knowledge through succeeding in understanding more and more of the Abstract Self. In this lies the meaning of the expression 'Success breeds Success.'

If we accept the above premise, then what we have to deal with is the Abstract Self and not the body-machine which this Self uses, and we must appeal to the Success-Mechanism which must, by its very nature, be part and parcel of the Self. We know that people DO succeed, and that somehow they have provided the stimulus for the Success Mechanism of their Abstract Self to go into operation. In some respects, it is like a computer: the Success Mechanism must have been programmed in the Abstract Self, otherwise others would have not succeeded; yet if we ask the question in an incorrect form (wrong stimulus), we never get the correct answer. The body (operator) must learn that it is separate from the Self (computer), and discover the laws of the relation between the two (program).

To summarise, you yourself are a unique individual, you have a body which was formed for your use, but this is not all. This body can be regarded as a machine, unique to you, and which the real You uses as a means of expression. We have called this You, the Individuality, the Abstract Self, have stated that within this Abstract Self lies the Success Mechanism by which the body will learn to express the Self, and that the method by which this is done relies on an understanding of the laws relating the two. Even as the physical world obeys the mathematical laws of the abstract world, so the body-machine will obey the laws of the Abstract Self.

EXERCISE:

First, learn to relax and stay relaxed. Sit or lie down and allow all your limbs and then all your muscles, from head to toe, to become limp and easy. Stay comfortable, and relax your feelings and emotions, then your mind. Slow it down gently until the myriad thoughts are fewer. Do this once or twice a day or so, according to your individuality, and you will soon experience the difference between your body-machine and the Real Self. Now, practice thinking of a problem you are interested in, practice feeling successful, know that what you want is possible. Just take it quietly and you will be surprised at how you enjoy these periods of relaxation, and soon you will be going around your everyday life feeling better, less worried, and with a new poise and confidence.

In these relaxed periods you will subtly have felt the difference between the Real You and the body-machine. Now try to imagine this body being told what to do and doing it smoothly and efficiently. At any time of the day when you are feeling pressed or worried, remember that you are not the machine. Practice giving the body instructions from a distance, as it were, and as you become less identified with the body-machine and keep it more relaxed, you will know more of your Abstract Self and, at the same time, feel more fit and healthy, enjoying all that Nature has to offer much more. This exercise, done regularly, lays the foundation in which the success-mechanism, can work, and you will soon find that a relaxed atmosphere will come quite naturally to you, with advantages that only you will know.

The Two Selves

Let us enlarge our understanding of the Abstract Self and the body-machine by examining the laws relating the two, for it is only by an understanding of this relationship that the body will be able to express the Self through the operation of the success-mechanism which we have already shown is built therein.

Now for most people, this driver of the body-machine, the Abstract Self, remains unknown and therefore unconscious, apart from that part of the mind which has been called 'abstract'; on the other hand, the brain of the body-machine, which we call the Personal Self, has gained in relative importance so that the seat of the consciousness becomes located there. Unfortunately, because of this, there is set up a tendency for the mind to think more and more on the concrete level, and the greater this accentuation, the more attenuated becomes the connection between the Abstract Self and the Personal Self. Hence the abstract part of the mind, which is the connection between the two, loses strength, and sooner or later the person becomes convinced that his body is the complete person. It is not surprising that the person so concerned loses desire and will, or motivation; the ideas, imagination and abilities of the Abstract Self become dulled, and with it the ability to succeed.

It will now be seen why we said that your desire to learn how to succeed was the trigger which, when applied properly, would see you through; while the exercises provide a vital means to begin to achieve what you wish for.

Since we have now more clearly realised the position and function of our body-machine, we can concentrate on the Abstract Self and discover how it is connected with the rest of the world and also with its body-mechanism. We have already shown how the Abstract Self is part and parcel of the Abstract World, and how the expression of this abstract is the physical, which is verified by the abstract science of mathematics.

Followed thus far, it would seem that the only connection is the Law of Causality, and all we have to do is carry out that Law. If, for example, we wish for a car, all we have to do is to buy it; but first, we must obtain the money. Somehow, we provide a service to the community which lifts our income that much higher, but unfortunately it appears that we do not have that extra ability which is required. We know that we are not basically 'successful,' all number of difficulties seem to arise, and the car fades to the middle distance! What we have really done is that somewhere we have refused the Abstract Self its right to express itself; the body-machine has taken over the individuality, which becomes deadened, and ultimately, we are unsuccessful at applying the cause-effect relationships that we know will bring us what we desire.

By ignoring the Abstract Self, and thus the uniqueness of their own individuality, people become blinded by the Law of Causality, and eventually become incapable of carrying it out, owing to lack of perception which eventually shows itself in confusion, conflict, and eventual neurosis.

However, the causality principle is statistical, based on averages. It 'works' merely in the sense of the average, but has no meaning outside of the average, which is an overall phenomenon not applicable to separate and discreet events. This problem, heresy from the point of view of all but a few scientists until some years ago, is so acute that only a minority of people have had an intuitive understanding of it, and it is these people who have always been successful in their chosen fields.

