Think and Grow Rich Workbook-Chapter 12 - The Subconscious Mind

THINK and GROW RICH

Original 1937 Classic Edition of

Think and Grow Rich

By

Napoleon Hill

Workbook Edition By Bill Marshall www.poweraffirmations.com

http://www.poweraffirmations.com/�

THINK and GROW RICH:

The 1937 Original Edition

Teaching, for the first time, the famous Andrew Carnegie formula for money-making, based upon the THIRTEEN PROVEN STEPS TO RICHES. Organized through 25 years of research, in collaboration with more than 500 distinguished men of great wealth, who proved by their own achievements that this philosophy is practical.

By

Napoleon Hill

Author of the

THE LAW OF SUCCESS

Philosophy

WORKBOOK EDITION BY Bill MARSHALL

Published by Bill Marshall

www.poweraffirmations.com

http://www.poweraffirmations.com/�

Workbook Portion by Bill Marshall Copyright © 2013 by Bill Marshall. All Rights Reserved.

This is an ebook reproduction of the complete and original 1937 version of Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, originally published by The Ralston Society and now in the public domain.

This edition published by Bill Marshall with reference numbers and workbook portion by Bill Marshall is not sponsored or endorsed by or otherwise affiliated with Napoleon Hill, his family and heirs, the Napoleon Hill Foundation, The Ralston Society, or any other person or entity.

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I first read about the subconscious mind in Think and Grow Rich. I believe that your ability to consciously influence your subconscious mind is the master key to the Think and Grow Rich philosophy. This is taking control of your own mind. Your subconscious mind is the “connecting link” between your brain and Infinite Intelligence. Understanding and being able to deliberately coordinate the harmonious relationship between your conscious and subconscious mind is a critical life skill. The primary tool I personally use to coordinate the interaction between my conscious and subconscious mind is auto-suggestion. Auto-suggestion includes using affirmations, but is not limited to using affirmations. It includes any technique you use to plant suggestions in your subconscious mind. So, auto-suggestion includes vision boards, visualization, reading and listening to books and seminars, reviewing your goal card, etc. The key is that you do it with the purpose of positively influencing your subconscious mind. This means mixing intent and emotion with whatever means you choose to influence your subconscious mind. Even though this chapter is short, it is deep with meaning. I recommend that you study this chapter several times in order to fully sort out and understanding these ideas.

CHAPTER 12

THE SUBCONSCIOUS MIND

THE CONNECTING LINK

The Eleventh Step toward Riches 1 THE SUBCONSCIOUS MIND consists of a field of consciousness, in which every impulse of thought that reaches the objective mind (the conscious mind) through any of the five senses, is classified and recorded, and from which thoughts may be recalled or withdrawn as letters may be taken from a filing cabinet. “Every impulse of thought that reaches the objective or conscious mind through any of the five senses is classified and recorded, and from which thoughts may be recalled or withdrawn as letters may be taken from a filing cabinet.” The implications behind this one statement are profound:

• Impulses of thought reach you through your five physical senses—sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell. This is why controlling your environment is so important.

Chapter 12 – The Subconsious Mind

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As much as possible, you want to exercise as much control as possible over what is exposed to your 5 senses.

• Everything that reaches your conscious mind through your 5 senses is classified and recorded.

• You may consciously choose to withdraw memories at any time.

2 It receives, and files, sense impressions or thoughts, regardless of their nature. You may VOLUNTARILY plant in your subconscious mind any plan, thought, or purpose which you desire to translate into its physical or monetary equivalent. The subconscious acts first on the dominating desires which have been mixed with emotional feeling, such as faith. It is this principle that makes auto-suggestion so powerful. You can choose to voluntarily plant ideas into your mind. This can be done through the repetition of affirmations, meditation, prayer, vision boards, visualization, dream building trips, etc. You have a choice: you can drift through life and allow your environment to unconsciously condition your subconscious mind. This is what most people do. In this case, success is a matter of chance or luck. If you are fortunate enough to be around positive people and in a positive environment, then those thoughts will help you succeed. But if you don’t want to leave your success to mere chance or luck—if you want to play an active role in your own success—then you need to purposely feed positive thought impulses to your subconscious mind. You do this using your five senses. This is why you write out your definite chief aim so you can physically see the description. This is why you read your description so you can hear it. The more you engage your five physical senses with the idea of your definite chief aim, the more likely you are to achieve it.


