Divine Library is a free online public library that includes free eBook downloads and free audio books.
We work with New Thought Seekers and Sharers around the world
insuring that all New Thought Texts in the Public Domain
are available for you to read on the web for free, forever!
Navigate through this book by clicking Next Page or Previous
Page below the text of the page & jump directly to chapters using the chapter numbers above the text.
- (continued) easy, self-possessed manner, in preference to a nervous, strained, over-anxious appearance. Mental exercise will help you to acquire the proper carriage and demeanor. Stop beating the "devil's tattoo" on the table or chair. Such actions indicate a lack of self-control. Don't tap on the floor with your foot, nor swing your feet backward or forward while talking or sitting. Don't rock backward and forward in a rocking chair, as if you were working a machine at so much an hour. Don't bite your nails, nor chew your lips or cheek, nor wiggle your tongue around in your mouth, whilst reading or studying, or writing. Don't wink or blink your eyes. Get rid of any habit of twitching or jerking of any part of the body, which may have become second nature to you. You can stop it easily by "carrying the thought" and practicing concentering. Train yourself to bear with equanimity and composure, noises which have been startling you heretofore, such as the banging of a suddenly closed door, the dropping of a book or other object, etc. In other words, keep yourself well in hand. The above exercises will be of great assistance to you in getting yourself just where you want.
B. The above exercises were given to teach you the art of controlling involuntary muscular movement, thus bringing your body under the control of the voluntary functions. The following exercises are designed to enable you to bring you voluntary muscular movements under the direct control of the Will, in other words, to train the mental faculties producing voluntary muscular movement.
- Sit in front of a table, placing your hands upon the table, the fists clinched and lying with the backs of the hands on the table, the thumb being doubled over the fingers. Fix your gaze upon the fist for a while, and then slowly extend the thumb, keeping your whole attention fixed upon the act, just as if it was of the greatest importance. Then slowly extend your first finger, then your second, and so on until they are all open and extended. Then reverse the process, closing first the little finger and continuing the closing until the fist is again in its original position, with the thumb closed over the fingers. Repeat with the left