Nevertheless, modern physics, especially since the expansion of small particle studies, is only too well aware that the rule seems to be made up of exceptions, so to speak. And the same applies to the macrocosmic scale. It is as though the constants we have to apply in order to predict accurately by the Law of Causality possess in themselves qualities which need much more examination.

Similar problems arise in Psychology and Philosophy, and all point to at least another principle at work in the nature of things apart from that of causality. This has been called by Prof. Carl G. Jung the phenomenon of SYNCHRONICITY, an acausal connecting principle, and is a natural expansion of the principle of Correspondences mentioned above. Jung defines his sense of the word 'synchronicity' thus: "...a coincidence in time of two or more causally unrelated events which have the same or similar meaning..." Note that this does not mean the same thing as synchronism, which implies simultaneity and nothing more.

In practice, the important point about synchronicity is that it provides a halfway-house between the concepts of chance and causality, and applies to meaningful coincidences such as thought-transference and other forms of E.S.P. Hence the space-factor, paramount to causality, fades to zero, and the time factor also tends to reduce to vanishing point. Thus synchronicity becomes, in its psychological sense, a "...physically conditioned relativity of space and time." (Jung)

Therefore, in the energy-system of which we are a part, two clear principles emerge. One, that of causality where the energy transfer can be seen as an effect through space in time: the other, that of synchronicity which is, on the other hand, unpredictable by means of causality, but which is meaningful in space-time.

The ideas of Tao in Chinese philosophy, sympathy in Hippocrates, correspondence in Paracelsus, synchronicity in the Arcane Discipline and the underlying unity of most of the philosophies from Plato to Kepler and even the Schopenhaur and Leibnitz - all these ideas add up to the old Hermetic maxim 'as above, so below.' Aristotle was not alone in thinking that there were geometrical principles underlying the physical world; Kepler's theories were similar, and the mathematician Gauss' works are summarised in perhaps his own words: "God does arithmetic."

What emerges is this. There are many more coincidences which appear to be meaningful than are predicted by the laws of chance; these coincidences involve space-time considerations which cannot by their nature be accounted for by the law of causality (which must include a predictable energy-flow through space and time); and further, it is these coincidences or correspondences which gives us a sense of meaning.

Meaning arises from perception which is a product of causality. Now the emotional counterpart of perception shows itself in enthusiasm, interest, hope, positive expectation and the like. The experience of Rhine, Jung and ourselves indicate that these are important factors in the operation of synchronicity: the more the person is keen and interested and goes on from success to success with never a bored moment, the more meaning he attaches to his and other's lives, the more correspondences occur and the greater are the examples of apparent, yet meaningful, co-incidences.

These correspondences occur as the Personal Self obeys the orders from the Abstract Self through causality. Quite naturally, through correspondence, this appears to reflect all the qualities and capabilities of the Abstract Self and thus the whole potentiality of the Abstract World is his. It is thus not a case of cause and effect alone; by sheer, inevitable coincidence the body-machine will reflect the Self, provided always the above paragraph is borne in mind. The more you are aware of your true Self, the more you can control the body-machine and everything in the concrete world. The processes of causality and synchronicity are independent yet connected up in such a way that the Abstract Self is in the position to command any of the centres of consciousness in the mineral, vegetable and animal divisions of the totality of the Self. The connecting link here is the mental process of the body, and provided the body-machine realises that its job is to carry out the orders from the Abstract Self, and provided this Self appreciates that it can, through these two vital principles of causality and its accompanying synchronicity, mould and effect other areas of consciousness, including of course the material world, there is no reason why the Abstract and Personal Selves should not be in harmony in such a manner that success, instead of being a concept tediously fighting inevitable opposition from within and without, will come quite naturally and in the nature of things.

Unfortunately, whilst it is true that enthusiasm, positive expectation and hope all seem to go hand in hand with the appearance of meaningful coincidences, so that like begets like, the reverse is also true. For this reason, many people who put into operation all the correct causes for a given result, find that they get nowhere, and the reason is always to be found in their basic disbelief of their own abilities and capabilities. Lack of meaning and lack of results occurs when their own idea of their Self, their own image of what they really are, is wrong.

Now that we understand how our Abstract Self works, let us ensure that our image of this Self, including the image of our body-consciousness, is such an image that will help us to express ourselves.

The Self-Image

All of us have a self-image, or mental pictorial impression of what we think we are. We are also aware of what we would like ourselves to be, but seldom create much of a strong image of this. On the contrary, most people have, through various circumstances, built up a failure image of themselves, and any attempt to make a bid for success is thwarted. How many times we have heard people say "Yes, but..."!

We have seen that synchronicity and causality WORK - they work regardless, whether for or against us, depending on ourselves. What we must do is to ensure that we have an idea of our Self, a self-image, that is consistent with what we wish to achieve. Provided we have an image of ourselves which is basically one of happiness, contentment, optimism and above all one of SUCCESS, then every move we make will automatically be repaid by the Laws of Nature.

