Self-Empowerment (eBook)

Number Two

Mind Power
William Walker Atkinson (1862–1932)

The self-culture movement introduced the idea that people—no matter what their position in life—can develop themselves into greatness. William Atkinson was the one to demonstrate how it could be done.

Self-culture appealed to the philosophical, as theories about personal awareness impacted the nation. Among those, the most successful provided advice on ways to adjust and succeed in a fast and changing world. For instance, the idea of personal power and divinity in each person increased in popularity. Spiritual beliefs that were grounded in a metaphysical foundation—positive thinking, visualization, thoughts manifesting our reality, and the law of attraction, among others–formed a movement known as New Thought. New Thought, sometimes called “mind cure,” focused on the ability of an individual to control the subconscious mind, which William Walker Atkinson compares to an “immense warehouse into which goods are being carried and stored.”

Atkinson felt that the “selection of goods . . . being stored away” was important. He believed that this “subconscious mentality” could be trained, molded, and shaped “according to the will.” This New Thought provided individuals with the sense they could impact their environment. People could increase control over how they managed their lives and determine what opportunities would be advantageous to them; that power could be achieved through thought and mind control.

Rags-to-riches stories were prevalent. Fantastic stories about successful businessmen and bankers, whom we know as “robber barons” filled newspapers and magazines. Through their ingenuity, inventors became household names. Everyone wanted to have what America’s new role models seemed to have. Business advice was bountiful. However, it was the New Thought and Spiritualists who dominated the marketplace for both business and personal self-help.

And we have seen history repeat itself in the twenty-first century, where the law of attraction and positive thinking are ever-present in books, seminars, and pop culture in general. But digging deep beyond the surface of sound bites and chapter excerpts, we find the teachings of William Walker Atkinson, who used New Thought to heal himself psychologically and emotionally, and continued on to write several books on New Thought and mind power. In these writings we find a plethora of pragmatic instruction for how to engage in positive thinking in order to increase self-esteem, self-awareness, and achieve goals that were previously thought to be unreachable.

In one of his most widely distributed books, Mind-Power: The Secret of Mental Magic, Atkinson wrote, “There exists in nature, a dynamic principle—a mind power—pervading all space—immanent in all things—manifesting in an infinite variety of forms, degrees, and phases.”

Atkinson’s “mind power” is based on principles of positive thinking. The key to success is personal desire. Atkinson refers to the intensity of power within strong-willed individuals as “desire force,” which empowers the strong-willed to accomplish their goals through will power. These two components—will power and desire force—constitute mind power.

Atkinson’s techniques implemented ideas prevalent at the time of Clarke’s philosophy of self-culture. Atkinson created a system to develop mind power that he refers to as “mental architecture.” Excerpts from Atkinson’s work Mind-Power: The Secret of Mental Magic begin by defining the characteristics of those who possess strong mind power. Atkinson provides techniques or exercises to develop and strengthen this mind power. These exercises require meditation practices—practices that will be familiar to those who meditate. They are intended to reinforce our sense of self-esteem and strengthen our resolve to accomplish our goals. Atkinson also describes six qualities one needs to exhibit to achieve mind power:

1. Physical well-being

2. Belief in one’s self

3. Poise

4. Fearlessness

5. Concentration

6. Fixity of purpose

Turning our dreams into reality, according to Atkinson, relies heavily on visualization. “See yourself as you wish to be. See others as you wish them to be. See conditions as you wish them to be,” he instructs. “Think them out. Dream them out. Act them out.” However, Atkinson believed that a positive mental atmosphere through visualization could not be achieved unless resolute will was present—resolute will being comprised of the qualities of determination and persistence. “Those of us who wish to ‘do things’ should keep the flame of desire burning bright.”

Atkinson writes: “Some dynamic individuals have a great deal of desire-force within themselves. Those individuals want to do certain things and want to do them very much. They wish to accomplish certain ends. Their desire becomes an ardent, glowing force that stirs up the desires in those around them, and at the same time incites their will into action. Their desire force combines with will, and wonderful things are accomplished.”

Two studies by Joyce E. Bono, Timothy A. Judge and Edwin Locke indicate that people who have high self-esteem and have a high positive outlook on life tend to perceive their jobs positively. These individuals also seek out jobs that are more personally satisfying and more complex. It appears that, in general, these people constantly and consistently seek challenge and complexity. As a result, these individuals are extremely successful employees.

Study 1: Positive People Think Positive: Participants who indicated a positive self-concept also indicated that they saw their jobs as having positive characteristics.

Study 2: Positive Childhood Personalities Make for Job Satisfaction Later in Life:

The self-assessments gathered in childhood and then in adulthood are highly related and similar. It appears that change occurs through time. However, the basic aspects of personality remain significantly related from childhood to early adulthood.

By providing instructional tools or exercises for those seeking to improve their mental framework, Atkinson acknowledges that attitudes can be improved upon. This notion that positive and productive attitudes can be fostered is supported by modern-day studies.

Dr. Martin E. P. Seligman, a psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania, said it might be possible at least to train people to adapt a somewhat more optimistic outlook. Each year at the University of Pennsylvania, he recruits a group of freshmen to receive “optimism training,” intended to help them cope with the stress of adjustment to college life. He has found that the students who receive the training suffer fewer illnesses throughout college than those who do not.

A study by John F. Helliwell, et al., “The social context of well-being,” used various resources (i.e. U.S. Benchmark Survey) to collect data in order to explore and evaluate areas in individual’s lives such as well-being, happiness and health. The article also covers social capital. Social capital is measured by the strength of family, religion, one’s neighborhood, and ties within their community. The findings support the idea that social capital is strongly linked to subjective well-being. This piece supports Atkinson’s work and ideas on well-being and its powerful impact on one’s life and self-fulfillment.

Atkinson’s philosophy promotes the cultivation of well-being through the power of positive thoughts. Through his own experiences and struggles, Atkinson learned to improve the quality of his own life by adopting this new approach to living. Those who followed his example of having a positive mental attitude experienced greater well-being.

A 2008 study titled “Built Environment and Physical Functioning in Hispanic Elders: The Role of ‘Eyes on the Street’” by Scott C. Brown supports the notion of well-being based on the built environment and discusses how our surroundings (or our attitude toward our surroundings) greatly impact our health and happiness.

The study’s results suggested that architectural features found in a person’s neighborhood may help to promote visual and social contacts among residents—termed “eyes on the street” (Jacobs 1961). These features were significantly associated with the physical functioning of elderly people living in that neighborhood.

Controlling the various systems in the body by maintaining and promoting positive emotions is an approach that supports Atkinson’s idea of mind power applications. A paper by Marco Bischof titled “Synchronization and Coherence as an Organizing Principle in the Organism, Social Interaction, and Consciousness” in NeuroQuantology evaluated how synchronizing the body’s systems and electromagnetic fields can help to optimize its functioning. Bischof’s review of works evaluating synchronization and coherence demonstrate the efficacy of mind-body applications in medicine.

Atkinson’s teachings are not bound by geography, socioeconomics, or age. A current innovative research study in the United Kingdom will evaluate if a new positive thinking program can prevent adolescents from developing depression. In the article, “Positive Thinking Combats Teen Depression” by Rick Nauert, Ph.D, according...