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Describe in your own words, the process of “planting” thoughts, plans, ideas into your subconscious mind.

3 Consider this in connection with the instructions given in the chapter on DESIRE, for taking the six steps there outlined, and the instructions given in the chapter on the building and execution of plans, and you will understand the importance of the thought conveyed. Again Napoleon Hill refers back to the six steps described in chapter 2. Can you see that these steps play a central role in the Think and Grow Rich philosophy? As I have in previous chapters, I will here repeat the six steps so you can see them here without having to refer back to them:

First. Fix in your mind the exact amount of money you desire. It is not sufficient merely to say “I want plenty of money.” Be definite as to the amount. (There is a psychological reason for definiteness which will be described in a subsequent chapter).

Second. Determine exactly what you intend to give in return for the money you

desire. (There is no such reality as “something for nothing.) Third. Establish a definite date when you intend to possess the money you

desire. Fourth. Create a definite plan for carrying out your desire, and begin at once,

whether you are ready or not, to put this plan into action.


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Fifth. Write out a clear, concise statement of the amount of money you intend to

acquire, name the time limit for its acquisition, state what you intend to give in return for the money, and describe clearly the plan through which you intend to accumulate it.

Sixth. Read your written statement aloud, twice daily, once just before retiring at

night, and once after arising in the morning. AS YOU READ—SEE AND FEEL AND BELIEVE YOURSELF ALREADY IN POSSESSION OF THE MONEY.

4 THE SUBCONSCIOUS MIND WORKS DAY AND NIGHT. Through a method of procedure, unknown to man, the subconscious mind draws upon the forces of Infinite Intelligence for the power with which it voluntarily transforms one’s desires into their physical equivalent, making use, always of the most practical media by which this end may be accomplished. “The subconscious mind works day and night.” Your subconscious mind continues to work even when you sleep. This is why it is useful to review your definite chief aim just before you go to sleep. In fact, you can give your subconscious mind orders just before you go to sleep and often it will give you fresh ideas for carrying out those orders when you wake up. 5 You cannot entirely control your subconscious mind, but you can voluntarily hand over to it any plan, desire, or purpose which you wish transformed into concrete form. Read, again, instructions for using the subconscious mind, in the chapter on auto-suggestion. Using affirmations is one of the easiest and most effective ways of conditioning your subconscious mind. I would recommend studying the chapters on Faith and Auto-Suggestion with this chapter in order to fully understand Hill’s thoughts about how to influence your subconscious mind. 6 There is plenty of evidence to support the belief that the subconscious mind is the connecting link between the finite mind of man and Infinite Intelligence. It is the intermediary through which one may draw upon the forces of Infinite Intelligence at will. It, alone, contains the secret process by which mental impulses are modified and changed into their spiritual equivalent. It, alone, is the medium through which prayer may be transmitted to the source capable of answering prayer. These statements are quite profound in their implications. Here is how the process works as I understand it:

• Use your conscious mind to condition or influence your subconscious mind.


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• Your subconscious mind “communicates” your desires to Infinite Intelligence (but only after they have been strongly impressed on the subconscious).

• Infinite Intelligence answers your desires by providing solutions in the form of ideas to your subconscious mind.

• Your conscious mind receives the ideas from your subconscious mind in the form

of hunches.

