N.S.B. Psychology

This page will take you into articles of psychology that are carefully selected. Emphasis and highlights are mostly ours, not made by the original author.

Here is our current selection:

The Magic of Believing (1948) by Claude Bristol

9. Belief Makes Things Happen

In 1944 a popular magazine ran a story about a group of scientists in Chicago who were experimenting with moths. A female moth of rare species was placed in a room, and a male moth of the same species was released four miles away. In a few hours, the male moth was found beating its wings against the window of the room in which the female was confined. The editor declared that he believed that ideas fly -- with the sureness with which the female moth communicated her whereabouts to the male -- across incredible barriers to the one mind for which they are originally intended.

Here is a simple experiment that will make you wonder whether the birds don't possess telepathic or clairvoyant power. Put some scraps of bread in the backyard. There isn't a bird in sight. But hardly have you entered the house before birds begin to congregate. First come sparrows, then wrens. In two or three minutes, the yard is filled with birds. Put out anything but food, and not a bird appears. What brings them to your yard? How do they know the bread is food for them? Science can give no answers.

In his broadcast of February 17, 1947, Edwin C. Hill stated that the more scientists investigate, the more they are convinced that birds and insects have a wireless of their own or some other invisible manner of communication with one another. This theory has long been expounded by nature students, and many books have been written on the subject, notably one by William J. Long, How Animals Talk.

During World War II, the Army Signal Corps experimented with carrier pigeons and short-wave radio. They found that the pigeons were affected by the radio waves and often, when confused, flew in circles and were lost. Consider that the swallows of San Juan Capistrano, California, fly away each October 23 and return each March 19 with unfailing punctuality. Tagged salmon released from Columbia River points spend four years in the Pacific Ocean, then consistently return to the spots from which they departed. Cats and dogs taken many miles from their homes have returned. Wild ducks and geese wing their way back to their original localities. Are we not faced with the fact that telepathic forces operate in the fish, bird, and animal kingdoms, in fact, in everything around us?

Some writers claim that all living things have the means of communicating with each other, and this may not be so farfetched after all. Early in 1945, radio listeners heard the voices of blinded soldiers telling of their experiences in "facial sight," through which they were able to detect objects in their paths through a sixth sense or kind of "mental radar." Dr. Jacob Levine, a Boston psychologist, had charge of the school at Old Farms, in the Avon district of Connecticut where war blinded veterans were taught the use of this sixth sense. He declared that he could not explain its mechanics, but he knew that it worked. This "facial sight" is based on the hypothesis that the body radiates definite rays of an unknown variety which, coming into contact with an object, assemble or group themselves in such form as to make a picture of it, after which they return, still bearing the picture, to the blinded person, who "sees" the returning rays as they radiate through his body.

I have long been convinced that various forms of telepathy or thought-transmission are used every day of our lives, far more than most people suspect. I believe that many leaders, preachers, orators, executives, and socalled super-salesmen, exercise the power to varying degrees, some unconsciously and others thoroughly conscious of its workings. We meet a person, and before a word is spoken, we experience a like or dislike. What causes the feeling to register but some form of thought-transmission? I have already stated that the only possible explanation of healing and affecting others at a distance is through the medium of this phenomenon, of which we are only now beginning to get a scientific explanation.

I have often sat in a famous lawyer's office as he dictated letters concerning business affairs. When he dictated, he always paced the floor, and his concentration was intense. Once I asked him why he stood while dictating -- and how it happened that his letters always accomplished the end intended.

"In the first place," he replied, "I think better on my feet. Before I start dictating and during the whole period that I talk, I visualize before me the person to whom I write the letter. If I do not know him, I try to picture him as I think he may look. In both cases, I direct all my words to him in person, as though he were actually before me in the flesh and tell him mentally that my premises are right and that he should follow them."

A successful book saleswoman told me that if a customer really wanted to purchase a book, but was hesitating between two choices, she would keep repeating to herself -- but directing her thought to the customer -- the title of the one best suited to him. She added that many of her sales were made by thought-directive power. An automobile executive told me that when he had a prospect, he always said to himself, "You're going to buy this car, you're going to buy this car" -- and the prospect did.

