THE MIND OF MAN would lead all the other Miracles of Life if they had been described in the order of their importance, because the mind is the instrument through which man relates himself to all things and circumstances that affect or influence his life. Without doubt the human mind is the most mysterious, the most awe-inspiring product which nature has produced, and at the same time it is the least understood, and the most often abused, of man’s profound gifts from the Creator.

The mind is the citadel of the soul, wherein is housed the connecting link between the conscious thinking process of man and Infinite Intelligence. It is the switchboard, so to speak, through which man may tune in and communicate directly with the great universal reservoir of Infinite Intelligence, and draw therefrom the answers to all his problems, the way of fulfillment of all his hopes, dreams, and aspirations.

And most profound of all, the mind is the one and only thing over which the Creator has given man the complete right of control; a prerogative which not even the Creator has set aside, reversed, or in any manner usurped, which strongly suggests that the mind was intended for man’s exclusive use; that it is the most important of all the gifts of the Creator; and the means by which man may control the major portion of his earthly destiny.

All of man’s successes and all of his failures and frustrations are the direct result of the manner in which he uses his mind, or neglects to use it.

The functional operations of the mind are divided into nine departments, something on the order of a well-organized business. Some of these departments function automatically, without direction by the individual, while other departments are under the control of the individual at all times.

Here is a breakdown of the departments of the mind:

(a) THE FACULTY OF WILL: The Will is the “big boss” of all the other departments of the mind. Here is the starting point where the individual begins to exercise his Great Prerogative privilege of exclusive control over his thoughts. The faculty of the Will is the “yes” and the “no” man of the entire mind. It carries out orders of the individual, regardless of their nature or the effects they may have upon the individual. The power of the Will remains strong in exact proportion to its use. An idle Will, like an idle arm, will become soft and weak.

(b) THE FACULTY OF REASON: The faculty of Reason is the “presiding judge” of the mind. When directed, or permitted, to do so it will pass judgement on all ideas, aims, desires, purposes, and circumstances which the individual brings to its attention; but its decisions can be set aside by the “big boss,” the Will, or offset by the influence of the emotions if the Will does not assert itself. One of the major weaknesses of all so-called thinking is the tendency of individuals to allow their Wills to be set aside by their emotions. This error can be, and it often is, tragic, because the emotions have no relation to logic or reason; therefore, all action growing out of the emotions should have careful attention of the Will.

(c) THE FACULTY OF EMOTIONS: Here is the starting place of a major portion of all actions of the mind. People make decisions which harmonize with their “feelings,” and engage in activities which have not been previewed by the faculties of Reason and Will. Such decisions are more often unsound than sound. The most common reckless use of the emotions, without due attention from the faculties of Reason and Will, originates through the emotion of Love. The emotion of Love partakes of a spiritual quality of the highest order, but it may be, and it often is, the most dangerous of all emotions because people generally do not submit it to the modifying influence of the Reason and Will.
Accurate thinkers—people who use all the departments of their minds in the process of thinking—never allow the emotion of Love to express itself until its actions have been carefully looked over by the Reason and Will. Moreover, the accurate thinker submits all of his deepest desires, plans, and purposes to his departments of Reason and Will to make sure that his eagerness and enthusiasm do not overthrow his Wisdom; and his emotion of Love is always under constant suspicion lest it get from under his control.

(d) THE FACULTY OF IMAGINATION: This faculty is the architect of man’s soul through which he may pattern his own earthly destiny to suit himself and change or modify that pattern as often as he pleases. With the aid of his Imagination, man may penetrate the interstellar spaces of infinitude with the speed of lightning, conquer the air above him and the seas below him, and create a million ideas and concepts of benefit to himself by merely combining in news ways old ideas and concepts.

Through his Imagination man may combine fantasy with realism and shape these into living empires of industry which change the entire trend of civilization. Nothing is impossible of accomplishment by the Imagination which is guided by the faculties of Will and Reason, but unbridled Imagination can play havoc with an individual’s life; and it has been said that when the emotion of Love and the Imagination get together and go on an unchaperoned spree, the individual may never recover from the damage they do.

The Imagination is the place of origin of the sixty-four dollar physical ailment known as hypochondria, which has proved to be a major problem with doctors. It may also be the place of origin of the cure for hypochondria, and there are many reliable authorities who claim that the Imagination exercises such powerful influence over the physical body that it can activate the body resistance mechanism and cause it to eliminate many types of real physical ailments.