• You act on the ideas you receive using your conscious mind. There are areas where the process may breakdown or work against a person. For example, a person, through ignorance of the process, may allow their subconscious mind to be influenced by outside forces and ideas without challenging them. This is what is meant by “drifting.” A person may choose not to pay attention to the ideas received from Infinite Intelligence. Or they may choose not to act on them. One of the common causes for choosing to not act on ideas from Infinite Intelligence is indecision, doubt, and fear. These are three enemies you must defeat at ALL costs. This usually happens so naturally that a person is not even aware that they are setting up limitations within their own minds. 7 The possibilities of creative effort connected with the subconscious mind are stupendous and imponderable. They inspire one with awe. 8 I never approach the discussion of the subconscious mind without a feeling of littleness and inferiority due, perhaps, to the fact that man’s entire stock of knowledge on this subject is so pitifully limited. The very fact that the subconscious mind is the medium of communication between the thinking mind of man and Infinite Intelligence is, of itself, a thought which almost paralyzes one’s reason. 9 After you have accepted, as a reality, the existence of the subconscious mind, and understand its possibilities as a medium for transforming your DESIRES into their physical or monetary equivalent, you will comprehend the full significance of the instructions given in the chapter on DESIRE. You will also understand why you have been repeatedly admonished to MAKE YOUR DESIRES CLEAR, AND TO REDUCE THEM TO WRITING. You will also understand the necessity of PERSISTENCE in carrying out instructions. When you understand the workings of the subconscious mind, here are the three understandings Hill said you will receive:

1. The full significance of the instructions given in the chapter on DESIRE. These are the 6 steps already repeated earlier in this chapter.


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2. Why you need to make your desires clear and reduce them to writing.

3. The necessity of persistence in carrying out the instructions. Take a few minutes to explain these points here:


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10 The thirteen principles are the stimuli with which you acquire the ability to reach, and to influence your subconscious mind. Do not become discouraged, if you cannot do this upon the first attempt. Remember that the subconscious mind may be voluntarily directed only through habit, under the directions given in the chapter on FAITH. You have not yet had time to master faith. Be patient. Be persistent. 11 A good many statements in the chapters on faith and auto-suggestion will be repeated here, for the benefit of YOUR subconscious mind. Remember, your subconscious mind functions voluntarily, whether you make any effort to influence it or not. This, naturally, suggests to you that thoughts of fear and poverty, and all negative thoughts serve as stimuli to your subconscious mind, unless, you master these impulses and give it more desirable food upon which it may feed. Your subconscious mind will be influenced. That’s part of being human. The question is are you going to take personal control of the process of influencing your subconscious mind or are you going to delegate that to others by default? If you do not make a conscious effort to influence your subconscious mind, it will still be influenced by your environment and circumstances. A person who allows their subconscious mind to be solely influenced by their environment is a drifter. Their success or failure will be a matter of chance or luck. Given that most of the influences in our environment are negative, the luck of most drifters is bad. But you are studying a philosophy that allows you to take control of your own mind. And when you take control of your own mind, you can write your own ticket and demand that life provide you with whatever you desire that does not violate universal law or the rights of others. 12 The subconscious mind will not remain idle! If you fail to plant DESIRES in your subconscious mind, it will feed upon the thoughts which reach it as the result of your neglect. We have already explained that thought impulses, both negative and positive are reaching the subconscious mind continuously, from the four sources which were mentioned in the chapter on Sex Transmutation. 13 For the present, it is sufficient if you remember that you are living daily, in the midst of all manner of thought impulses which are reaching your subconscious mind, without your knowledge. Some of these impulses are negative, some are positive. You are now engaged in trying to help shut off the flow of negative impulses, and to aid in voluntarily influencing your subconscious mind, through positive impulses of DESIRE. 14 When you achieve this, you will possess the key which unlocks the door to your subconscious mind. Moreover, you will control that door so completely, that no undesirable thought may influence your subconscious mind.


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Can you identify negative thought impulses that you have allowed to influence your subconscious mind in the past? Where do you think those negative thoughts came from? What impact has those negative thoughts had on your results? On your life?


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Can you identify positive thought impulses that you have allowed to influence your subconscious mind in the past? Where do you think those positive thoughts came from? What impact has those positive thoughts had on your results? On your life?


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What specific actions can you take to “shut off the flow of negative impulses, and to aid in voluntarily influencing your subconscious mind, through positive impulses of DESIRE.”

The purpose of this exercise is to help you identify what you are thinking at all times. Then to help you classify those thoughts as negative or positive. Once you classify your thoughts as negative or positive, you can take steps to eliminate negative thoughts by the simple act of switching your mind to positive thoughts. This can be as simple as changing the channel on your television set from a show you don’t like to a show you do like. But before it becomes that easy, you have to recognize what is happening and then take conscious control of the situation. Do this often enough and changing your thoughts from negative to positive will become an automatic habit.


