William Walker Atkinson

An in-depth series of chapters devoted to the use of our memory system; as the title suggests, how to develop our memory system, how to train it to improve it, and how to make the best use of it in our everyday lives, and to improve our positions in life. This is not intended to be a series of chapters to impress friends and colleagues, nor to play 'tricks' on others, rather it is for the betterment of individuals in whatever walk of life in which they may be involved by training and using their memory toward that end.

CONTENTSI. Memory: Its Importance II. Cultivation of the Memory III. Celebrated Cases of Memory IV. Memory Systems V. The Subconscious Record-File VI. Attention VII. Association VIII. Phases of Memory IX. Training the Eye X. Training the Ear 1XI. How to Remember Names XII. How to Remember Faces XIII. How to Remember Places XIV. How to Remember Numbers XV. How to Remember Music XVI. How to Remember Occurrences XVII. How to Remember Facts XVIII. How to Remember Words, etc. XIX. How to Remember Books, Plays, Tales, etc. XX. General Instructions

"the doctrine of Reincarnation played a very important part in their philosophy. The prevailing idea was that the worthy souls pass on to a state of bliss, without rebirth, while the less worthy pass the waters of the river of Lethe, quaffing of its waters of forgetfulness, and thus having the recollection of their earth-life, and of the period of punishment that they had undergone by reason of the same, obliterated and cleansed from their memories, when they pass on to re-birth."

CONTENTSI. Memory: Its Importance II. Cultivation of the Memory III. Celebrated Cases of Memory IV. Memory Systems V. The Subconscious Record-File VI. Attention VII. Association VIII. Phases of Memory IX. Training the Eye X. Training the Ear 1XI. How to Remember Names XII. How to Remember Faces XIII. How to Remember Places XIV. How to Remember Numbers XV. How to Remember Music XVI. How to Remember Occurrences XVII. How to Remember Facts XVIII. How to Remember Words, etc. XIX. How to Remember Books, Plays, Tales, etc. XX. General Instructions

"truth, providing they are gravely asserted by some one claiming authority. The most illogical ideas are accepted without dispute or examination, providing they are stated solemnly and authoritatively. Particularly in the respective fields of religion and politics do we find this blind acceptance of illogical ideas by the multitude. Mere assertion by the leaders seems sufficient for the multitude of followers to acquiesce."

..". The doctrine of Reincarnation played a very important part in their philosophy. The prevailing idea was that the worthy souls pass on to a state of bliss, without rebirth, while the less worthy pass the waters of the river of Lethe, quaffing of its waters of forgetfulness, and thus having the recollection of their earth-life, and of the period of punishment that they had undergone by reason of the same, obliterated and cleansed from their memories, when they pass on to re-birth."

The term "Psychomancy" (pronounced, "sy-ko-man-see"), is derived from two Greek words, the first "psycho," meaning "the soul; the mind; the understanding" (and generally used to indicate "psychic" or unusual powers of the soul or mind); the second word, "mancy" meaning "to divine; to foresee, or foreknow; to detect secret things,"-and in occult parlance, "to sense," or "to receive impressions by the Astral Senses." So the word, as we use it, may be said to mean "Psychic Sensing," and in this work will be so used. The word "Psychomancer" means "one practicing Psychomancy;" and the word "Psychomantic" means "relating to Psychomancy." The word "Clairvoyance" is frequently used by people to designate some of the phases of Psychomancy, but strictly speaking this term is incorrect when used in this sense, the true occult meaning of the word "Clairvoyance," being "transcendental vision, or the perception of beings on another plane of existence-the seeing of disembodied souls, elementals, etc." And so, in this work, we shall consider the true phenomena of Clairvoyance, as distinct from that of Psychomancy. In this work, we shall regard as the true phenomena of Psychomancy, all the various phenomena known as Psychometry; Crystal Gazing; Perceiving Distant Scenes; a perception of Past Events, and Indication of Future Events; either in the full waking state; the state of reverie; or the state of dreams. And, so this work will examine, consider, and explain, the various phases of phenomena above indicated-in short, the phenomena of "sensing" objects by means of Astral Senses, omitting the phenomena of Clairvoyance, or seeing disembodied souls, etc., which we regard as belonging to a different phase of the general subject, and which require special consideration and examination. We will cover the following topics in their own separate lesson: The Nature of Psychomancy; How to Develop Yourself; Simple Psychomancy; The Astral Tube; Psychometry; Crystal Gazing; Astral Projection; Space Psychomancy; Past Time Psychomancy; Future Time Psychomancy; and, Dream Psychomancy.

