This second stage of the preliminary mirror exercise is summed up in the word of mental magnetic command, which you address to the imaginary person represented by your reflected image, viz.: "I can command you to act." This, as you will see by a careful consideration of the words, is really a tremendously powerful statement, and it will require a great exercise of our power of belief, and mental imagery, to get yourself into the proper mental state, so that the will may travel easily on its path to enforce the command. Remember, that in order for the will to be able to move smoothly over its channel, so that it may reach the mark, it is necessary that you clear away any obstacles that may remain in your own mind. It is enough for the will to have to fight and break down the obstacles in the mind of the other person, without also being called on to combat and overcome the obstacles in our own mind. So, you must get yourself in the proper mental state, before you can hope to influence others.
When you send forth the mental command to the reflected image, you must concentrate a tremendous power of meaning in the statement, "I can command you to act." The statement must be accompanied by the full force of your own conviction and belief that you can so command, and that you will be obeyed. And, in order to do this, you will have to arouse in yourself the full consciousness of your own magnetic force, so that you can fairly feel it vibrating in and around you. You will have to re-read these instructions several times before they will become perfectly clear to you. In fact, you will have to begin practicing, and then re-reading them between exercises, before you will get the full meaning. The meaning will gradually unfold into your understanding, as you proceed with your practicing. It is just as if I were giving you directions as to mastering the art of skating – you would not really grasp the full meaning of the instructions until you began actually practicing on the ice – and each time you would refer to the book, you would perceive a new meaning to the words. So it is in the case before us – you will understand the instructions fully only when you begin the actual practice.
Now, after you have gotten to the point in the mirror-practice where you are able to actually feel that you have sent forth to the reflected image the command that you are stronger, thereby forcing the other person into the second magnetic place – and also that you can command the other person to act as you will, thereby placing him in the subordinate capacity of action – you may proceed to try upon the reflected image some special commands in the same spirit. Now do not fall into the error of supposing that all this mirror-practice is merely "child’s play." If you do, you will be making a great mistake, for it is anything but play or idle pastime. It is the learning of the mechanism of the "direct flash," before you start in to run the machine in earnest. It is like the period of preliminary practice in anything, which precedes the actual performance. It is the rehearsal, which must precede the play. Do not fail to faithfully perform the rehearsal exercises, before you begin to manifest your magnetism in earnest. You must fully acquaint yourself with your magnetic machine before you begin to run it in earnest.
The preceding practice exercises may be followed by a similar practice of sending forth "flashes" of anything that you may wish to actually send to other persons later on. You may supply these commands for yourself, or you may practice on the following excellent commands, all of which are likely to be used by you in your actual manifestation of personal magnetism.
These commands may be varied, of course, to suit your tastes. They must all be delivered before the mirror, in exactly the same manner as I have already stated:
"Look at me!"
"Give me your full attention!"
"Come this way!"
"Go away from me – let me alone!"
"You like me." "You love me"
"You feel like doing as I wish you to do!"
"You want to please me!"
" You will agree to my proposition!"
"Get out of my way!"
"You are attracted toward me!"
"I fascinate you!"
"I am your MASTER!"
"Come! Be quick, and do as I tell you!"
"You are receptive to my wishes!"
"You are responsive to my will!"
And, now, having mastered the preliminary mirror-exercises, you re ready to begin your experiments on real persons. But, here, too, you must crawl before you can walk and run. You must begin with the simpler forms of magnetic influence, before you can accomplish the more complicated or difficult tasks. But, you have now emerged from the kindergarten stage, and are ready to practice in earnest. If you have faithfully followed the instructions in the mirror-practice, you have mastered the mechanism of magnetic influence, and are ready to "run the machine" in pubic view. But do not for a moment lose what you have gained in the mirror-exercise. Hold tight and fast to the "technique" you have acquired, and do not for a moment fall into the error that you must now begin all over again. The thing for you to remember, always, is that you are really but carrying the mirror-exercises forward on a higher scale, in a broader field. And you will find some interesting work ahead of you. Take my word for it.