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Eventually, you will begin to notice fewer and fewer negative thoughts. The goal is to make the habit so strong that you only think positive thoughts. 15 Everything which man creates, BEGINS in the form of a thought impulse. Man can create nothing which he does not first conceive in THOUGHT. Through the aid of the imagination, thought impulses may be assembled into plans. The imagination, when under control, may be used for the creation of plans or purposes that lead to success in one’s chosen occupation. 16 All thought impulses, intended for transmutation into their physical equivalent, voluntarily planted in the subconscious mind, must pass through the imagination, and be mixed with faith. The “mixing” of faith with a plan, or purpose, intended for submission to the subconscious mind, may be done ONLY through the imagination. The way a person achieves success is by using their imagination to assemble thought impulses into organized plans. Then to take action on those plans with faith that the objective will be achieved. Remember that the imagination is the workshop of the mind. You first construct or create what you desire in your imagination. Then you take action to turn that picture into reality by taking action. 17 From these statements, you will readily observe that voluntary use of the subconscious mind calls for coordination and application of all the principles. Ella Wheeler Wilcox gave evidence of her understanding of the power of the subconscious mind when she wrote:

“You never can tell what a thought will do In bringing you hate or love—

For thoughts are things, and their airy wings Are swifter than carrier doves.

They follow the law of the universe— Each thing creates its kind,

And they speed O’er the track to bring you back Whatever went out from your mind.”

18 Mrs. Wilcox understood the truth, that thoughts which go out from one’s mind, also imbed themselves deeply in one’s subconscious mind, where they serve as a magnet, pattern, or blueprint by which the subconscious mind is influenced while translating them into their physical equivalent. Thoughts are truly things, for the reason that every material thing begins in the form of thought-energy. When you release a thought mixed with emotion, whether positive or negative, it never fully leaves you as it plants itself in your subconscious mind. But you can cancel out the effect of one thought with another. Just choose to release it.


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Many people do this without thinking after they think a positive thought. They receive an idea that will lead to the solution of a problem or the attainment of a goal, but then they cancel it out by saying “I can’t do that.” You want to avoid canceling out positive thoughts and ideas to allow them to grow. In fact, you want to add to those ideas. The thoughts you want to cancel out are negative thoughts. 19 The subconscious mind is more susceptible to influence by impulses of thought mixed with “feeling” or emotion, than by those originating solely in the reasoning portion of the mind. In fact, there is much evidence to support the theory, that ONLY emotionalized thoughts have any ACTION influence upon the subconscious mind. It is a well known fact that emotion or feeling, rules the majority of people. If it is true that the subconscious mind responds more quickly to, and is influenced more readily by thought impulses which are well mixed with emotion, it is essential to become familiar with the more important of the emotions. Can you explain the process of mixing your impulses of thought with “feeling” or emotion?


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20 There are seven major positive emotions, and seven major negative emotions. The negatives voluntarily inject themselves into the thought impulses, which insure passage into the subconscious mind. The positives must be injected, through the principle of auto-suggestion, into the thought impulses which an individual wishes to pass on to his subconscious mind. (Instructions have been given in the chapter on auto-suggestion.) In other words, the behavior of most people is opposite of what they say they really desire. They allow the negative emotions to be injected into their subconscious minds by offering no resistance to the emotion. And they don’t voluntarily inject the positive emotions. In fact, when positive emotions appear, they may reject them out of habit. No wonder most people receive results that are the opposite of what they desire. You want to reverse this formula. You want to recognize and reject negative, destructive emotions and consciously inject positive emotions and ideas into your subconscious mind through the principle of auto-suggestion. 21 These emotions, or feeling impulses, may be likened to yeast in a loaf of bread, because they constitute the ACTION element, which transforms thought impulses from the passive to the active state. Thus may one understand why thought impulses, which have been well mixed with emotion, are acted upon more readily than thought impulses originating in “cold reason.” 22 You are preparing yourself to influence and control the “inner audience” of your subconscious mind, in order to hand over to it the DESIRE for money, which you wish transformed into its monetary equivalent. It is essential, therefore, that you understand the method of approach to this “inner audience.” You must speak its language, or it will not heed your call. It understands best the language of emotion or feeling. Let us, therefore describe here the seven major positive emotions, and the seven major negative motions, so that you may draw upon the positives, and avoid the negatives, when giving instructions to your subconscious mind.