Though he typically wrote under the guise of anonymity, using an array of pseudonyms and pen names, author and thinker William Walker Atkinson was an enormously influential figure in the "New Thought" movement. In fact, he is often credited with being the original source of the ideas that later coalesced under the term "the Law of Attraction." The volume Thought-Culture offers an array of practical tips for those who are interested in improving their mental acuity.

"truth, providing they are gravely asserted by someone claiming authority. The most illogical ideas are accepted without dispute or examination, providing they are stated solemnly and authoritatively. Particularly in the respective fields of religion and politics do we find this blind acceptance of illogical ideas by the multitude. Mere assertion by the leaders seems sufficient for the multitude of followers to acquiesce."

"Desire firmly, confident, and earnestly. Be not half-hearted in your demands and desires - claim and demand the WHOLE THING, and feel confident that it will work out into material objectivity and reality. Think of it, dream of it, and always LONG for it - you must learn to want it the worst way - learn to "want it hard enough. "You can attain and obtain many things by "wanting them hard enough" - the trouble is with most of us that we do not want things hard enough - we mistake vague cravings and wished for earnest, longing, demanding Desire and Want. Get to Desire and Demand the Thing just as you demand and Desire your daily meals. That is "wanting it the worst way. "This is merely a hint - surely"

"Desire firmly, confident, and earnestly. Be not half-hearted in your demands and desires - claim and demand the WHOLE THING, and feel confident that it will work out into material objectivity and reality. Think of it, dream of it, and always LONG for it - you must learn to want it the worst way - learn to "want it hard enough. "You can attain and obtain many things by "wanting them hard enough" - the trouble is with most of us that we do not want things hard enough - we mistake vague cravings and wished for earnest, longing, demanding Desire and Want. Get to Desire and Demand the Thing just as you demand and Desire your daily meals. That is "wanting it the worst way. "This is merely a hint - surely"

"Telepathy is simply a matter of the transmission and receiving of waves of vibratory force which have travelled along the ether between two persons. But clairvoyance or astral-telepathy is something like your mind being extended out until it actually touches the mind of the other person and sees what is there." William Walker Atkinson

"All my investigations have led me away from the idea of a dead material universe tossed about by various forces, to that of a universe which is absolutely all force, life, soul, thought, or whatever name we choose to call it. Every atom, molecule, plant, animal or planet, is only an aggregation of organized unit forces held in place by stronger forces, thus holding them for a time latent, though teeming with inconceivable power. All life on our planet is, so to speak, just on the outer fringe of this infinite ocean of force. The universe is not half dead, but all alive." William Walker Atkinson

"truth, providing they are gravely asserted by some one claiming authority The most illogical ideas are accepted without dispute or examination, providing they are stated solemnly and authoritatively Particularly in the respective fields of religion and politics do we find this blind acceptance of illogical ideas by the multitude Mere assertion by the leaders seems sufficient for the multitude of followers to acquiesce"William Walker Atkinson

"All my investigations have led me away from the idea of a dead material universe tossed about by various forces, to that of a universe which is absolutely all force, life, soul, thought, or whatever name we choose to call it. Every atom, molecule, plant, animal or planet, is only an aggregation of organized unit forces held in place by stronger forces, thus holding them for a time latent, though teeming with inconceivable power. All life on our planet is, so to speak, just on the outer fringe of this infinite ocean of force. The universe is not half dead, but all alive." William Walker Atkinson