Dr. Maxwell Maltz gives the idea of the Self image well in his book "psycho-Cybernetics": "The 'self image' sets the boundaries of individual accomplishment. It defines what we can and cannot do. Expand the self-image and you expand the 'area of the possible.'" The point is that a large number of people have contracted the area of the possible within their own minds, have imagined a failure-image, and have limited their self-expression down to minimal degree. There can be no effect without a cause, no correspondence without something to correspond. In order to overcome this stumbling block, we use the principles of Cybernetics, which have been found to apply to the mind in relation to its subconscious.

It has been found that the mind and body are analogous to the electronic brain and servo-mechanism. With the latter, we can only 'home' on to a target when we know what the target is. The electronic brain automatically takes over the function of guiding the servo-mechanism, and corrects it by a negative feedback if it goes off course, but keeps it on if it is accurate already by positive feedback. At no stage is there any possibility of the servo-mechanism, or the electronic brain for that matter, behaving in such a way as to have any doubt of its success: the target is fed in as information, and the missile 'feels' its way there, with corrections as necessary.

Similarly, the Abstract or Personal Selves can have targets. From the point of view of many people, their Personal Self is the most accentuated at the moment, and it wishes, quite rightly by any account, for success with the feeling of well-being and all the attendant virtues that this brings. Having set the target, there is no basic reason why, if the mechanics of the previous section were understood, success should not follow as a direct order to the body-machine.

But it is important not to stifle the work of the Abstract Self, which gives impressions, intuitions, and follows courses of action that are not always possible to get the full picture of from our point of view. YOU have set the target; do not worry, your Self and your body-mechanism will 'home' on the target according to your own individuality, according to your self-image, and according to the expression and experiences of the Abstract Self.

Do not worry if your behaviour and method of going about things seem different to other people's, it must be different! Now and then errors will be made, but always the Self will naturally correct those errors and continue on until the target is reached.

Yet without the knowledge that you CAN succeed, it is impossible for the process even to begin to be put into action, and this of course is where the self-image comes in. The amazing thing is that not only can the mind learn and adapt itself by physical experience, but it can also imagine these states without recourse to physical experience at all. In fact, there is no known process in the mind that differs in its application depending on whether the experience is imagined or physically happening. This means that, instead of forcing yourself to DO things, you learn to imagine them, and this has just as great effect on the mind and Self as going through the physical experience. Hence it is necessary to clearly imagine yourself a success, imagine yourself relaxed and at ease at all times, and know that your self-image is one of success, health and all you wish for.

To do this effectively, have Faith. Have faith in yourself and your own ability to imagine yourself as you want to be. Have faith in all your abilities and in the power of your own Self to change your life.

EXERCISE:

When practising your relaxed periods when you are quiet, imagine yourself as you really wish yourself to be, and with all the abilities and faculties you need. Imagine yourself successful, and create a mental image of yourself in this condition. Let this image, without strain, get strong, clear and definite, and as an actual picture-image.

Do this every time you relax, and then try to carry this new, successful image of yourself around in your awareness all the time. Soon it will become second nature. Your machine-body is now governed by a personal Self that is geared for success; ask it to do things for you, imagine them being done and finished, and the Abstract Self can respond with its built-in Success-Mechanism and cause you to 'home' on to your target.

Remember that your Abstract Self will automatically make any corrections if external circumstances or internal conflicts are in any way obstructive. Do not worry therefore, if you cannot see the logic of where you are going or what is happening at any given moment - only the bad driver concentrates on one tiny detail, instead of the road ahead.

Your FAITH in your self will create this self-image of success, and you should begin to enjoy doing this.

The Combinations of Matter Forms

Einstein gave a relationship between matter and energy, and also between space and time. The philosophical implications of his Special and General Theories of Relativity, and all the important and advanced work that has followed from them, have necessitated our taking a new look at the theories such as correspondences, and we have already noted how the understanding of such principles helps us in dealing with psychology.

For this reason we wish to stress the idea of form - so often ignored in even the deepest theories. Bearing in mind that form can exist in the abstract, for example we can imagine a form in our mind but we realise that form has no at present traceable matter in it, we can see that the objects of the external world are merely forms that are clothed, as it were, in matter. Let us call these objects matter-forms.

But we know that these matter-forms are in reality made up of energy. The most crystallized energy is the densest matter, and so on up the scale. For example, suppose you imagine a house you would like to live in. Depending on how much you have concentrated on our exercises, you should be able to hold a clear image of the house in your mind for several seconds, perhaps even minutes. But the architect, the specialist who designed the house, had to hold the image of the house, in totality, for perhaps many hours, and it was perhaps days or weeks before he completed all the final details that would enable it to be built in completeness. The final result is a complete crystallization of ALL the energy put into the totality of the whole idea of the house. It is made, not only of bricks and mortar, but all the work-energy put into it by the builders, all their emotions and struggles, and all the mental energy of the architect and so forth. The final result of all the various ideas and forms at different levels of matter is the physical matter-form of the house you were trying to think of.