Very few people like to believe they are influenced by the silent thoughts of others when it comes to a matter of doing anything. But the fact remains that this invisible power exists, and all of us are subject to this subtle influence, be it telepathy or anything else you want to call it. A little experimenting on your part will convince you that it is both formidable and active.

I am certain that mothers unknowingly use it on their children, and often children use it on their parents. Not infrequently husbands and wives use it on one another, especially where a man and wife are closely attuned to one another. You who are married and have never used this science have a new field to explore!

One of the most striking examples of this subtle influence in action came to my attention several years ago. The president of a company I had been helping was dissatisfied with his sales manager, but because of the man's many years of service he didn't wish to discharge him. "I was at my wits' end," he told me, "when I suddenly got the idea that I could suggest to him mentally that he ought to resign and become a salesman instead of remaining as manager. I thought about it for hours one night. The first thing next morning, he came into my office, saying that he would like to resign as manager, since he felt that he could make more money by getting out on the street as a salesman.

"I nearly fell off my chair. I don't know whether I was guilty of using some sort of magic. But my conscience is clear, because the man today is making twice as much money as he did as sales manager. He's much happier, and we're all going to town."

A husband and wife once came to see me. The man told me that until a few months before our meeting, he had been one of the largest clothing manufacturers in the Midwest, but had sold out and was now traveling the country. "For more than thirty years," he said, "I had been a member of one of the largest and oldest secret organizations in the world which embraces this theme of believing from A to Izzard. But I, like thousands of others, never had my mind opened to it and I never realized the 'truths' contained therein. However, several years ago I attended a series of lectures on the subject of mind control, and for the first time my eyes were opened to what a wonderful power man could make available for himself. I could see how it would work in our business to tremendous advantage, and I used it. Needless to say, our business started to increase as soon as I put it to work, and it has been increasing ever since. During the Depression, when firms like ours were having a terrific struggle, we consistently made money, and when I sold out my interests, I can say with all modesty that I was at the top."

At this point his wife entered the conversation: "Before he started, my husband wouldn't openly scoff at me when I talked about this subject and what I had learned at the lectures. But he believed I was wasting my time. I just knew there was something to it, and I was certain that if my husband could get hold of it, it would mean a great deal more business for him. I talked and talked to him about attending the lectures, and then one day I realized I was doing the wrong thing. Instead of talking to him, I should use the very science I had been taught. I went at it with a vengeance. Several times a day, both my daughter and I kept repeating to ourselves mentally, 'Dad is going to go, Dad is going to go.' It took us nearly three weeks, but Dad did go."

Here the husband broke in:

"You speak about your tap-tap idea. Well, she certainly worked it on me. When she first talked about what she had heard at the lectures, I just couldn't believe them to be true. I had been brought up in a very practical business world, and couldn't get myself to believe in many of the socalled abstract things. However, one day 'something' impelled me to go with her. I didn't know at the time that the 'something' was my wife's mental suggestion, and I had no idea that she and my daughter had been working on me. However, it was the greatest thing that ever happened to me. After the first lecture, I did some experimenting, and our business began to improve -- and continued to improve until the day I sold out.

"Don't get me wrong. I am not religious in an orthodox sense, and what I talk about is not goody-goody stuff, but an exact science. What we think or contemplate develops into reality. We radiate our thoughts, perhaps unconsciously, to others, and we affect them. We give forth vibrations of dislike or hatred which we engender in ourselves -- and, bingo, they come right back and floor us. All one needs to do is to study and understand the law of cause and effect, and it all becomes plain.

"Thought has been referred to as a powerful unseen influence, and so it is. There are so few people you can talk with on this. Most people ignorant of the subject look at you askance when you mention something about it, and now I understand why Jesus spoke in parables. However, it probably won't be many years before people generally are into the subject up to their ears. Thousands of enlightened people are recognizing that we are on the threshold of great developments in thought power, and the number is rapidly increasing. I wonder why more men don't catch hold of it and apply it in their businesses, but I guess most are like I used to be -- they keep their minds closed, and no one ever takes the trouble to work on them as my wife did on me. All a person has to do is to believe, earnestly and sincerely, that such a power of mind exists and then conscientiously apply the science. It's all just as you say: when one starts tapping the subconscious mind -- your own or others -- the bricks fall into place as though by magic. Does it work? And how!"