The Imagination is a great institution whose potentialities are practically unlimited, but is a very tricky institution which requires constant supervision by the faculties of the Reason and the Will. It may be helpful if you will read the preceding sentence many times, until you become impressed by the potency of the suggestion it carries.

(e) THE FACULTY OF CONSCIENCE: Here we have the department of the mind which gives moral guidance to the individual. If allowed to function without interference, the Conscience carefully processes all of the individual’s aims and purposes and warns him when they do not harmonize with the moral laws of nature. This warning ceases and the Conscience eventually goes out of business altogether if the individual fails or neglects to heed its warnings.
The individual who has the full support of his Conscience in connection with all his desires, aims and purposes, has direct access to the necessary Faith to enable him to accomplish whatever he may set his heart and mind upon.

(f) THE FIVE PHYSICAL SENSES: The five senses—sight, sound, taste, smell and touch—are the physical “arms” of the brain, through which it contacts the external world and acquires information. The senses are not always reliable; therefore, they require constant supervision by the faculties of Reason and Will. Under any sort of highly emotional activity, the senses often become confused and highly undependable, as in the case of sudden fright, or intense anger. No decision which is reached under the influence of fear or anger should be allowed to stand, until it has been thoroughly reviewed by Will and Reason.

(g) THE FACULTY OF MEMORY: Here is the “filing cabinet” of the brain wherein is stored all thought impulses, all conscious experiences, and all sensations which reach the brain through the five physical senses. The Memory is also very undependable, as most individuals can testify. Therefore, it needs supervision and discipline by the Will and the Reason. The main cause for the unreliability of the Memory is due to the fact that the “filing clerk”—the individual who supervises the action of the Memory—is careless in not having a definite system by which to work.

The Memory can be made reasonably reliable with the aid of a practical Memory training course, such as the Roth system. Reliability of the memory is entirely a matter of discipline, supervision, and education of the “filing clerk” who is responsible for the function of this important faculty of the mind.

(h) THE “SIXTH SENSE”: This is the broadcasting and the receiving station of the mind through which one automatically sends and receives vibrations of thought, and perhaps other still higher vibrations which emanate on planes of intelligence outside that of our own earth. This is the medium of communication between the individual and the Unseen Guides which are believed to be available for his service.

The “Sixth Sense” is the medium through which a properly qualified mind may communicate with other minds, at any distance, through the principle of telepathy. The principle of telepathy has been recognized, by reliable authorities, as a workable reality, and the means by which it may be put into service has been described in detail in many books, including some which I have written.

(i) THE SUBCONSCIOUS SECTION OF THE MIND: This is the “switchboard” through which the conscious section of the mind may communicate directly with the Infinite Intelligence. The Subconscious acts upon any idea, plan, or purpose which reaches it, and it makes no attempt to distinguish the difference between positive and negative, or right or wrong influences. But it does respond more quickly and effectively to influences which have been highly emotionalized with such emotions as fear, anger, belief, and faith.

The Subconscious section of the mind is amenable to the influences of the conscious section of the mind, which often stubbornly closes the door to the Subconscious through fears and limitations and false beliefs. In order to get around these negative barricades set up by the conscious section of the mind, and in order to give directions to the Subconscious for the cure of physical ailments, doctors of Suggestive Therapeutics often wait until the individual is asleep (sometimes through hypnotism) and then communicate directly with the Subconscious.
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We would emphasize that all thought, whether it is negative or positive, sound or unsound, tends to clothe itself in its physical equivalent, and it proceeds to do so by inspiring the individual with ideas, plans, and purposes for the attainment of desired ends, through natural and logical means. After thought on any subject becomes, through repetition, a habit, it is taken over and automatically acted upon by the Subconscious.
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One of the greatest of the inconsistencies of mankind is the fact that the majority of people go through life with their minds devoted largely to thinking of all the things and circumstances they do not wish—poverty, failure, ill health, unhappiness, and physical pain—and they can wonder why they are cursed with all of these undesirable conditions.

The mind attracts to one the exact material equivalent of that which one thinks about most often. Along with this statement of fact, remember that the Creator provided every normal person with complete, unchallengeable right and power to control and direct his mind power to whatever ends he may choose, and you will have no difficulty in recognizing that all undesirable circumstances one meets with are the results of neglect to take possession of the mind and to guide it to the ends one desires.