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Before Donald Trump told us to Think Big and Kick Ass (the title of his 2007 book written with Bill Zanker), Haanel implored us to do the same thing in Week 21 of The Master Key System. Haanel may not have written “kick ass,” but his message was much the same. When we think big — when we set big goals for ourselves — life becomes more fun, more exciting, and we bulldoze over the smaller problems in life that we encounter.
In other words, we’re here, we’re alive, we’re free to do what we want, and we have the ability — whether we know it or not — to get what we want; so, why aim low?
Aim high!
Think big!
That’s the overall message of Week Twenty-One. Let’s explore it.
The Letter of Transmittal: Prayer and Spiritual Laws
What is prayer?
In paragraph eight you will find that everything which we hold in our consciousness for any length of time becomes impressed upon our subconsciousness and so becomes a pattern which the creative energy will weave into our life and environment. This is the secret of the wonderful power of prayer.
In a nutshell, it’s impressing the subconscious mind with what we want so that it becomes a part of us and therefore “comes into” our life.
Let’s look at Haanel’s definition again so that we can get a clearer picture of what exactly prayer is.
Haanel refers us to point #8.
8. When we realize these facts concerning mind, we understand how we may bring to ourselves any condition by creating the corresponding conditions in our consciousness, because everything which is held for any length of time in the consciousness eventually becomes impressed upon the subconscious and thus becomes a pattern which the creative energy will weave into the life and environment of the individual.
It’s basically the same thing with a few more words.
Take note of a few of those words, though.
When we hold something for a time in the conscious mind, it “eventually becomes impressed upon the subconscious and thus becomes a pattern.”
A “pattern”? To what does that refer.
It refers to everything we have been studying in this Master Key System up until now.
As we change our consciousness, we change our unconscious. That, in turn, changes our actions, our attitude — in short, it changes us at the core.
Thus, new “patterns” are formed. We exhibit new attitudes and demeanor. We take different actions. We “grow up.”
With our new “patterns,” we will use the creative energy and we will be able to find ways to get what we want — to answer our “prayers.”
You see, prayer as explained here isn’t about petitioning the “Lord” or begging for gifts. It’s about changing ourselves. We impress our subconscious mind — our deep-set command center — with what we want, what we want to be, what we want to do and as those thoughts become more and more impressed, we become that for which we ask.
As Haanel would say, we become “vessels” through which Spirit — Life! — works.
That’s why these “spiritual laws” are important. As I keep saying, it’s not about being or not being a theist; it’s not about believing in God or even the “Universe.” It’s about connecting with our Life — the experience of and the act of living. It’s moving from the shadows and shibboleths of our thoughts and connecting with ourselves — our true selves — and becoming that “live wire” that sparks and energizes and, perhaps most importantly of all, lives.
The Secret of Power
In the last part — Week 20 — Haanel stated that it was of the utmost importance that we recognize our power. This Week in point #1, Haanel delivers the same message.
1. The real secret of power is consciousness of power. The Universal Mind is unconditional. Therefore, the more conscious we become of our unity with this mind, the less conscious we shall become of conditions and limitations, and as we become emancipated or freed from conditions we come into a realization of the unconditional. We have become free!
We must come to a realization of the power within us. We must recognize it!
As we come to a recognition of this power, we “become free!”
Free.
As in freedom.
As in not a slave to conditions.
Not a slave to environment.
Not a slave to others.
Let’s look at points #2-4.
2. As soon as we become conscious of the inexhaustible power in the world within, we begin to draw on this power and apply and develop the greater possibilities which this discernment has realized, because whatever we become conscious of is invariably manifested in the objective world—it is brought forth into tangible expression.
3. This is because the Infinite mind, which is the source from which all things proceed, is one and indivisible, and each individual is a channel whereby this Eternal Energy is being manifested. Our ability to think is our ability to act upon this Universal substance, and what we think is what is created or produced in the objective world.
4. The result of this discovery is nothing less than marvelous and means that mind is extraordinary in quality, limitless in quantity, and contains possibilities without number. To become conscious of this power is to become a “live wire;” it has the same effect as placing an ordinary wire in contact with a wire that is charged. The Universal is the live wire. It carries power sufficient to meet every situation which may arise in the life of every individual. When the individual mind touches the Universal Mind it receives all the power it requires. This is the world within. All science recognizes the reality of this world and all power is contingent upon our recognition of this world.
This power is within us. We must only realize it.
This recognition provides — or is a part of — a connection to Life itself.
That’s why this recognition of this power is “to become a ‘live wire.'”
Have you ever noticed that successful people tend to be a lot like “live wires”? Actually, isn’t that sometimes what we call them?
They’re always active. They’re bundles of energy. They’re productive. They’re loving life — and, more importantly, they’re living life!
Donald Trump. Larry Ellison. Richard Branson. These aren’t boring guys. They bristle with energy!
They recognize their power. They have that “connection.”
Big Thoughts, Big Goals
With that connection, achievers of all types from all backgrounds have one thing in common: They think big thoughts.
They don’t “sweat the small stuff” nor do they fret about the inane and insipid. All of that is chuff to be pushed aside as they pursue their big goals.
