Part 6 · Attention Is a Muscle · points 9–15 of 34 in this Part

The instrument and its wiring

Every thought lights up brain cells: faint at first, easy with use.

7 numbered points · 2 study questions · 3 min read

The one line to keep

Every thought lights up brain cells: faint at first, easy with use.

The brain is a storehouse wired to a switchboard, and the nervous system is like an electric circuit with the spinal cord as its main cable. Haanel calls the whole arrangement the temple of the living God, the instrument of the spirit. And every thought sets brain cells in action: the first time the path is difficult to walk, and with use it becomes a road.

Why this matters — Part 6

If you are waiting to feel motivated before you start, this level explains the trap: interest follows attention, not the other way round. You don't decide to be interested and then look; you look, and interest arrives as a consequence. For someone whose motivation has drained away, that is very good news — you don't need the feeling. You need ten minutes and a photograph.

Study questions for this sublevel

Haanel put a review question at the end of every part. Answer out loud first — the recall is what moves it into memory.

53. What is the result of the action and interaction of the individual mind upon the Universal?

The conditions and experiences with which we meet.

54. How may these conditions be changed?

By changing the mechanism by which the Universal is differentiated in form.

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Haanel's own words — points 9–15

Quoted exactly from The Master Key System (1912, public domain). The translation above is ours; this is his.

In the first place, there is the great mental world in which we live and move and have our being. This world is omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent; it will respond to our desire in direct ratio to our purpose and faith. The purpose must be in accordance with the law of our being, that is, it must be creative or constructive. Our faith must be strong enough to generate a current of sufficient strength to bring our purpose into manifestation. "As thy faith is, so be it unto thee," bears the stamp of scientific test.

The effects which are produced in the world without are the result of the action and reaction of the individual upon the universal; that is the process which we call thinking. The brain is the organ through which this process is accomplished. Think of the wonder of it all! Do you love music, flowers, literature, or are you inspired by the thought of ancient or modern genius? Remember, every beauty to which you respond must have its corresponding outline in your brain before you can appreciate it.

There is not a single virtue or principle in the storehouse of nature which the brain cannot express. The brain is an embryonic world, ready to develop at any time as necessity may arise. If you can comprehend that this is a scientific truth and one of the wonderful laws of nature, it will be easier for you to get an understanding of the mechanism by which these extraordinary results are being accomplished.

The nervous system has been compared to an electric circuit with its battery of cells in which force is originated, and its white matter to insulated wires by which the current is conveyed. It is through these channels that every impulse or desire is carried through the mechanism.

The spinal cord is the great motor and sensory pathway by which messages are conveyed to and from the brain. Then, there is the blood supply plunging through the veins and arteries, renewing our energy and strength, the perfectly arranged structure upon which the entire physical body rests. Finally, the delicate and beautiful skin, clothing the entire mechanism is a mantle of beauty.

This then is the "Temple of the living God" and the individual "I" is given control and upon his understanding of the mechanism which is within his control will the result depend.

Every thought sets the brain cells in action. At first the substance upon which the thought is directed fails to respond, but if the thought is sufficiently refined and concentrated, the substance finally yields and expresses perfectly.

Put it to work

This week's exercise

The Photograph Drill (Part Six)

Bring a photograph to your usual seat.

See all steps

Sit with it

Guided stillness timer

The sit is the whole foundation of the course: still body, watched breath, no phone. Pick five minutes if fifteen feels like a hill.

Open the timer

Keep going

1Mind is the only thing that produces effectsThought is the cause; your nervous system is the machine that turns it into effects.2The instrument and its wiringEvery thought lights up brain cells: faint at first, easy with use.3Attention: the faculty that decides everything ⚠Attention is the most important faculty you have — and it is trainable.4The photograph drillLook until you know it. Then build it behind closed eyes.5Where the power comes fromSuffering has two sources: disease in the body and anxiety in the mind.

Part 6 · Attention Is a Muscle

Motivation arrives after attention, not before

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