with your mailed fist, demanding masterfully, "Open for me, the Master!" And, lo! it will fly open at your call.
I have shown you that Desire-Force is the great force underlying the phenomena of Mental Magic. But Desire-Force without the aid of the will is like steam unconfined and undirected, and gunpowder fired in the open air—both wasted energy. The will is the lever and director of the great power of desire and without its aid the latter is almost inoperative and ineffectual. Let us examine into the operation of the will.
The will has two offices in connection with desire. These two offices may be spoken of as (1) the directing office; and (2) the protecting office.
The will acts as the arouser, director, restrainer, concentrator, and manager of the great occult force of desire. What is generally known as Will-Power is often in reality merely Desire-Force strongly concentrated and directed to a focus by the power of the will. Remember this, please, for it will enable you to form a better idea of the subject of Will-Power. Often when you hear Will-Power spoken of, whatever is attributed to it is really said of and attributed to Desire-Force controlled, directed, and focused by will. The effort of the will is operated in the direction of this directing, focusing, concentrating, etc., and in the degree that the will is trained to do this so is the degree of "Will-Power" of the individual. Not only is the will able to do this, but it is able also to direct the Desire-Force into the mind of other persons, awakening similar vibrations there, and then by its own power the will is able to direct the Desire-Force of the other persons into action, taking away that office from the will of the other persons, if their will be not strong enough in its protective office to resist the attack.
The idea of Will-Power is more familiar to the minds of people than is that of Desire-Force. All recognize the wonderful power of the will, and know of many instances of great accomplishment by reason of its power. And, yet, how few have stopped to consider that unless there was a preceding desire, there could be no manifestation of will. Unless a person desires, that is, wants to do a thing, he will manifest no Will-Power. But, on the other hand, one may desire to do a thing, and unless the will is aroused and applied, no action will occur. Desire arouses will; and will may stimulate desire. The two act and react upon each other. The two should work in unison, and the trained individual has both under control and pulling well together, like a well-trained team.
Will-Power is more than a mere determination to act, although that mental attitude and action is manifested in Will-Power. It is a living force. Desire is the sister, and will the brother twin. And both, together, manifest that which we know as Dynamic Mentation.
Will-Power is more than a mere mental faculty—it is a mighty attribute, the influence of which may extend far beyond the mind of the person manifesting it. The greatest feats of the occult magicians depend upon telementation operated by trained Will-Power. And the so-called "great" men of history, ancient and modern, had their source of strength in this Will-Power, which they trained and developed to an extraordinary degree.
The exercise of will shows itself in two ways, (1) the mastery of one's own mind; and (2) the mastery of the minds of others. The second is well nigh impossible unless the first be accomplished. One must first train his mind so that he will hold it firmly in the grasp of the will, and prevent it from jumping this way and that way, instead of moving ahead to its purpose. When one has so trained his mind to be obedient to his will, that it can be held steady and "one-pointed," as the Hindus say, then is he in a position to direct his mentative currents upon others to the best advantage. But so long as his mind is in a stage of disorganization, one faculty pulling this way, and another that way, and so on, he cannot hope to concentrate upon others the force that is being wasted in keeping order at home. When the mind is mastered by the will, then may new territory be conquered.
The term, Will-Power, is commonly used in connection with the manifestation of firmness, or determination. The determined will is known as a mighty factor toward attainment and accomplishment. And I think it well to consider this fact at this point, for back of all outward manifestations of mentative influence along active lines, lies this determined will of the individual. The more determined and firm the will of the individual, the stronger the mentative influence emitted and emanated by him. This statement should not require proof, for its truth is apparent to all who have made a study of man and his powers. It has been recognized by writers in all times. Here are a few quotations that will tend to fix the matter firmly in your mind, and create in you a desire to manifest the determined will—the lever that directs and concentrates Mind-Power.
Buxton said: "The longer I live, the more certain I am that the great difference between men, between the feeble and the powerful, the great and the insignificant, is energy—invincible determination or a purpose once fixed, and then victory or death. That quality will do anything that can be done in this world—and no talents, no circumstances, no opportunities will make a two-legged creature a man without it."
Donald G. Mitchell said: "Resolve is what makes a man manifest; not puny resolve, not crude determination, not errant purpose—but that strong and indefatigable will which treads down difficulties and danger, as a boy treads down the heaving frostlands of winter; which kindles his eye and brain with a proud pulse-beat toward the unattainable. Will makes men giants."
Disraeli said: "I have brought myself by long meditation to the conviction that a human being with a settled purpose must accomplish it, and that nothing can resist a will which will stake even existence upon its fulfillment."
Sir John Simpson said: "A passionate desire and an unwearied will can perform impossibilities, or what may seem to be such to the cold and feeble."
John Foster said: "It is wonderful how even the casualties of life seem to bow to a spirit that will not bow to them, and yield to subserve a design which they may, in their first apparent tendency, threaten to frustrate. When a firm, decisive spirit is recognized, it is curious to see how the space clears around a man and leaves him room and freedom."
As we have seen, the use of the will as the projector of mentative currents is the real base of all mentative induction, under whatever name it may manifest. And the phase of will known as telementation is the form the results of which strike the observer with the greatest force. The will currents of a strong man reach out far beyond the limits of his brain, and influence people and things, causing them to be inclined toward his wishes. Many men have worked their will upon others far removed, and much that is known as thought-transference, telepathy, mental influence, etc., is really this working of the will currents over space. What occultists have called "thought-forms," etc., are really manifestations of the energy of the will. Will is a living force, that can be projected and operated at a distance. It has a property of reacting upon others, and permeating them with a mental essence not their own, unless they repel the invasion or fortify themselves against the aggression.
Desire and will are more elementary forms of mentation than thought. They underlie thought. Without desire and will there can he no thought. They ever precede thought; and are closely allied to the essence of what we call "feeling." Many people live almost altogether on the feeling plane, and exercise but little thought. The infant feels, desires and wills before it can think. Desire and will are really the medium from which thought is evolved.
A modern writer on mysticism has said: "There is no force in the universe except will-force," meaning, of course, the great natural force of energy called will, of which desire and will in man are expressions. Desire is a natural force, and can be used, managed, controlled and directed just as can be any other natural force. And what we know as Will-Power is the positive phase of directed desire. The Orientals have trained and cultivated this Will-Power to degrees that seem miraculous to the Western mind, and by this trained Will-Power they perform the so-called "miracles" that confound the Western scientist. But even the 'West has its men of "Iron Will," whose influence is felt on all sides, and whose power is openly acknowledged by the public. In the East these men are generally hermits and sages, while in the West they are generally "men of action," leaders, "captains of industry," etc.
Mind-Power is the essence of all mentative induction. It includes the positive, forcing, impelling, compelling, driving phase called will as its motive pole, and as its emotive pole it has that attracting, drawing, pulling, luring, charming, fascinating, something that we call desire. Mind-Power