Retraining Your Mind: The Master Key System – Weeks 9 & 10

If you are looking for a clear plan to develop your potential, to become what you want to be and do and have what you want to do and have, I greatly recommend you enter on the path of The Master Key System.  It will change your life, guaranteed.

This is a summary and review of my experience reading and applying the 9th & 10th chapters of Charles Haanel’s The Master Key System (free pdf download).  This book was originally intended to be a weekly correspondence course, with each chapter being the focus of one week.  I am following this original intention of the author.  You can read the summary of each chapter and my reflections here.

Week 9

Part nine begins by addressing something which concerns us all: improving the circumstances of our lives.  Hannel tells us that if you wish to change the conditions of your life, first, create and hold in your mind what you want, frequently imagine it and by constant repetition it will become a part of who you are, your habits, your subconscious mind.  By the law of growth (cause and effect), you will be compelled to act in a new way and those around you will respond to you differently as well.  If you persist, it is only a matter of time before your vision is realized.

A person’s character is not developed by luck or chance.  Who we are is a result of the thoughts we consistently think.  Your thoughts determine your habits and personality, which in turn affects how others react to you and the circumstances of your life.

So, in other words, if you want a better life, the first step is to improve your character.  How do we do this?  Haanel says the easiest step is to replace positive, empowering thoughts with negative.  Thoughts of fear, lack and limitation should be replaced with those of courage, power, self-reliance and confidence.

Is it easy?  No, but it can be done.  Is it easier than living a life dominated by fear, anger and lack?  Absolutely.

There are three things which we all desire: Health, Wealth and Love. Those who have all three find that nothing can be added to their cup of happiness.  And the conditions for bringing about all three lie in your manner of thinking.  Which, again, can be under your control, should you exert your authority over your thoughts.

Haanel includes a story of a man named Frederick Andrews who, as a child, was a cripple crawling around on all fours and had an illness that doctors said was certain to kill him.   They offered no hope.  But the boy was determined.  He created an affirmation that he would say to himself over and over again, from the minute he woke up to the moment he drifted off to sleep.

When he managed to not only live to adulthood and to rid his body of this “fatal” disease, but also to turn into an upright and healthy man, he was asked what his secret was.  He credits his healing to the affirmation alone.  He said he repeated it until he had convinced his subconscious mind that it was the truth and his mind then set about manifesting health in every cell of his body.

Because he truly believed it, his subconscious mind accepted it as fact and had no choice but to create a reality that matched his firm conviction.

Here is his affirmation: “I am whole, perfect, strong, powerful, loving, harmonious and happy.”

Frederick Andrews said something else which I think is extremely valuable: “When a thought of anger, jealousy, fear or worry creeps in, just start your affirmation going.  The way to fight darkness is with light – the way to fight cold is with heat-the way to overcome evils is with good.”

In other words, if you realize you are thinking negatively, don’t fight it and don’t struggle to make the negative thought go away.  Simply, think about something positive or say a positive affirmation.  Re-direct your mind.

The exercise for chapter 9 is quite long.  In short, you are to visualize the growth of a flower from a seed to fully blossomed.  For details see the Master Key System free PDF.

For me, this exercise wasn’t too difficult.  And now, sometimes when I close my eyes, I can see a nice fast-forward version of a beautiful flower springing up and blossoming out of a tiny seed.

Week 10

Chapter 10 starts off with an idea that seems very foreign to many people: the universe is abundant, lavish and wasteful. Haanel tells us that if you look around nature you see the evidence of this everywhere.  That nowhere is economy observed in nature.  Profusion is manifested in everything.  There is abundance for all, though many do not see it because they are not aware of the universality of everything and that it is our minds that connect us to everything.

Thought is the connecting link between us and the Infinite, through our subconscious mind.  When a thought is dropped into our subconscious mind and takes root, just like the seed of a plant, it begins to attract to it what it needs to grow and thrive.  It does not matter if the thought is positive or negative, just like it does not matter if a plant carries healthy DNA or damaged, it is driven to express itself and unfold its potential life.

As your thoughts take root they begin to correlate with objects and circumstances in the world which will help it seek expression.  As the roots of a tree simply know what minerals and vitamins are required, so too does the thought automatically attract that which will help it express itself in the world.

If you, for example, constantly and repeatedly repeat the positive affirmation (healthy, loving, happy) from chapter 9, those thoughts will begin to attract to you that which will bring you health, love and happiness.

This idea sounds strange to many, however, when you think it over carefully in your mind, you begin to see that the universe provides us evidence of this again and again.

By thinking constructive and positive thoughts of strength, courage, confidence and love your life will improve.  By thinking thoughts of fear, anger, sadness and hatred your life will deteriorate and your vitality will wither away.

Everything turns on your thoughts.  Your thoughts make your reality, so choose well.  Period.

The exercise for the week threw me a major curveball.  I ended up spending two weeks on this chapter because I struggled so much with this exercise.  As I mentioned in previous chapters, I am not a visual person.  This exercise was very visual.  I did have some improvement, thought I still need to practice this.  My wife on the other hand, was able to do this successfully on the very first attempt, so perhaps you will be fortunate like her.

The exercise for week 10 is as follows:

“This week select a blank space on the wall…mentally draw a black horizontal line about six inches long, try to see the line as plainly as though it were painted on the wall; now mentally draw two vertical lines connecting with this horizontal line at either end; now draw another horizontal line connecting the two vertical lines; now you have a square. Try to see the square perfectly; when you can do so draw a circle within the square; now place a point in the center of the circle; now draw the point toward you about 10 inches; now you have a cone on a square base; you will remember that your work was all in black; change it to white, to red, to yellow.”