While it is clear that the house consists of obvious and demonstratable matter, it is not so clear that some sort of matter had to be crystallized even in the mind's eye of the architect, however pliable and temporary that image might be. We cannot at present demonstrate that such matter exists, although at some very subtle levels of existence we can infer its existence by the effect it has on other phases (small particle physics does this). Whatever happens, it does remain clear that matter of various densities, not all of them directly measurable at present, does combine into forms in various ways, and we can say of these matter-forms that they are the lowest common multiple of energy projected into matter.

Different types or degrees of energy will affect different types of matter, and form is the way which we limit ideas so that they may become substantial. Hence, on all dimensions, energy can be projected into matter through form, and such behaviour can be accounted for by the laws of causality and synchronicity.

The Operational Theory of Mental Energy

We have seen that energy, when delineated by form, can affect and indeed in some cases be directly transformed, into matter. Let us consider this for a moment in relation to the two selves.

The Abstract (Impersonal) Self describes both the Universal Self in the mathematical world of ideas and patterns and also that section of it that you call your real, Abstract Self. But the normal sense of I-ness, the usual way we are aware of ourselves, ourselves as human beings, is usually very much identified with the vehicle it uses, the body-machine. And we call this awareness the Personal Self. However, the latter is always traceable to the former, and hence we find that there is an ultimate mathematical theorem of our existence which states the relationship between the two selves.

Man generates forces on all the dimensions on which he functions, and these forces are in the nature of causes that bring about effects upon himself, other people, and other parts of Nature. Re-wording this, man affects his surroundings. He can, with knowledge and application, with his correct self-image for success, bring things to himself. This is the key to success in this system.

Hence, mental energies bring about their results on the mental sheath of man. This process generates a corresponding desire upon the emotional substance, and this, by unificatory and sympathetic laws, must have an effect on the physical, so that the emotional energies (as desire and will) must work themselves out through action in the physical body. It must be realised that force carries itself to completion on the dimension in which it is generated, and that it reacts on the other dimensions of force-matter in proportion to its intensity.

If we are willing to accept that man operates on various dimensions of force-matter, including more subtle levels which we may call Abstract, mental and emotional dimensions, and if we also allow that each dimensional level reacts upon the others recapitulating in them the replica of the man's thought, then we must also accept that man's mental action directed outwards from himself must of necessity affect those things, including physical life, which are external to himself. The measure of the reaction of things and people to his generated thought is dependant upon its intensity. We should now have a good idea of how success becomes possible.

Let us hasten slowly, but firmly!

Matter-Energy

The various dimensions are only recognisable by the various matter-energies which use them, or of which they consist. While we know that matter is simply Energy crystallized into forms, and we know that we can affect matter by means of energy, it is more difficult to appreciate that energy itself is able to affect other energy. Although a moment's thought will show that, so far as we know, all kinds of energy, from atomic radiation to electrical and also chemical energies, end in the last resort as heat - another kind of energy. For convenience, it can be useful to regard the initial energy (e.g. electrical) as active in a given set of circumstances, while the energy acted upon can be regarded as negative.

Applying this to the mind, we immediately realise that it is capable of creating, sustaining and projecting images; and such positive thought-energy, charged with intent and purpose, can be directed along a line to the receiver of the impulse in such a way that the, for this purpose therefore, passive energy receives the impulse intent and is moved along accordingly.

By analogous reasoning, it must be possible for the human mind to affect, not only external minds and emotions, but physical things as well. It is true that one way or another, a person influences another by his thoughts and emotions. It is equally true that, even as your thought will cause you to lift a cup from the table, so, by transfer of the energy-impulse, you can cause someone else to lift the cup off the table. And there is no reason why it should not be possible to move material things even directly by the trained will.

The fact that matter, or crystallized energy, of the subtle dimensions can be altered, moved, and take definite shape under the influence of definite, projected thought will probably be more easily grasped if we remember that fine powder, sprinkled on a smooth surface, will assume definite geometrical shapes when played upon by sound vibrations. And the shapes bear a subjective but definite relation to the quality of the sound.

We can now see the definite possibility of the process involved in success. Given that matter-energy is subject to the creative action of the mind, then it is possible that a concentrated thought projected upon a person or thing can cause a reaction by the passive recipient to act on the intention of the thought directed towards it.

EXERCISES:

Try aiming a morally harmless thought at a person when you enter a room. For example, that he will pick up a paper, or discuss something unusual, and make your thought simple, direct and clear. Imagine it actually happening, and know that with your new self-image based on success, it just WILL happen. You will be surprised how many times people will be impelled to take on the intent of your action.