First Exercise. I shall now give you an exercise that is almost always given to beginners, by the best teachers of magnetism. It consists of the process of causing a person ahead of you, on the street, to turn around as if he had heard some one call out to him by name. The process is very simple. You have but to walk some little distance behind the other person, on the street, park or other public place. Concentrate your fixed attention on the person, gazing at the lower back part of his head. And sending him first a strong flash of magnetic force, this being followed by the "direct flash" command; "Here you! Turn around," just as if you were actually calling out aloud to him. You may even whisper the words so softly that no one else can hear them – this may help you to put force into the command at first, but you will soon outgrow the need of the same. At the time you send the flash command you must actually WILL that the person will around in your direction. Put all the magnetic force within you, in this effort.
You will find that in some cases the other person will turn his head almost at once, and look inquiringly behind him in your direction. In the majority of cases, however, he will take a longer time about it. He will be apt to first grow uneasy and restless, and begin by glancing from side to side, as if looking for some one; then he will almost (but not quite) turn his head around; then, finally he will glance backward somewhat furtively and suspiciously. No two persons act precisely alike in this respect; and, then, again, the same person will act differently under different conditions. There are certain times at which the conditions seem to be more favorable than at others, for various reasons, as you will discover for yourself.
You will find, in this as well as the following other exercises that the best results will be obtained while the other person is proceeding idly along, without his attention being directed particularly in any direction.
When the attention is free, the mind is more open to outside influences. When the other person’s attention is firmly fixed on anything else, it will be found difficult to influence him to any marked degree. This is the result of an established rule of psychology, and will be found to be operative in all cases, as for instance, if you call a person when he is preoccupied either with deep thought, or else when his surroundings-he will probably not hear you call him, though under other conditions he would turn readily. The same rule is, of course, operative in the case of magnetic influence.
Second Exercise. When in church, theatre or other public place, or even in a room full of company, fix your gaze at the lower back of the head of some person in the place, and send him the "direct flash" command: "Here, you! Turn around and look at me!" Using all the magnetic force within you, and putting the force of your will back of the command.
You will notice the same peculiar result as in the preceding exercise, i.e., the fidgeting in the seat, the uneasiness and restlessness, the final quick turn of the head in your direction, followed by the confused expression of countenance. In both of these cases, you should maintain a calm, uninterested gaze ahead, apparently not noticing the person. It is not well to have persons get the idea that you are experimenting upon them, at any time. There is no power so potent as the silent, reserved power. So keep your own counsel, and do not scatter and weaken your force by talking about it to others - far less by boasting about it. There are certain good psychological and occult reasons for my admonition regarding keeping your own counsel, and not dissipating your energy by talking about it, or revealing it to others. I shall not say more on the subject at this time – but I want you to remember what I have said, and to heed it.
Third Exercise. This is a variation of the first exercise, and consists of making the person ahead of you turn to the right or to the left while walking ahead of you. This may follow your exercise of making him turn around. When he approaches another person, send him a flash to move to the right, or to the left, as you will. You may also command a person in like manner when he is approaching you. You will be surprised at your success in this direction, after a little practice. In the case of a very sensitive subject, you can cause him, or her, to zigzag in a comical manner. Do not overdo this, however, or you may defeat your own object, besides being unkind to the sensitive person.
Fourth Exercise. This is a variation of the second exercise, and consists in making the seated person, in front of you, turn and glance to the right, and then to the left, as you will. During the exercise, which may extend over some time, you may obtain some very marked results from the experiment, in some cases. As before, I caution you against going too far with the experiment, lest you be noticed by others, and also, because it is not fair to the subject.
Fifth Exercise. In this experiment, you command the other person to drop his cane, or umbrella, etc., or her fan, handkerchief, etc. In short, you cause the other person to perform some little muscular action under the control of your will.
Sixth Exercise. The above exercise may be varied by sending passing persons various commands while you are seated at your window, or on your porch, etc. You may put in an interesting hour in sending flashes to the passing crowd, one at a time, of course, and then noting the percentage of successes. You will find that the percentage will vary; but the general degree of success should slowly but steadily increase, on the average. Do not make the tests too complicated, but send the flash to perform some very simple motion. You will be surprised to discover what a large percent of the persons will glance in your direction, even though you have not particularly commanded them to do so. This latter result occurs because of eth general attraction that they will feel toward you, by reason of the influence of your magnetic wave.
Seventh Exercise. While I have advised you to look directly at the other persons, in sending the flash, this is not absolutely necessary after you have fully acquired the "mechanism" of the flash. In fact, after a short time, you will be able to obtain the result even though your eyes are turned in another direction. It is not your eye that influences them, but merely that by gazing intently you manage to firmly concentrate your attention and will in their direction. You may try the experiment of gazing straight ahead of you in a public place, or on the street, and then flashing the command to the other person to look at you, and you will find that you will meet with quite a large percentage of success, particularly after you have succeeded with the gazing plan of procedure.