Alfred F. Parker, a highly respected general insurance agent in the Pacific Northwest, wrote to me in 1937, in connection with the use of this science. I do not know whether Mr. Parker was even interested in the subject of telepathy, but he thoroughly believed in the efficacy of belief. His letter speaks for itself:

Recently I had an opportunity to put into further practice your tap-tap idea, and I thought that you might be interested in knowing the circumstances. I have a small son who on December 29, 1936, picked up some obscure infection. For days he lay desperately ill in the hospital. There was grave doubt that he would live. I was in terrible anguish, but I resolved to meet the situation as best I could. Taking a tip from you, I put his picture on my desk and carried another in my pocket. Every hour of the day I looked at them and repeated to myself, "He will recover, he will recover."

At first I felt I was lying to myself, as he hardly seemed to have an even chance. However, I kept it up and gradually found myself believing what I kept repeating. At just about that time, thanks to the best medical and nursing attention and some of a friend's blood transfused to him, the boy actually did begin to recover. He is now at home and regaining his strength fast.

It may have been mere coincidence that the time when empty words began to turn into belief was the time when recovery began. But at least such coincidence is worthy of note.

Some people have walked into a darkened room and felt the presence of someone there, even before a word was uttered. Certainly, nothing but the vibrations of some unseen individual could have indicated his presence to the other person. Evidence of telepathy? What do you think? It is maintained that if, at the entry of the second person, the first person in the room thinks of something entirely foreign to himself and dismisses all thought of the possibility of his discovery, the second person will not sense his presence. Thousands of people have thought of someone, only to hear from them or see them shortly thereafter, without giving any heed to the phenomena involved. These experiences are usually considered coincidences. But isn't the power of thought the real explanation? Anyone with an open mind and willing to read and experiment will sooner or later conclude that the phenomena of psychokinesis and telepathy are realities, and, as investigators have pointed out, that these powers are latent in everyone, though developed to varying degrees.

Hudson, in his Law of Psychic Phenomena, originally published in 1893, recounted numerous experiments to prove the existence of telepathy, among them one that made use of playing cards. One member of a group of people was blindfolded, after which another member selected a card, and the others present were told to concentrate on it. The blindfolded person was then asked to name it, according to the first mental impression he received. The results were further proof of the validity of telepathy.

Here is a simple experiment that may be carried out by only three people. Cut from a magazine five colored slips of paper, each about half an inch wide and three inches long. The more vivid the colors (such as bright red or electric blue), the better, but be sure to have them quite distinct from one another. One person should then place them fan-wise between the thumb and forefinger of their right hand, as you would hold a hand of cards. Let a second person touch any one of the colored slips, without being seen by the third person. Immediately after this, the person holding the slips concentrates their mind on the colored slip selected, with a view of communicating the information to the mind of the third person, who is then asked to indicate which slip the second person touched.

The third person's decision must be immediate and spontaneous, and they should either make their mind a blank or be thinking of something entirely remote from the experiment. That is, they should not attempt to guess, deliberate, or consciously try to think of the color of the slip selected, but should act immediately upon the first mental impulse they receive. The number of times the third person will name the colored slip selected by the second person will astound you. With a little practice, people who are more or less en rapport (such as a husband holding the slips and the wife acting as the third person, after some second person has previously indicated a choice) will make an even higher score of successes. I have seen this done twenty to thirty times without a single miss.

Here again, belief must come into play. The holder of the slips must possess not just the ability to maintain an unwavering concentration, but the strong belief that he or she can transmit the image of the color to the third person's mind.

Let me interpose a word of caution. This experiment, as well as others outlined in this book, should never be attempted in the presence of scoffers or those who profess disbelief in psychic phenomena. Their negative thoughts may confuse and obstruct the free flow of your own, especially if their skepticism is aggressive. Always remember that belief is a power operating destructively or constructively, depending upon the end to which it is employed. (Dr Rhine discovered that disbelieving could depress the results in the psychokinesis tests.) In addition, Dr. G.R. Schmeidler of the Harvard Psychological Clinic, where extensive experiments in telepathy have been made, pointed out that subjects who maintain that telepathy is a myth invariably show scores far below chance. Once more, we see the magic of believing in action. Believe that it will work, and it will. Believe that it will not work, and it won't!