One of the best exercises for developing, and proving, the power and creative ability of the mind - even on matter - is this: take the longest hair from your head and thread it through the eye of a needle. Also, thread it through a card balanced on top of a high tumbler, so that the needle hangs free in the middle of the glass. Try, each day, to imagine and will the needle to start moving, swinging against the sides of the glass. Have patience - it will work. Just the least movement to begin with, but gradually more and more momentum. You can eventually obstruct the course with a little water; with practice, however long it takes, you should be able to move not only the needle, but the glass as well!

A digression for the moment. Please concentrate on the relaxation and the imagining of the successful self-image above all else. Also try to hold any image in your mind clearly and for a good period , without tiring yourself. You will find these exercises excellent in many respects, and when it actually comes to putting your success-wants, whatever they may be, into practice, all will come so much easier.

Hierarchy of Intelligences

Both modern science and ancient wisdom show a correspondence that at first seems fantastic; but the important thing for our purpose is that we can understand and therefore use all this available knowledge. The Ancient Wisdom or Gnosis stated that the essence of the universe was the same, whether for so-called inanimate matter, man, or the abstract world which man seeks to express. And modern science describes the atom, and even infinitely smaller particles, in terms that could be likened to a miniature universe in its own right. In fact, each atom can most easily be thought of as a centre of intelligence, having the power to affect and to be affected. The energy locked within the atom is the same essence as that which occurs in any other physical phenomenon and in reality it is much more useful to think in terms of the energy rather than that which appears to be crystallized as recognisable matter. From this, it can be appreciated that the Abstract world includes the sum of all independent material forms, so that all material forms obey the influences deriving from this Abstract World. Hence, not only thoughts and emotions, but also physical matter, must be subject to the creative action of the world of ideas, which is expressed through the highest, most controlled and directed, abstract mentation.

If we accept this fact that every atom in nature is a living consciousness, then we can see that there is no reason to discount the possibility that from the highest conception of what it is customary to call God, to the lowest and apparently insignificant atom, there are various and independent intelligences (however limited they may be) which co-operate with one another in order to keep the whole of manifestation together. Since we are the superior physical beings in our universe, we can see that we can avail ourselves of the help of these intelligences.

Realisation of our own mental ability to co-operate with our Abstract Self, combined with our understanding that we can affect and influence our surroundings, including physical matter, gives us the secret to success. For example, there is ample and sufficient evidence to show that the Yogins and Fakirs of India, the Snake Charmers of Egypt and the Fire Walkers of the Pacific are efficient in this art of manipulating the mental forces relative to force-matter to perform many, apparently miraculous, wonders. In the Christian Writ we are told that Jesus stated "Ask and ye shall receive," that is, provided a man has Faith. He also stated: "Whatsoever a man thinketh in his heart, so he shall become." We must remember that the seat of consciousness was believed to be in the heart in those times, and then the meaning of this statement becomes clear! J.B. Rhine's experiments on thought-transference, Richenbach's work on the Odic Force, or ability to remotely move material objects, and numerous other experiments being done in Universities the world over, all point to the operation of this thought-energy in its relation to force-matter. In modern days, it is no longer customary to ignore Mme H.P. Blavatsky's idea that magnetism is the basis of nature; Christ's saying: "Your Faith has made you whole..." becomes logical in a hitherto undreamed of manner, and those who are already mature students of the Path should personally have experienced this.

Let us understand a little more of this mind of ours, so that we may get it in tune with other centres of intelligence.

The Stages of the Mind

Man's mind passes through five stages from birth to maturity, and it is only when a man has successfully passed through these stages and has gained complete control over the powers of his mind that he can possibly hope to win personal success. These stages are:-

In the first two stages the man is incapable of concentrating his mind on a given subject, but is swayed by the myriads of thoughts emanating from others. The third step is in a way a reaction to this state of affairs, while it is only in the fourth that the person gains the power of concentration so that he can think on one subject for sufficient time, and with enough intensity, to learn how to project his mental forces in whichever way he wishes. However, in the last stage the ability of the man to rule his mind permits him to change his self-image to an effective one. This causes others to obey his stronger mental will, and at the same time he is able to bring himself the objective things he has abstractly formed and then projected in his mind.

The abstract images in the mind can be formed consciously from the Abstract Self. What we must do is to learn how consciously to form them, and them use them for whatever purpose we first formed the images from our ideas. This is the reverse process from the average man, who is subject to all his unconscious images, in which case they float aimlessly in the emotional and mental atmospheres. They usually hover around their creator, continually reacting upon him by a similar process to that of frustration, since he has failed to consciously direct them to bring about a definite effect.

On the other hand, a person capable of concentrating will consciously form a thought in his mind, and by faith and his developed will through his self-image, will direct that thought to a particular person or thing and thus cause his wish to be obeyed.

The Construction of the Mind

The mind that passes through these stages is actually made up of three parts, and a little knowledge of these is the final step in the understanding of how success may be quickly achieved.

For convenience, we talk of a three-fold constitution on the mind, but we must bear in mind that this constitution really indicates the aspects of the mind. These aspects are:-

The Unconscious contains the true picture of man, the pattern which he sooner or later will follow, and includes the success-mechanism which ever urges him towards success and fulfilment. It is as though the Unconscious has programmed a life for the personal self. In order to obtain the success that is built into the system already, the Conscious mind has to learn to ask the right questions for the program. The computer of the Abstract Self will deliver the answers, within the programming, quick and lively!