Eighth Exercise. After having mastered the above exercise, you may proceed to a still higher form of magnetic influence, namely, that of influencing the speech of another person. You proceed in this case in the same general manner as in the exercises just given. When a person is speaking to you, you may "put words into his mouth" by a strong mental command, or magnetic flash. Do not try to make him say a whole sentence – at least at first. Rather begin by waiting until he pauses in his speech, and then strongly will a certain word to him – a word that will naturally fit into his sentence – and he will be very apt to repeat it. After a little practice you can make him repeat an absurd word, or to stammer, halt and stutter in his speech, if you so will it. After still more practice, you may succeed in causing him to repeat a whole sentence, or even more, to express the thought you have put into his mind; or to ask some question which you have willed that he should ask.
You will readily see by this time, that a constant practice along these lines, will result in your acquiring the power to will and magnetically influence another person to do many things, in response to your will, and silent command. In fact, a constant development along these lines will make of one a very giant in magnetic power, whose results are proportioned only by the degree of magnetic force of other persons, or the degree of persistent practice and development on his own part.
But I wish to caution you, at this point, against using this power for any unworthy purpose. This caution does not arise from merely a moral motive on my part, but from knowledge of certain psychic laws which cause a "reaction equaling the action," and which will bring sorry results to you if you violate the rule. So long as you use your newfound power for purely scientific experiments, or legitimate purposes of human association, all very well and good. But never prostitute your power to accomplish unworthy or criminal ends, lest you become involved in a storm of your own raising - or enmeshed in a web of our own weaving. There are certain psychical laws, as well as physical laws, which must not be broken – and this is one of them. This is particularly true of the case of a person using the power for the purpose of influencing the other sex in an immoral direction. All the old occult writers’ caution particularly against this practice. So heed the advice, and do the right thing only, with your power.
Now that you have mastered the technique of the mechanism of the "direct flash," you are ready to proceed to the actual demonstration and contact with the general public. But, before taking up that phase of the subject, I think it well to ask you to consider the matter of the creation and maintenance of the positive aura. I have purposely postponed the consideration of this phase of the subject, until we reached this particular point in the instruction, because, in order to properly create and maintain the positive aura, it is necessary that one understands the mechanism and technique of the "direct flash," for he will need to manifest the same power in the case of the positive aura. But, now that you have mastered the technique or mechanism of the "direct flash," you are ready to receive the instruction regarding the positive aura, and we may as well proceed to consider it at this very point.
I have already given you instructions regarding the cultivation of a desirable personal atmosphere, or aura, and need not repeat here what I have already said elsewhere. But, a moment’s consideration will show you that there will arise certain conditions or occasions in which you will find it very desirable to be able to influence a number of persons en masse – the crowd as a whole – rather than to send the "direct flash" to each of the individuals separately. Of course, the crowd will be influenced by your general personal atmosphere, but you now need something more positive, and more to the point. And the "positive aura" is what you must acquire to satisfy this requirement.
The positive aura is simply the general personal atmosphere, but directly and positively charged by a concentrated effort of the will – the same effort, in fact, as that made in the case of the "direct flash."
Let me illustrate the "positive aura" by means of several stories from real life – the experiences of several students of mine. These personal experiences will give you a better idea of just what is needed than would pages of general instruction on the subject. The little stories are not fiction, remember, but are "taken from life," and are bits of human documents from the lives of real people, all of which have come under my personal observation and consideration.
Several years ago, in Paris, I had a student whose real strength of character was marred by her abnormal self-consciousness, shyness, timidity, and sensitiveness – in fact; in the word "sensitiveness" you have the keynote of this young woman’s personality. She was a young artist of far more than the average talent, and her charm of manner rendered her company sought after by a large circle of friends.
This lady complained to me that she suffered from the actual rudeness, nay, and almost positive brutality, of the crowds of persons thronging the busy streets of some of the principal thoroughfares of Paris. She complained that she was jostled here and there, and pushed rudely aside by the passing throng. Moreover, she was treated rudely in the shops, the superficial veneer of politeness of the average Parisian shop-clerk scarcely concealing the underlying contempt and veiled sneer of these "cheap" satellites of the ubiquitous shop-keepers of this charming city.
