Psychic Influence; Its Laws and Principles : Part 2

Clairvoyance and Occult Powers
By Swami Panchadasi

(Page 18 of 23)

These things being perceived, and recognized as true, the next question that presents itself to the mind of the intelligent student is this: "But what causes the difference in power and effect between the thought and feeling-vibrations of different people?" This question is a valid one, and arises from a perception of the underlying variety and difference in the thought vibrations of different people. The difference, my students, is caused by three principal facts, viz., (1) difference in degree of feeling; (2) difference in degree of visualization; and (3) difference in degree of concentration. Let us examine each of these successively, so as to get at the underlying principle.

The element of emotional feeling is like the element of fire in the production of steam. The more vivid and intense the feeling or emotion, the greater the degree of heat and force to the thought wave or vibratory stream projected. You will begin to see why the thought vibrations of those animated and filled with strong desire, strong wish, strong ambition, etc., must be more forceful than those of people of the opposite type.

The person who is filled with a strong desire, wish or ambition, which has been fanned into a fierce blaze by attention, is a dynamic power among other people, and his influence is felt. In fact, it may be asserted that as a general rule no person is able to influence men and things unless he have a strong desire, wish or ambition within him. The power of desire is a wonderful one, as all occultists know, and it will accomplish much even if the other elements be lacking; while, in proper combination with other principles it will accomplish wonders. Likewise, a strong interest in a thing will cause a certain strength to the thought-vibrations connected therewith. Interest is really an emotional feeling, though we generally think of it as merely something connected with the intellect. A cold intellectual thought has very little force, unless backed up by strong interest and concentration. But any intellectual thought backed up with interest, and focused by concentration, will produce very strong thought vibrations, with a marked inductive power.

Now, let us consider the subject of visualization. Every person knows that the person who wishes to accomplish anything, or who expects to do good work along any line, must first know what he wishes to accomplish. In the degree that he is able to see the thing in his mind's eye - to picture the thing in his imagination - in that degree will he tend to manifest the thing itself in material form and effect.

Sir Francis Galton, an eminent authority upon psychology, says on this point: "The free use of a high visualizing faculty is of much importance in connection with the higher processes of generalized thought. A visual image is the most perfect form of mental representation wherever the shape, position, and relations of objects to space are concerned. The best workmen are those who visualize the whole of what they propose to do before they take a tool in their hands. Strategists, artists of all denominations, physicists who contrive new experiments, and, in short, all who do not follow routine, have need of it. A faculty that is of importance in all technical and artistic occupations, that gives accuracy to our perceptions and justice to our generalizations, is starved by lazy disuse instead of being cultivated judiciously in such a way as will, on the whole, bring best return. I believe that a serious study of the best way of developing and utilizing this faculty, without prejudice to the practice of abstract thought in symbols, is one of the pressing desirata in the yet unformed science of education."

Not only on the ordinary planes is the forming of strong mental images important and useful, but when we come to consider the phenomena of the astral plane we begin to see what an important part is played there by strong mental images or visualized ideas. The better you know what you desire, wish or aspire to, the stronger will be your thought vibrations of that thing, of course. Well, then, the stronger that you are able to picture the thing in your mind - to visualize it to yourself - the stronger will be your actual knowledge and thought-form of that thing. Instead of your thought vibrations being grouped in nebulous forms, lacking shape and distinct figure, as in the ordinary case; when you form strong, clear mental images of what you desire or wish to accomplish, then do the thought vibrations group themselves in clear, strong distinct forms. This being done, when the mind of other people are affected by induction they get the clear idea of the thought and feeling in your mind, and are strongly influenced thereby.

A little later on, I should call your attention to the Attractive Power of Thought. But at this point I wish to say to you that while thought certainly attracts to you the things that you think of the most, still the power of the attraction depends very materially upon the clearness and distinctness of the mental image, or thought visualization, of the desired thing that you have set up in your mind. The nearer you can actually see the thing as you wish it to happen, even to the general details, the stronger will be the attractive force thereof. But, I should leave the discussion of this phase of the subject until I reach it in its proper order. For the present, I should content myself with urging upon you the importance of a clear mental image, or visualized thought, in the matter of giving force and direction to the idea induced in the minds of other people. In order for the other people to actually perceive clearly the idea or feeling induced in them, it is necessary that the idea or feeling be strongly visualized in the mind originating it; that is the whole thing in one sentence.

The next point of importance in thought-influence by induction, is that which is concerned with the process of concentration. Concentration is the act of mental focusing, or bringing to a single point or center. It is like the work of the sun-glass that converges the rays of the sun to a single tiny point, therefore immensely increasing its heat and power. Or, it is like the fine point of a needle that will force its way through where a blunt thing cannot penetrate. Or, it is like the strongly concentrated essence of a chemical substance, of which one drop is as powerful as one pint of the original thing.

Think of the concentrated power of a tiny drop of attar of roses - it has within its tiny space the concentrated odor of thousands of roses; one drop of it will make a pint of extract, and a gallon of weaker perfumery! Think of the concentrated power in a lightning flash, as contrasted with the same amount of electricity diffused over a large area. Or, think of the harmless flash of a small amount of gunpowder ignited in the open air, as contrasted with the ignition of the same amount of powder compelled to escape through the small opening in the gun-barrel.