In this light, we see that the Conscious mind is the mechanism used by the Unconscious to guide man towards his goal, and all the means of the Abstract world are at his disposal, provided he has the knowledge and capabilities to use them. At this stage, we see how important the subconscious mind is. This could be regarded as the servant of the consciousness, which is a useful storehouse and at the same time keeps the body-mechanism in working order. Its behaviour is mostly dictated by the actions of the conscious mind and by means of the five senses, and hence it is this aspect which creates man's inner picture of himself and which reacts on the outside world - for success or failure.

Unfortunately, for most people the subconscious has gained in importance through negative growth, and by nature it resents any change. But the senses have always been deceptive, and as we remarked earlier, the mind can be altered just as much by imaginative and constructive thinking as by external events. With a self-image of success, the conscious mind becomes tuned to the unconscious and affects other centres of intelligence at all force-matter levels by the use of faith. And the manner in which we can gain instant success and all the things we wish for in life, becomes clear.

Personal Success in Four Stages

Yes! Now that you have an understanding of the laws which bring you success, now that you have relaxed and practiced the art of concentration using your imagination, and now that you are already influencing through the exercises some of the events which are occurring around you, these events combined with your new, confident self-image of success, will, by the process we shall describe, lead you to the fulfilment of your wishes in four stages.

First, we must have faith in the creative power of our minds; next we must have hope that whatever we think and imagine in our minds will come to pass; then we must have concentration which we use to not only project our imagined image, but also to see what we desire with us here and now; finally, we must have the power to believe in the completeness of all our abilities, desires and aspirations such that the whole process in gaining success is co-ordinated into a smooth, working process with the results projected from us from a reality in the mind's eye to a reality existing now.

There is no point to anyone's attempting to achieve anything unless he or she already has the belief in the mind that it will come to pass - and this is only possible when the person has a healthy, optimistic, unrestricted self-image. Many people are quite ready to accept the ideas of faith, hope and concentration as purely interesting and speculative mental concepts, but because they do nothing to experience these ideas as facts in nature, because basically they do nothing about them to make them facts, they still remain as mental concepts only. This is one of the reasons why people do not succeed in their tasks of changing their lives for the better.

FAITH is the ability to accept the truth of ourselves. So often we accept second-hand evidence without bothering to experience the truth for ourselves. We tend to prefer other people's testimony or authority and thus give to them more than is their due. We must never fall into the trap of having more faith in others than in ourselves.

HOPE is desire accompanied by expectation, and applies to anything that is thought upon which we wish to come to pass. Because many people have programmed their human computer with thoughts of inadequacy, they refuse to accept the possibility of the creative ability of their own minds, even when the numerous exceptions to this are staring them in the face.

CONCENTRATION is the process whereby we imagine our goal, keep the image clear and steady, and direct the energy towards a common centre. This common centre is Nature, ultimately part and parcel of ourselves in the Abstract. In other words, we concentrate our creative energies, and the energies around us, to move towards ourselves.

BELIEF. This is sometimes confused with faith, but is something quite different. When we use the faculties of faith, hope and concentration, we are thinking in terms of three dimensions and are applying our knowledge in space and time in terms of causality. Belief, on the other hand, applies to the space-time continuum and is the three above stages working in combination here and now. It is the conviction and assurance of truth or reality which arises from experience only and not upon intellectual speculative concepts from other people. We must have the fundamental belief in our own ability to achieve anything we set our mind to. To put it in another way, we need not only faith in ourselves, but also the belief that this can be transferred into action, and this transference in space-time makes its presence felt as the phenomenon of synchronicity. And as we note in an earlier section, enthusiasm and the setting of new goals, once the previous ones have been achieved, appear to increase the degree of synchronicity.

The Four Stages in Operation

We must first imagine in our minds the perfect image of what we desire; this mental intention forms an image of the thing thought upon in our actual mind-substance. We keep thinking upon this image so as to consolidate it firmly in the mind-substance, and the longer we think of it, the stronger and more stable it will become, and the more it is charged with energy.

This mental image, formed in the conscious mind, will slowly sink into the subconscious and since this part of the mind governs the automatic workings of the body, the energy-charged image will create a sense of expectation by way of reaction with the emotions. The thing thought upon becomes our 'right question,' or correctly energised and stated question, which automatically goes to the human computer to give the correct answer to your conscious mind. All this, of course, relies on the fact that you have programmed the subconscious mind with previous experience dealing with your ability to have faith in your mind to think upon a thing, knowing that you will become the thing thought upon, or that it will come to you. For example, a person with a wrong self-image might think upon the heart and thus weaken it. If, on the other hand, a person thinks upon his heart in a positive manner, he will strengthen it. It is worth bearing in mind that a branch of medicine deals with psycho-somatics, and accepts the fact that a person can invent out of nothing a mental thought which will slip into the subconscious and eventually manifest as a disease of the body. But the reverse is also true, hence the health and feeling of relaxed ease that results from a person with a good self-image who uses the power of thought constructively.