My first thought was that the young woman had worked herself up into a state of imaginary wrongs, the result of her highly sensitive organism and shrinking disposition – in short, I thought that she was suffering from a state of morbid self-consciousness, with its frequent accompaniment of imaginary persecution, etc. So I determined to test out the matter, and ascertain for myself just how much truth was in the case.
Making a slight change in my personal appearance, by means of a simple disguise once taught me by another of my students, a celebrated detective of Paris, I followed the young lady for several hours when she was on a shopping expedition. Much to my surprise, and, I may add, much to my indignation, I found that all that she had told me was correct. I could scarcely control myself at times, and more than once felt like chastising some rude fellow with my cane, so brutal was the conduct of certain individuals calling themselves "men."
There is a certain class of Parisian men, well dressed and with a veneer of polish, but boors and cures at heart. These men seem to take a special delight in jostling young women, almost pushing them off the sidewalks, at times, and in other ways earning a good caning at the hands of real gentlemen. Well, these curs seemed attracted to this sweet young girl, just as flies are drawn tot a bit of sugar. They exceeded themselves in their display of rudeness and cowardly insolence, and all the while the girl was free from any outward appearance that would attract such curs naturally. I saw at once that there was some inner cause operating.
Moreover, I noticed that the young woman was also pushed aside rudely by hurrying businesspersons, who never glanced in her direction, but who thrust her aside as if she were an inanimate thing instead of a person. Again I found an inner cause. In the same way I found that she was treated exactly in the way she had complained of in the shops, by the clerks and shop-men, although she was a liberal customer, easily suited, and giving but little trouble. Here again, the inner trouble was apparent.
I went home and carefully diagnosed the case, and laid down a course or treatment. I sent for the young woman and told her that her trouble was a case of ‘ingrown sensitiveness, and overgrown modesty" – in short, that she had surrounded herself with an aura of self-depreciation and morbid sensitiveness. This aura practically invited persons to "pick on" her, to crowd her to the wall, to push her in the gutter, and to generally slight, snub and covertly insult her in the shops. Her aura was not only negative, but also actually attractively negative – that is to say, so negative that it actually attracted more positive natures in the direction of imposing on her weakness. (This is far from being unusual – it is a rule of the psychic as well as of the physical world, among animals as well as among men)
I immediately began teaching this lady the technique of the "direct flash" before the mirror (exactly as I have taught you), her flashes being invariably along the lines of positivism and strength. She would flash out "I am positive – far more positive than the crowd around me;" "Get out of my way, or I will walk over you;" "Clear the path for me, you vermin," and other exaggerated demands intended for the street crowds. In the same way she would flash out the command to the shop-people. "Come, now, I demand respectful attention;" "Lively, now, attend to my wants;" "I am a princess of the blood, bow to me, you underlings," etc. You will note that I purposely exaggerated the mental demands and flashes, because she needed an exaggerated positive mental attitude in order to overcome her natural and acquired handicap. In a short time she had acquired the technique perfectly and had developed a mental attitude and general personal atmosphere of a princess. Then she proceeded to "try it on the crowd," by means of the "positive aura."
The result was marvelous. From the moment her feet touched the sidewalks, her progress was that of a princess, persons instinctively moved out of her way, some even slightly bowing as they did so. The rowdy gentlemen (?) moved far away from her. And in the shops the queen of England could have received no more humble service or careful attention. The cure was complete, and has remained so. The young lady has long since laid aside the "Princess Royal" manner, and now simply maintains an aura of positive self-respect and self-confidence, and a demand that she be accorded the proper consideration.
Another case is that of a young student of mine – an American, the son of a prominent businessman. This young man was well educated, polished, and moreover, possessed of a all the requisites of a successful salesman, except that of inspiring a feeling of friendship on the part of those with whom he came in contact. He was called upon to approach prominent businessmen in connection with his work for his father, and while he was able to present his arguments logically and forcibly, he was nevertheless handicapped by the fact the he repelled friendship, rather than invited it. In desperation, he made the trip across the Atlantic to consult me, and to beg a cure for his serious psychic trouble.
His cure was very easy. I simply put him through a course of the mirror exercises in the "direct flash," until he had mastered the technique; and then had him saturate his mind with the mental image and idea of: "You like me – you like me very much;" "You feel attracted toward me;" "You are my friend, and wish to show your friendship for me," etc., etc., etc. All these ideas were but variations of, an improvement upon, the simple idea of "You like me!"