The great French astronomer and scientist, Camille Flammarion, was an early exponent of thought-transmission. He held somewhat to the theory later advanced by Professors Eddington and Jeans, claiming that there was mind not only in human and animal life, but in everything -- in plants, minerals, even space -- and he declared that mind gleams through every atom.

Early in 1947, Dr. Phillips Thomas publicly announced that upon retiring, he intended to devote his time to research in the field of telepathy. Dr. Thomas said, "You may think I'm crazy, but I intend to devote my time to research in this field. We can't conceive scientifically how [telepathy] could come about, but neither can we explain the apparent success of 'mind readers.' "

This announcement caused the Portland Oregonian to comment editorially:

Before you exclaim, "Ha, another crackpot!" reflect that Dr. Phillips Thomas is an eminent scientist who for many years has been research engineer with the Westinghouse Company. Now he elects to become an explorer of that last dark continent, the human mind ...

It must be evident to the veriest skeptic that Dr. Thomas, international authority on electronics, is convinced -- by evidence not lightly to be dismissed -- that in our sedulous application to what may be called conventional science, we have rather stupidly neglected those challenging phenomena which in times past bore the stigma of sorcery and witchcraft ...

The proper and rational attitude toward the seeming phenomena of the mind -- if that is what they are is one of scientific inquiry which, though rigorously exacting, will not resist conviction when incontestable proof has been obtained. Actually there can be no such thing as a supernatural phenomenon, but only the manifestation of natural law as yet unknown to us. Nor is it without precedent, this decision of a distinguished scientist to attempt penetration of the unknown continent of the mind ... Dogmatic disbelief, not infrequently manifested by scientists toward telepathy and similar manifestations, is far from a scientific attitude.

What profit to mankind is there in the quest to which Dr. Thomas presently shall address himself? This is a most difficult question for it may be that the inner secrets are, indeed, inviolable. But if of this research comes a better understanding of ourselves, and of the forces latent in mind, the knowledge might liberate more happiness for the race.

In the late 1940s, much was written about Robert R. Young, the aggressive and energetic chairman of the Board of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway, and his plans for railroad improvement and development. While I never saw anything in print stating that Mr. Young utilized the subconscious, anyone knowing anything about the subject would conclude that Mr. Young relied greatly upon it for his ideas. An article in Life Magazine early in 1947 stated that Mr. Young believed in "extrasensory perception" and that he could "become almost mystical about getting off by himself and 'feeling a truth.' "

Whether it be mind, as we understand the general usage of the word, or electrical vibrations of some kind, the conclusion is that the phenomena themselves embrace and pervade everything, call them what you wish. So when we consider the subconscious of a single individual as only an infinitesimal part of the whole and the vibrations there from extending to and embracing everything, we get a better understanding of psychokinesis, telepathy, and kindred phenomena.

In explaining psychokinesis, Dr. Rhine pointed out that if a person is to be successful in the experiments, there must be a mental attitude of expectancy, concentration of thought, and enthusiasm for the desired results. Again we have the magic of believing at work. The subject must have a prior belief that they can influence the fall of the dice. Belief is the basic factor in the ability to demonstrate psychokinesis (control of mind over matter) and telepathy -- as was also confirmed in experiments at Duke University. New York Herald Tribune science editor, John J. O'Neill, reported that in these experiments, it was possible to "kid" a person out of their power to demonstrate psychokinesis and telepathy.

He told how a young woman distracted one of the young men attempting to control the fall of the dice, and scoffed at his professed ability to demonstrate his power of mind over matter. She succeeded in injecting such a strong negative factor that she weakened his belief in himself and ruined his score for the day. Mr. O'Neill made an interesting speculation when he went on to say, "The converse of this experiment, still to be made, would test the possibilities for improving the score by a confidence-inspiring pep talk."

