They failed to tell us just where the Objective left off and the Subjective began. These theories have proved very useful as working hypotheses, enabling us to work into better things, but as permanent solutions of the problems of the mind, they have failed of their purpose, and while tyros in the New Psychology have accepted them eagerly as affording a solution of the entire question, those who have gone deeper into the subject have found it necessary to regard such theories as but imperfect working hypotheses, at the best.

The idea that Man has two minds, is today regarded as only a working-fiction by many of the most careful investigators of the subject. They realize that man has but one mind, functioning along two different planes of effort. I will endeavor to state what I consider a reasonable explanation of the matter. Of necessity, I can merely state the general principles, my space preventing me from going into detail. I am compelled to use terms familiar to those who are acquainted with the theory of the dual minds, but it will be noticed that I use these terms as indicating varying forms of functioning of the same mind, and not as indicating that Man has two minds. I prefer the terms, Conscious thought and Sub-conscious thought to the other terms used by various writers on the subject, as I consider these terms clearer and as more nearly representing the truth.

To the reader who has been accustomed to thinking of the Sub-conscious mind as the higher mind the Soul, in fact—this chapter will prove somewhat confusing and perhaps disappointing. I must ask such a reader to withhold his judgment until he has carefully studied this and the next chapter. He will be able to do this more readily when he rememhers that the Sub-conscious mind which some writers have exalted over its Conscious brother, is also spoken of by the same writers as being the mind that receives all sort of absurd suggestions in the hypnotic state, from the Conscious mind of another, and acts upon them. These same writers speak of the Sub-conscious mind as the Soul of Man, and then in the next chapter inform us that a man in whom the Sub-conscious is developed at the expense of the Conscious becomes a lunatic. If this be true, when a man’s Soul leaves behind its Conscious brother, and passes into the state of pure Sub-consciousness, it becomes a lunatic, and the future life a Bedlam. These people are mistaking half-truths for Truth.

Beyond that which we speak of as Conscious and Sub-conscious, something higher than either, which may be called the Superconscious. I will take up that subject after I have discussed the Conscious and Sub-conscious functions of the mind. Do not confuse the attributes of the Super-conscious faculties with the manifestation of the Sub-conscious functions of the mind. Man has but one mind, but he has many mental faculties, each faculty being capable of functioning along two different lines of mental effort. There are no distinct dividing lines separating the two several functions of a faculty, but they shade into each other as do the colors of the spectrum. A Conscious thought of any faculty of the mind is the result of a direct impulse imparted at the time of the effort.

 A Subconscious thought of any faculty of the mind is the result of either a preceding Conscious thought the same kind; a Conscious thought of another, along the lines of suggestion; thought vibrations from the mind of another; thought impulses from an ancestor, transmitted by the laws of heredity (including impulses transmitted from generation to generation, from the time of the original vibratory impulse imparted by the Primal Cause, which impulses gradually unfold, and unsheath, when the proper state of evolutionary development is reached).

The Conscious thought is new-born—fresh from the mint, whilst the Sub-conscious thought is of less recent creation, and, in fact, is often the result of vibratory impulses imparted in ages long past. The Conscious thought makes its own way, brushing aside the impeding vines, and kicking from its path the obstructing stones. The Sub-conscious thought usually travels along the beaten path. A thought-impulse originally caused by a Conscious thought of a faculty, may become by continued repetition, or habit, strictly automatic, the impulse given it by the repeated Conscious thought developing a strong momentum which carries it on, along Subconscious lines, until stopped by another Conscious thought, or its direction changed by the same cause.

On the other hand, thought-impulses continued along Subconscious lines, may be terminated or corrected by a Conscious thought. The Conscious thought creates, changes or destroys. The Sub-conscious thought carries on the work given it by the Conscious thought, and obeys orders and suggestions. The Conscious thought produces the thought-habit or motionhabit, and imparts to it the vibrations which carry it on along the Sub-conscious lines thereafter. The Conscious thought also has the power to send forth vibrations which neutralize the momentum of the thought-habit; it also is able to launch a new thought-habit or motion-habit with stronger vibrations which overcomes and absorbs the first thought or motion and substitutes the new one.

