CHAPTER VII. SOME GENERAL Rules. HE exercise of the Will, or the lesson of power, is taught in every event. From the child's possession of his several senses up to the hour when he saith, Thy will be done!' he is learning the secret, that he can reduce under his Will, not only particular events, but great classes, nay the whole series of events, and so conform all facts to his character."Emerson. Part I. may be closed with some general rules. The purpose in suggesting a number of practical rules at this point is two-fold: in the first place, the rules furnish examples of what is conceived to be the right use of the Will; and, in the second place, the effort to employ them and fix them in mind will bring into play that fundamentally important factor of our nature, the sub-conscious self. A sea captain wrote the author in regard to these rules: "I found myself during a stormy passage without effort calling the rules to mind and bringing them into action, and I never got through bad weather so easily." "There exists in all intellectual endeavor," says Jastrow in "The Subconscious," "a period of incubation, a process in great part sub-conscious, a slow, concealed maturing through absorption of suitable pabulum. Schopenhauer calls it 'unconscious rumination,' a chewing over and over again of the cud of thought preparatory to its THE GREAT PSYCHIC FLOWER. See I in fields our dandelions yellow, And lights in forest vistas warm and mellow, See I the heavenly ships sail lazily Above, huge shadow-flowers blessed with motion, See I all this and count my soul a clod, Through which, in which, th' Eternal streams and stirs But more, a psychic Star-Self on the rim Of Being Deathless. Count I soul-form least Bloom of the Infinite's exhaustless power. I see, I know, I feel the Undefined, And, thrilled as willed, life, power, unfoldment, health, Inherit, seise, from all this boundless wealth. -THE AUTHOR. 66 CHAPTER VII. SOME GENERAL RULES. HE exercise of the Will, or the lesson of power, is taught in every event. From the child's possession of his several senses up to the hour when he saith, Thy will be done!' he is learning the secret, that he can reduce under his Will, not only particular events, but great classes, nay the whole series. of events, and so conform all facts to his character."Emerson. Part I. may be closed with some general rules. The purpose in suggesting a number of practical rules at this point is two-fold: in the first place, the rules furnish examples of what is conceived to be the right use of the Will; and, in the second place, the effort to employ them and fix them in mind will bring into play that fundamentally important factor of our nature, the sub-conscious self. A sea captain wrote the author in regard to these rules: "I found myself during a stormy passage without effort calling the rules to mind and bringing them into action, and I never got through bad weather so easily." "There exists in all intellectual endeavor," says Jastrow in "The Subconscious," "a period of incubation, a process in great part sub-conscious, a slow, concealed maturing through absorption of suitable pabulum. Schopenhauer calls it unconscious rumination,' a chewing over and over again of the cud of thought preparatory to its assimilation with our mental tissue; another speaks of it as the red glow that precedes the white heat. * * * We develop by living in an atmosphere congenial to the occupation that we seek to make our own; by steeping ourselves in the details of the business that is to be our specialty, until the judgment is trained, the assimilation sensitized, the perspective of importance for the special purpose well established, the keenness for useful improvisation brought to an edge. When asked how he came to discover the law of gravitation, Newton is reported to have answered, By always thinking about it.'" FIRST SET. Rules pertinent to the exercise of Will in the conduct of life. These paragraphs should be studied and thoroughly fixed in mind. They are born of experience, and should be practised daily until they become automatic in the working outfit of character. I. Be master of your own Will. 2. When in doubt, do nothing; wait for light. 3. Cultivate perfect calmness. 4. Never become confusingly excited. 5. Never yield to temper, nor entertain irritation. 6. Make no decision when out of temper. 7. If inclined to rashness, cultivate conservatism. 8. If inclined to excessive -injurious conservatism (experience must decide this), cultivate the prompt and progressive spirit. 9. Decide nothing without deliberation where deliberation is possible. IO. When deliberation is not possible, keep cool. Confusion is mental anarchy; it dethrones the "King." II. After a decision under such circumstances, entertain no regrets. The regretful mind is an enemy to a good Will. If the mind has held itself with an iron grip and decided on the spur of dire necessity, the gods could do no more. 12. Make no decision without an adequate purpose. Rely upon your own intelligent idea of adequacy. 13. Permit no difficulties to turn you aside from an adequate purpose. Mirabeau called the word "impossible" "that blockhead word." 14. Never try to make a decision the carrying out of which involves a real impossibility. 15. In the pursuit of an adequate purpose, sift means according to ends, then shift them intelligently. It is folly to tunnel a mountain if you can get a better and cheaper road by going around it. A man in Ohio. spent thousands of dollars in laying a roadbed, and abandoned it to purchase another railroad. He should have made sure about the operating road first. But if it is necessary to sink money in a new road in order to compel sale of an old one, that is the thing to do. 16. The best Will is not that which pounds through all circumstances, whether or no, merely for the sake of persistence, but that which "gets there" by taking advantage of shifting conditions. Ends, not means, are the goal of a wise Will. 17. Never lose sight of the main thing in hand. 18. Admit no motive into court which you do not clearly see. A motive is like a would-be soldier; it should undergo medical examination in the nude. 19. Never permit a motive for a decision to tangle up with a motive against. Example: This city is a good business centre; but then, you have to earn your money a second time in collecting it. Such a marriage of motives breeds confusion. Compel every motive to stand alone. |