THE SEVEN MAJOR POSITIVE EMOTIONS

The emotion of DESIRE The emotion of FAITH (includes Confidence and Courage) The emotion of LOVE The emotion of SEX The emotion of ENTHUSIASM The emotion of ROMANCE The emotion of HOPE

To this list of positive emotions, I would add at least the following:


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The emotion of Joy The emotion of Gratitude The emotion of Peace of Mind The emotion of Patience The emotion of Mercy 23 There are other positive emotions, but these are the seven most powerful, and the ones most commonly used in creative effort. Master these seven emotions (they can be mastered only by USE), and the other positive emotions will be at your command when you need them. Remember, in this connection, that you are studying a book which is intended to help you develop a “money consciousness” by filling your mind with positive emotions. One does not become money conscious by filling one’s mind with negative emotions.

THE SEVEN MAJOR NEGATIVE EMOTIONS (To be avoided)

The emotion of FEAR The emotion of JEALOUSY The emotion of HATRED The emotion of REVENGE The emotion of GREED The emotion of SUPERSTITION The emotion of ANGER

To this list I would add the emotion of Frustration. While frustration is a form of anger, I’ve seen so many people give voice to frustration that I feel it should be considered separately. Understanding the power that emotions have over our lives is critical. We are moved to take action by the emotions we feel. When we feel positive emotions, we take positive actions and usually get positive results. When we feel negative emotions, we take negative actions and get negative results. You can take control over your own emotions or feelings and use them to motivate you to take positive actions.


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What are the emotions or feelings you feel on a regular basis? List them below and classify them as positive or negative. You can use the list of emotions above as a guide, but list whatever emotions you want. What is the effect these emotions are having on your life?


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What are the emotions you want to experience more frequently in your life? What actions can you take to make that happen? Hint: you can choose to feel any emotion you want to at any time in your imagination. If you want to be excited, think of something that excites you. If you want to be joyful, think of something that creates a feeling of joy. Whether or not the circumstances have happened yet to create the emotion is irrelevant. In fact, if you do it on a regular basis, this exercise will help you create the circumstances you are imagining.


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24 Positive and negative emotions cannot occupy the mind at the same time. One or the other must dominate. It is your responsibility to make sure that positive emotions constitute the dominating influence of your mind. Here the law of HABIT will come to your aid. Form the habit of applying and using the positive emotions! Eventually, they will dominate your mind so completely, that the negatives cannot enter it. 25 Only by following these instructions literally, and continuously, can you gain control over your subconscious mind. The presence of a single negative in your conscious mind is sufficient to destroy all chances of constructive aid from your subconscious mind. You cannot afford the effects of a single negative thought—even if that thought is “justified.” This is one of the reasons that full forgiveness is such a positive force for good. If someone has hurt you through their actions, you have a choice. You can choose to stay in one or more of the negative emotions or you can simply forgive and let go of the related negative emotions. 26 If you are an observing person, you must have noticed that most people resort to prayer ONLY after everything else has FAILED! Or else they pray by a ritual of meaningless words. And, because it is a fact that most people who pray, do so ONLY AFTER EVERYTHING ELSE HAS FAILED, they go to prayer with their minds filled with FEAR and DOUBT, which are the emotions the subconscious mind acts upon, and passes on to Infinite Intelligence. Likewise, that is the emotion which Infinite Intelligence receives, and ACTS UPON. 27 If you pray for a thing, but have fear as you pray, that you may not receive it, or that your prayer will not be acted upon by Infinite Intelligence, your prayer will have been in vain. 28 Prayer does, sometimes, result in the realization of that for which one prays. If you have ever had the experience of receiving that for which YOU prayed, go back in your memory, and recall your actual STATE OF MIND, while you were praying, and you will know, for sure, that the theory here described is more than a theory. The primary emotion that people think of in connection of prayer is faith. But faith is only one of the positive emotions. Your results will be even better when you learn to mix your prayers with all of the positive emotions. You can do that by reviewing the list of positive emotions and using it as a type of checklist. I recommend that you practice feeling these positive emotions regularly so that they become your emotional habit. Also, I recommend that you articulate your emotions to yourself on a regular basis. Just ask “what emotion am I feeling now?” If it is a positive emotion, intensify it. If it is a negative emotion, just let it go.