All thought-impulses, once started on their errands, continue to vibrate along Sub-conscious lines until corrected or terminated by subsequent impulses imparted by the Conscious thought or other controlling power. The continuance of the original impulse adds momentum and force to it, and renders its correction or terminationmore difficult. This explains that which is called “the force of habit.” I think that this will be readily understood by those who have struggled to overcome a habit which had been easily acquired. The Law applies to good habits as well as bad. The moral is obvious. Several of the faculties of the mind often combine to produce a single manifestation. A task to be performed may call for the combined exercise of several faculties, some of which may manifest by Conscious thought and others by Sub-conscious thought.

The meeting of new conditions—new problems—calls for the exercise of Conscious thought, whilst a familiar problem, or task, can be easily handled by the Sub-conscious thought, without the assistance of his more enterprising brother. There is in nature an instinctive tendency of living organisms to perform certain actions; the tendency of an organized body to seek that which satisfies the wants of its organism. This tendency is sometimes called Appetency. It is really a Sub-conscious mental impulse, originating with the impetus imparted by the Primal Cause, and transmitted along the lines of evolutionary development, gaining strength and power as it progresses, grows and unfolds.

Man, the highest type of life yet produced upon this planet, shows the highest form of Sub-conscious mentation, and also a much higher development of Conscious mentation than is seen in the lower animals, and yet the degrees of that power vary widelyamong the different races of men. Even among men of our race, the different degrees of Conscious mentation are plainly noticeable, these degrees not depending, by any means, upon the amount of “culture,” social position, or educational advantages possessed by the individual. Mental Culture and Mental Development are two very different things.

You have but to look around you to see the different stages of the development of Conscious mentation in man. The reasoning of many men is little more than Sub-conscious mentation, exhibiting but little of the qualities of volitional thought. They prefer to let other men think for them. Conscious mentat ion tires them, and they find the instinctive, automatic, Sub-conscious mental process much easier. Their minds work along the lines of least resistance. They are but little more than human sheep.

Among the lower animals and the lower types of men, Conscious mentation is largely confined to the grosser faculties—the more material plane, the higher mental factulties working along the instinctive, automatic lines of the Sub-conscious function. As the lower forms of life progressed in the evolutionary scale, they unfolded new faculties, which were latent within them. These faculties always manifested in the form of rudimentary Sub-conscious thought, and afterwards worked up, through higher Sub-conscious forms, until the Conscious thought was brought into play. The evolutionary process still continues, the invariable tendency being toward the goal of highly developedConscious mentation.

This law of evolution is still in progress, and man is beginning to develop new powers of mind, which, of course, are first manifesting  themselves along lines of Sub-conscious thought. Some men have developed these new faculties to a considerable degree, and it is possible that before long Man will be able to exercise them along the line of their Conscious functions. In fact, this power l’as already been attained by a few. This is the secret of the Oriental occultists, and of some of their Occidental brethren.  We will have more to say on this subject in succeeding chapters.

The amenability of the mind to the Will may be increased by properly directed practice. That which we are in the habit of referring to as the “strengthening of the Will” is in reality the training of the mind to recognize and obey the Power Within.The Will is strong enough; it does not need strengthening, but the mind needs to be trained to receive and act upon the suggestions of the Will. The Will is the outward manifestation of the I AM. The Will current is flowing, in full strength, along the spiritual wires, but you must learn how to raise the trolley-pole to touch it before the mental car will move. This is a somewhat different idea from that which you have been in the habit of receiving from writers on the subject of Will Power, etc., but it is correct, as you will demonstrate to your own satisfaction if you· will follow up the subject by experiments along the proper lines.

The attraction of THE ABSOLUTE is drawing man upward, and the vibratory force of the Primal Impulse has not yet exhausted itself. The time of evolutionary development has come, when man can help himself. The man who understands the Law, can accomplish wonders, by means of the development of the powers of the mind, whilst the man who turns his back upon the truth will suffer from his lack of knowledge of the Law.

He who understands the laws of his mental being, develops his latent powers and uses them intelligently. He does not despise his Sub-conscious mental expressions, but makes good use of them also, and charges them with the duties for which they are best fitted, and is able to obtain wonderful results from their work, having mastered them and trained them to do the bidding of the Higher Self. ‘When they fail to do their work properly, he regulates them, and his knowledge prevents him from meddling with them unintelligently, and thereby doing himself harm. He develops the faculties and powers latent within him, and learns how to manifest them along the line of Conscious mentation as well as Sub-conscious. He knows that the real man within him is the master to whom both Conscious and Sub-conscious mentation are but tools. He has banished Fear, and enjoys Freedom. He has found himself. HE HAS LEARNED THE SECRET 0F I AM.