In view of the thousands of experiments made at Duke and other universities, it is apparent that scores improve when the experimenters believe and are confident of the results. Also, nothing is more logical than that pep talks should help those who lack confidence or belief, and thus should improve their scores. If golf shots can be influenced by mental attitudes or proper visualization, and the "galloping ivories" turn up at the players' mental command, who is to say that events are not influenced by thought? Before us, this field is gradually yielding some secrets of the ancient mysteries. Isn't the socalled luck factor in reality brought about by powerful thought vibrations, rather than coincidence or chance? Writers, long before the experiments at Duke, declared that luck came about from a determined mind -- a combination of visualizing, concentrated thought, willing, and believing. Think about this in connection with yourself and the goals you have set for yourself, for in it lies the primary secret of this science.

Gamblers often apply the word "hot" to card players or crap shooters when they have a winning streak. When the hot period wears off, the gamblers either quit the game or begin to lose. What is this streak of good luck? Nothing more than an all-knowing feeling, a deep-rooted belief that they can win. Even in gambling, the magic of believing plays a major role.

Of course, this book is not written for professional gamblers, but for sincere men and women who wish to succeed in life. I refer to games of chance only to provide further evidence that concentrated thought, expectancy, and steadfast belief actually set in motion vibratory forces that bring about material manifestations.

As I stated before, charms, amulets, and talismans have no power in themselves. But those who believe in them firmly and unquestionably tend to develop the kind of force or power now known as psychokinetic. I have tried to make plain how this belief can be developed to take you up the ladder as far as you wish to go. I must point out, though, that it is easy to lose one's belief or faith. Thousands have risen to great heights of success, only to stumble and fall to undreamed-of depths. Others, seeking health, have appeared to be more or less miraculously cured, only to find that their ailments recur years or even months later. There are many weakening factors and influences -- all suggestive in nature -- which, in unguarded moments, we allow to slip into our subconscious minds. Once there, they begin their destructive work and undo all the good our constructive forces accomplished. So step out in front, head toward the sun. Keep facing it, and dark shadows will not cross your path.

I realize it's difficult for the average person who knows nothing of this subject to accept the idea that all is within. But even as far as the most materialistic person is concerned, nothing exists for them unless they have knowledge of it or unless it becomes fixed in their consciousness. The images created in their mind give reality to the world outside of them. Therefore happiness, sought by many and found by few, is a matter entirely within ourselves. Your environment and the everyday happenings of life have absolutely no effect on your happiness except as you permit mental images of the outside to enter your consciousness. Happiness is wholly independent of position, wealth, or material possessions. It is a state of mind which we ourselves have the power to control -- and that control lies with our thinking.

"Consider that everything is opinion, and opinion is in thy power," said the great philosopher Marcus Aurelius Antonius. "Take away then, when thou choosest, thy opinion; and like a mariner who has doubled the promontory

, thou wilt find calm, everything stable, and a waveless bay."

Emerson asked, "What is the hardest task in the world? To think." This is obviously so, when one considers that most of us are victims of mass thinking and feed upon suggestions from others. We all know that the law of cause and effect is inviolable. Yet how many of us ever pause to consider its workings? Many times, the entire course of a man's life has been changed by a single thought coming to him in a flash. History is replete with strong-minded, resolutely willed individuals who, steadfastly holding to their inner convictions, have been able to inspire their fellow-man. In the face of tremendous and determined opposition, they have created literally out of nothing great businesses, huge empires, and altered the whole current of human events.

They had no monopoly of thought-power. You and every other man and woman have it. All you have to do is to use it. You will then become the person you envisage in your imagination; for with the working of the law of cause and effect, you bring into your life the new elements which your most dominant thoughts create from within and attract from outside.

Positive creative thought leads to action and ultimate realization. But the real power, much more than action itself, is the thought. Remember always, "Whatever man can conceive mentally, he can bring into materialization." If the proper mental pictures are created and constantly maintained, health, wealth, and happiness must follow, for the law of cause and effect is immutable.

"Know Thyself." Know your power. Read and reread this book until it becomes a part of your daily life. Faithfully use the cards and the mirror technique, and you will get results far beyond your fondest expectations. Just believe that there is genuine creative magic in believing -- and magic there will be, for belief will supply the power for you to succeed in everything you undertake. Back your belief with a resolute will, and you become unconquerable, a master among men -- yourself.

Replay?