Well, this young man began to radiate such an atmosphere of likeability, friendship, etc., that he made friends right and left, even without tying – it was in the air around him, it seemed. His old trouble disappeared like magic – he was made over into a new man. And, yet it was all very simple, you see. Mere child’s play, when one has the secret, as you now have. The young man insisted upon presenting me with his check for $1,000, although I had charged him but one-tenth of that amount, for my time and trouble.
I could go on in this vein, reciting case after case coming under my own experience, but I think that the two cases I have mentioned will give you the general idea of what I am trying to teach you, without my taking up more time and space at this point. The rule is general – it is for you to apply it to the particular requirements of your own case. Find out your weak spots of personal atmosphere, and then proceed to build up the opposite qualities of mind and character. Find out your negative points of attracting, and then proceed to build of their opposite positive qualities, just as the two students, just mentioned, did with such marked success. Read over carefully this chapter again, and again, until you get the point fixed in your mind. The rest is merely a matter of practice.
Having by this time acquired the technique of the "direct flash," by your mirror-practice; and having, also, mastered the art of cultivating the positive aura, you should be able to manifest what is known as "the direct command," without much additional instruction.
By "the direct command" is meant the flashing of a direct command or demand to the mind of another person, backed up by the concentrated power of both your mental and physical magnetism. Do you see now why I have first taught you to acquire the technique by means of the mirror-practice, and have then next taught you how to generate and maintain the positive aura? Certainly, you have seen the point! A moment’s thought will show you that the "direct command" is really a combination of the methods of the mirror-practice, and that of the positive aura. The mirror-practice taught you the technique, and the practice afforded by the positive aura methods have served to give you ease, self-confidence, and an almost instinctive use of your magnetic powers in the direction of influencing other persons. You will also see the part played in your development by the special exercises in the direct flash, which I gave you in a preceding chapter. You now begin to see why I have led you to the present point by degrees, do you not?
The "direct command" is really a high form of the "direct flash," and is the method whereby the latter may be used to the highest degree of effectiveness.
In the "direct command" you flash your command to the mind of the other person, mentally, of course, but in exactly the same way that you would make an actual command by spoken words, if the conditions admitted of the same. You form the words of the command in your mind, carrying with it as strong a mental picture as you can create, and then mentally flash the command to the other person with as much magnetic force as you can muster.
You will find it an aid to effectiveness, in the case of a contemplated demand upon some particular person, for a certain thing, to practice it before the mirror, using your own image as a "target" – just as you did in the exercise previously given you. You will find that a rehearsal of this kind will tend to increase your power at the time of the actual manifestation or command.
It is impossible to give you specific instruction for the carrying out of this program in special cases, for each person will have his or her own special requirements, the same depending upon the special circumstances of the case. All that I can do is to give you the general rules to your own particular cases and requirements. The general rules I have already given you. Perhaps I can illustrate the application of the same by citing a few cases, which have actually come under my own observation and experience.
One of the most interesting cases of the kind that I have ever met with was that of a professor in one of the American universities. This man, a specialist in his particular line of scientific research, and a thorough master of his own particular subject, commanded a large audience of readers of his books and magazine articles, but, at the same time was almost a failure in his class work, owing to his inability to gain and hold the attention of his students. He came to me, in Paris, and explained his trouble. I gave him my short course in mental influence, etc., and drilled him well along the lines laid down in this book. I made him practice before an imaginary roomful of students, sending them a strong direct command of "Give me your full attention!" "Steady, now, your attention-your full and complete attention to my words!" and "That’s right, you are giving me your full attention - now hold it firmly fixed on me!" and a similar stock of direct commands. These commands were directed commands were directed first to the "bell-wethers" of the class - those natural leaders who are to be found in each class, and then scattered among the class at large. The professor told me that, after a number of these imaginary classroom scenes, each face being distinct and plain, and that he could almost see the flash of his command reaching them.
When I thought that he had mastered the general principles, and acquired the technique, I dismissed him, and he returned at once to the university in America. I received several letters from him during the following year, and he testified to the complete success of the plan when put into actual effect. From the first day of his return he obtained and held the attention of his class, and today he is one of the best personal instructors in his university, or elsewhere for that matter. In this case he applied the direct command to special individuals of the class, but the principle was the same as in the case of a single special individual, and differed from the positive aura method.
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