Now, the firm mental image-thought forces the subconscious to react according to the ideation and by means of similar deposits in the mind of that nature. Hope is therefore set into motion and this will affect all the atmospheric energies in and around you. You are now directing your own mental energies towards a person or persons who you believe will act favourably towards you and will act in such a way as to fulfil the intention of your thought. Then, you mentally project this image out, externally from yourself, and since you have charged it with hope, or the right intention, this energy will flow towards the magnetic centre for which it is intended. For example, if you are in a room and you concentrate your mental energies to a person and will him to do something, then you are fulfilling the above conditions. Bearing in mind that all people must function in this mental sphere, your thought-image must find a magnetic centre to which it will gravitate, and where it will cause the mental substance of the other person to react according to the intention of your mind.

This act of concentrating the mental energies upon another person or thing requires practice. It must be done continuously and with intent, not all people are susceptible to these thought-energies at once, and a mental disturbance (or even an emotional one) can upset the process temporarily. Sometimes, it takes a number of applications for the image to do the work you intend.

Finally, we come to the hardest part of the process, although if you have accomplished the exercises and have followed our discussion, it can come very easily, and quite automatically after a time. You must have the cast-iron belief that whatever you are thinking upon is being fulfilled here and now. It is vital to realise that, if you can believe that the intent of the image is already fulfilled in your mind, there is no reason whatever why the range of this belief cannot be extended to cover vast distances in time and space. And no matter where is the object of your directional mental energy, it will find its way to its goal � and so will you! For, instance, a friend of ours desired a particular machine, and using our method, thought of the machine in his mind for a few weeks. He had the hope that it would be his, and actually contacted the firm which would supply it. At the time he had no money, but he soon knew that somehow the money would come in by the first of the month, and he imagined receiving the money, and at the same time saw the machine in his mind's eye, actually in his house, and he was operating it in his mind. The money arrived early delivery on the first day of the month, the machine was delivered at three in the afternoon, and later that day he was operating it.

We have numerous examples of friends who have used our system, and who have completed study-courses, got 'unobtainable' apartments in the middle of town, travelled, and have reached success that previously they had thought impossible.

It will be seen that each of the four stages for success incorporates the others; but the connecting link is always belief. Nature gives us an abundance of Her gifts. And through our Abstract Self we are permanently in accord with Nature. We are merely learning to go with, and not against, Her Laws.

The Method for Personal Success Summarised

Relax completely and do not allow your mind to wander. Think upon the ability, faculty or thing you wish for, and know that whatever you create in your mind, must come to pass, since you now have a positive self-image and faith in yourself. Hope for the required need earnestly, then project the thought out into space - it will find its mark. Now concentrate upon the image operating here and now upon somebody, the image's target, and then visualise that thing already with you and being used or operated by you. You have now completed the circle, which must start and end with you, since you have desired, imagined, hoped for, concentrated upon the people who can assist you and the actual thing you wish for, and you have believed it will come to pass.

Owing to the nature of our time-sequence, the thought must function in the time duration before the energy can leave you and gravitate to the other person, and then it has to be returned to you by a like process. There may be many intermediate steps that you could not have accounted for or conceived of in your imagination, but the energy must be returned to you. Hence, you must have sufficient patience to allow this time-sequence to be fulfilled, and you may feel that the images need re-enforcing - practice improves the process no end and sometimes there are factors which one has forgotten which might have helped reduce the time factor.

We suggest that you try this method on small things first, and when success comes, try larger ones. Remember, as you deal with larger volumes of energy, you are dealing with a larger mass, and the time-sequence could take longer to fulfil.

You, during every second of your waking life, are thinking through the conscious mechanism of the mind. These thoughts as energies pass into the subconscious, and the body reacts to these impulses according to the experience built into the brain capacity. Given the correct correspondence, the higher, or unconscious Self can also influence the personality to be happy and contented, or confused and miserable. Further, it is appreciated that we directly influence others around us (we also can make them happy, co-operative, etc.) by our personality traits which are a direct result of our conscious thoughts. We can also influence people to do things, move objects and so forth, quite directly. Now, given these conditions, it is logical to assume that by projecting our intention as a thought-form into the atmosphere, this thought-energy will have a reaction upon another person or thing and cause the intention of your abstract thought to bring you the object of your desire. Always remember, also, that the Abstract World is a unity in which all reflections of this, while apparently separate, are also in unity. You, the driver of your body-machine, are connected not only to this body, but also to this Abstract World by way of your own individuality, or Abstract Self. By using the processes that we have outlined to you, which incorporate the general laws connecting the various levels of being, there is no reason why you cannot obtain all that Nature has to offer. Practice on small things first, continue with the exercise, and success will breed success.