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29 Less than a hundred years ago, men believed the lightning to be evidence of the wrath of God, and feared it. Now, thanks to the power of FAITH, men have harnessed the lightning and made it turn the wheels of industry. Much less than a hundred years ago, men believed the space between the planets to be nothing but a great void, a stretch of dead nothingness. Now, thanks to this same power of FAITH, men know that far from being either dead or a void, the space between the planets is very much alive, that it is the highest form of vibration known, excepting, perhaps, the vibration of THOUGHT. Moreover, men know that this living, pulsating, vibratory energy which permeates every atom of matter, and fills every niche of space, connects every human brain with every other human brain. 30 What reason have men to believe that this same energy does not connect every human brain with Infinite Intelligence? 31 There are no toll-gates between the finite mind of man and Infinite Intelligence. The communication costs nothing except Patience, Faith, Persistence, Understanding, and a SINCERE DESIRE to communicate. Moreover, the approach can be made only by the individual himself. Paid prayers are worthless. Infinite Intelligence does no business by proxy. You either go direct, or you do not communicate. 32 You may buy prayer books and repeat them until the day of your doom, without avail. Thoughts which you wish to communicate to Infinite Intelligence, must undergo transmutation, such as can be given only through your own subconscious mind. This is true for affirmations as well. You can use prayer books, meditations, and affirmations created by others to positive effect—but only if you take the time to understand what the other person wrote, determine that you agree with it, and then mix it with the positive emotions. 33 The method by which you may communicate with Infinite Intelligence is very similar to that through which the vibration of sound is communicated by radio. If you understand the working principle of radio, you of course, know that sound cannot be communicated through the ether until it has been “stepped up,” or changed into a rate of vibration which the human ear cannot detect. 34 The radio sending station picks up the sound of the human voice, and “scrambles,” or modifies it by stepping up the vibration millions of times. Only in this way, can the vibration of sound be communicated through the ether. 35 After this transformation has taken place, the ether “picks up” the energy (which originally was in the form of vibrations of sound), carries that energy to radio receiving stations, and these receiving sets “step” that energy back down to its original rate of vibration so it is recognized as sound.


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36 The subconscious mind is the intermediary, which translates one’s prayers into terms which Infinite Intelligence can recognize, presents the message, and brings back the answer in the form of a definite plan or idea for procuring the object of the prayer. Understand this principle, and you will know why mere words read from a prayer book cannot, and will never serve as an agency of communication between the mind of man and Infinite Intelligence. Let’s breakdown this formula so it can be better understood:

1. Get a clear mental picture of the object you desire. This is the object of your prayer.

2. Using the principle of auto-suggestion and repetition, plant this idea in your subconscious mind with the positive emotions—especially the emotion of faith and belief. When you pray, be aware of your state of mind.

3. Clear and quiet your mind. Be patient. Allow the ideas to come to you.

4. When you receive the ideas, recognize that receiving the ideas is the answer to

your prayers. Many times people think their prayers go unanswered because they don’t know what to look for.

5. Act on the ideas with a feeling of faith to turn them into reality.

37 Before your prayer will reach Infinite Intelligence (a statement of the author’s theory only), it probably is transformed from its original thought vibration into terms of spiritual vibration. Faith is the only known agency which will give your thoughts a spiritual nature. FAITH and FEAR make poor bedfellows. Where one is found, the other cannot exist. “…probably transformed from its original thought vibration into terms of spiritual vibration.”


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What have you learned about your subconscious mind in this chapter? What actions are you going to take this week to use the power of your subconscious mind to create the life you desire?

If you have any questions about Think and Grow Rich or Power Affirmations, feel free to email me anytime at [email protected]. I’ll help you if I can.

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Think and Grow Rich Workbook-Chapter 12 - The Subconscious Mind