As Haanel notes in point #6:
6. Large ideas have a tendency to eliminate all smaller ideas so that it is well to hold ideas large enough to counteract and destroy all small or undesirable tendencies. This will remove innumerable petty and annoying obstacles from your path. You also become conscious of a larger world of thought, thereby increasing your mental capacity as well as placing yourself in position to accomplish something of value.
Big thoughts and big goals always over-rule and over-power the “little things.” You’ve even experienced this in your life. Probably quite a few times.
Have you ever hurt yourself a little and were about to suffer a little and then you noticed someone who really hurt them self? I mean hurt them self to such an extent that they really needed help. You forgot about your little scratch in a micro-second and went and helped with the real injury, right?
Whenever you go after something major — something that completely fills your consciousness — you forget about the trifling matters in your life and concentrate on the things that become important — that get you to your big, juicy goal.
7. This is one of the secrets of success, one of the methods of organizing victory, one of the accomplishments of the Master-mind. He thinks big thoughts. The creative energies of mind find no more difficulty in handling large situations than small ones. Mind is just as much present in the Infinitely large as in the Infinitely small.
That, my friends, is how you will succeed.
The Process for Securing Power
So, how do we secure this power? How do we go from “zero” to “hero”?
It’s what we’ve been studying this entire time in The Master Key System. In points #10-19, Haanel lays out the process for us once again.
10. From this science we learn that every thought creates an impression on the brain, that these impressions create mental tendencies, and these tendencies create character, ability, and purpose, and that the combined action of character, ability, and purpose determines the experiences with which we shall meet in life.
11. These experiences come to us through the law of attraction. Through the action of this law we meet in the “world without” the experiences which correspond to our “world within.”
12. The predominant thought or the mental attitude is the magnet, and the law is that like attracts like. Consequently the mental attitude will invariably attract such conditions as correspond to its nature.
13. This mental attitude is our personality and is composed of the thoughts which we have been creating in our own mind. Therefore, if we wish a change in conditions, all that is necessary is to change our thought; this will in turn change our mental attitude, which will in turn change our personality, which will in turn change the persons, the things, and the conditions or the experiences with which we meet in life.
14. It is, however, no easy matter to change the mental attitude, but by persistent effort it may be accomplished. The mental attitude is patterned after the mental pictures which have been photographed on the brain; if you do not like the pictures, destroy the negatives and create new pictures; this is the art of visualiza- tion.
15. As soon as you have done this you will begin to attract new things and the new things will correspond to the new pictures. To do this: Impress on your mind a perfect picture of the desire which you wish to have objectified and continue to hold the picture in mind until results are obtained.
16. If the desire is one which requires determination, ability, talent, courage, power, or any other spiritual power, these are necessary essentials for your picture; build them in; they are the vital part of the picture; they are the feeling which combines with thought and creates the irresistible magnetic power which draws the things you require to you. They give your picture life, and life means growth, and as soon as it begins to grow the result is practically assured.
To make things even easier, in The Master Key Workbook, I distilled that into an 11-step list.
1. Every thought creates an impression on the brain.
2. Experiences come to us through the law of attraction.
3. The predominant thought or mental attitude is the magnet.
4. Like attracts like.
5. The mental attitude is our personality and is composed of all the thoughts that we have been creating in our mind.
6. By persistent effort, we can change the mental attitude.
7. To do this, replace the pictures you have in your mind with new pictures of what you want and desire.
8. When you have done this, you will begin to attract to yourself those things.
9. Build into your mental pictures the necessary essentials, such as determination, ability, talent, courage, power, and anything else.
10. Aspire to the highest possible attainment in anything you undertake.
11. Repeat this process as repetition builds habit.
Get it?
Good.
The Exercise for Week 21: The Truth
28. For your exercise this week, concentrate on the Truth. Try to realize that the Truth shall make you free. That is, nothing can permanently stand in the way of your perfect success when you learn to apply the scientifically correct thought methods and principles. Realize that you are externalizing in your environment your inherent soul potencies. Realize that the Silence offers an ever available and almost unlimited opportunity for awakening the highest conception of Truth. Try to comprehend that Omnipotence itself is absolute silence—all else is change, activity, limitation. Silent thought concentration is therefore the true method of reaching, awakening, and then expressing the wonderful potential power of the world within.
That’s the exercise for Week Twenty-One. Concentrate on “the Truth.”
Now, that’s Truth with a capital-T. Concentrate on it as Haanel describes here.
As I’ve noted, these exercises are now at a point where they are very “heady.” Every person will have a different experience when thinking on them.
That’s OK! That’s how it is supposed to be.
As you think about the Truth of what Haanel wrote this week and the observations he made — and those that you made yourself — you come to a recognition of your powers, of your abilities, or your potential.
That will connect you with Life — and make a “live wire” of you.
Allow it to happen. Yes, allow it.
Take advantage of your life.
Let “Each thing I do, I rush through, so I can do something else” become your motto so that you transcend your human being-ness and instead become a human doing.
Until next week, I wish you the best of everything.