Now you try: First form the mental image of your intention with the full knowledge of your faith in yourself and your own ability, and fill this image with hope, or decision, that it will fulfil its intention. Now, direct your thoughts towards a person whom you know can carry out your wishes, then keep concentrating upon that person knowing or hoping that he or she will react in your favour, using also your complete and utter belief that the person WILL do it. Finally, and this is most important, visualise yourself with the object of your intention, here and now. For example, if you require a car, you are mentally driving it; you are mentally furnishing and living in it; if you need a beloved, think of yourself with her or him etc. There are other wishes, and which of course are concerned with you entirely, and these are not projected externally. For example, if you wish to study for something, you imagine yourself being utterly able to cope the understanding of the course, able to do all the exercises, and then imagine yourself successfully sitting the examination and with the final diploma etc. If you are ill, then you can change the ideation of illness to one of health. As you can see, your intention in these cases, is directed towards yourself.

A final word: Naturally, you will have to practice this method, together with the exercises that you realise are a vital part of this system, daily. Experience of success will give you confidence, which positive quality will breed other good qualities, and eventually you will know that whatever you think of will come to pass. Never allow confused, or negative thoughts to dominate your mind.

We wish you all the luck in the world - it's yours for the asking! Or in the words of Shelly: "He gave man speech, and speech created thought. Which is the measure of the universe."

A Postscript

Now that you have read, and acted upon, this Course we hope you will appreciate that what has been revealed to you, is really a simplified version of a much broader system of philosophy and action which has been known and practiced in every century under various guises and which covers all avenues of human behaviour. This philosophy reveals that the Abstract Being know as Man has within his nature potentialities and possibilities which are normally undreamed of.

That such a system has occurred, and still does exist, is shown by its influence upon the slow but steady evolution of mankind the stage of the savage to that of the polished man of today, and a continuity of evidence is available for those who wish to study it. While it is obvious that mankind has been led from one stage to another by the influence of great minds, it is not always so clear that in order for these exceptional people to be equipped to lead humanity from the stone-age condition to our modern culture, they themselves must have possessed - and indeed still do possess - a training system superior to the general education of mankind.

History shows that the first Instructor of Man were denominated Divine Beings; then followed the Demi-Gods, and after them came the heroes, Sages and Philosophers. This process covered a period of many centuries, but it was always shown that the basis of the knowledge of the Wise Ones was to be found in the nature, structure and experience of man himself. As Paracelsus, the forerunner of modern medicine, stated: "If you wish to know how nature works, then study man himself first." Centuries later the Hunter Brothers of England continued medicine into anaesthetics and thus surgery, always using the phenomena they observed in man as their starting point. In fact, not only in the discoveries of modern science, but in the arts and all the other divisions of activity, the model is ultimately discernable in Man.

The more the student re-reads and acts upon this system of Instant Success, the more he will realise that we have written with several layers of meaning incorporating pointers which will lead to other, fuller information. All these leads are to be found within man and civilisation must originate in and through man. One of the ways of learning about the information we have given and the place of man in both civilisation and nature is to be found within the teachings of the Mystery Schools sanctioned by the Great Lodge of Adepts.

By inference and suggestion through the many hints we have given, you will see that our knowledge and experience are derived from the ageless Ecclesia Spiritualis. Such a body of men and women making up the Ecclesia, which appears each century, have always been the fundamental source of the knowledge which has enabled man and civilisation to advance. It is considered the opinion of the most advanced philosophers, scientists, artists, etc., that the Success Mechanism found within man's nature could be termed 'man's Mystic source' and it is this which drives man to be one with Nature, thus expressing this Mystic urge. One could almost say that the power which could help you achieve the object of this Course derives from your Mystic, or Abstract Self.

We feel that you may object to this thesis, mostly because there is much confusion over the meaning of the word 'mysticism.' We therefore hasten to add that by 'mysticism' we infer the overshadowing of the human mind by the Abstract Self, which is another way of saying that the mystic is a man (or woman) whose human Soul is overshadowed by his (or her) Divine Soul. So if you wish to carry this investigation further by becoming interested in one of the true Mystery Schools, do keep in your mind that the writers of 'The Way to Personal Success,' and the Teachers of those Schools, mean the same thing, although they have used different terms to express identical principles. Fortunately all round, the runners in the same race have different individualities!

We feel that it should be clear that the writers of this Course have only given the first stage of this vast process of man's awakening to his latent capabilities; we have taught you to use your Success Mechanism to gain, on the whole, material benefits, but this is not enough: Obviously, no. In his own good time, man tires of material benefits alone, and seeks other fields to conquer. Thus we see, for example, the most advanced and sophisticated theories of science slowly reaching the borders of Mysticism.

If you have achieved the objective of this Course, then you will know that you have the ability to conquer and use the fields of endeavour the True Mystery Schools present to you, and later on the vaster fields hinted at through the Arcanum. In fact, the things you have read, accepted and acted upon are a few of the outward and material manifestations of some of the Arcane Principles in action. Here we leave the rest to you!

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