The Master Key System by Charles F. Haanel --- 18 CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

In order to grow we must obtain what is necessary for our growth. This is brought
about through the law of attraction. This principle is the sole means by which the
individual is differentiated from the Universal.
Think for a moment, what would a man be if he were not a husband, father, or
brother, if he were not interested in the social, economical, political or religious world.
He would be nothing but an abstract theoretical ego. He exists, therefore, only in his
relation to the whole, in his relation to other men, in his relation to society. This relation
constitutes his environment and in no other way.
It is evident, therefore, that the individual is simply the differentiation of the one
Universal Mind "which lighteth every man that cometh into the world," and his so-called
individuality or personality consists of nothing but the manner in which he relates with
the whole.
This we call his environment and is brought about by the law of attraction. Part
Eighteen, which follows, has something more to say concerning this important law.

PART EIGHTEEN

1. There is a change in the thought of the world. This change is silently transpiring in
our midst, and is more important than any which the world has undergone since the
downfall of Paganism.
2. These present revolution in the opinions of all classes of men, the highest and
most cultured of men as well as those of the laboring class, stands unparalleled in the
history of the world.
3. Science has of late made such vast discoveries, has revealed such an infinity of
resources, has unveiled such enormous possibilities and such unsuspected forces, that
scientific men more and more hesitate to affirm certain theories as established and
beyond doubt or to deny other theories as absurd or impossible.
4. A new civilization is being born; customs, creeds, and precedent are passing;
vision, faith and service are taking their place. The fetters of tradition are being melted
off from humanity, and as the impurities of materialism are being consumed, thought is
being liberated and truth is rising full robed before an astonished multitude.
5. The whole world is on the eve of a new consciousness, a new power, and a new
realization within the self.
6. Physical Science has resolved matter into molecules, molecules into atoms, atoms
into energy, and it has remained for Mr. J. A. Fleming, in an address before the Royal
Institution, to resolve this energy into mind. He says, "In its ultimate essence, energy
may be incomprehensible by us except as an exhibition of the direct operation of that
which we call Mind or Will."
7. And this mind is the indwelling and ultimate. It is imminent in matter as in spirit.
It is the sustaining, energizing, all pervading Spirit of the universe.
8. Every living thing must be sustained by this omnipotent Intelligence, and we find
the difference in individual lives to be largely measured by the degree of this
intelligence, which they manifest. It is greater intelligence that places the animal in a
higher scale of being than the plant, the man higher than the animal, and we find that
this increased intelligence is again indicated by the power of the individual to control
modes of action and thus to consciously adjust himself to his environment.
9. It is this adjustment that occupies the attention of the greatest minds, and this
adjustment consists in nothing else than the recognition of an existing order in the
universal mind, for it is well known that this mind will obey us precisely in proportion
as we first obey it.
10. It is the recognition of Natural Laws that has enabled us to annihilate time and
space, to soar in the air and to make iron float, and the greater the degree of intelligence
the greater will be our recognition of these Natural Laws and the greater will be the
power we can possess.
11. It is the recognition of the self as an individualization of this Universal
Intelligence that enables the individual to control those forms of intelligence which have
not yet reached this level of self-recognition; they do not know that this Universal
Intelligence permeates all things ready to be called into action; they do not know that it
is responsive to every demand, and they are therefore in bondage to the law of their own
being.
12. Thought is creative and the principle on which the law is based is sound and
legitimate and is inherent in the nature of things; but this creative power does not
originate in the individual, but in the universal, which is the source and foundation of all
energy and substance; the individual is simply the channel for the distribution of this
energy.
13. The individual is simply the means by which the universal produces the various
combinations which result in the formation of phenomena, which depends upon the law
of vibration, whereby various rates of rapidity of motion in the primary substance form
new substances only in certain exact numerical ratios.
14. Thought is the invisible link by which the individual comes into communication
with the Universal, the finite with the Infinite, the seen with the Unseen. Thought is the
magic by which the human is transformed into a being who thinks and knows and feels
and acts.
15. As the proper apparatus has enabled the eye to discover worlds without number
millions of miles away, so, with the proper understanding, man has been enabled to
communicate with the Universal Mind, the source of all power.
16. The Understanding which is usually developed is about as valuable as a VCR
without a videotape; in fact, it is usually nothing more than a "belief", which means
nothing at all. The savages of the Cannibal Islands believe something; but that proves
nothing.
17. The only belief which is of any value to anyone is a belief that has been put to a
test and demonstrated to be a fact; it is then no longer a belief, but has become a living
Faith or Truth.
18. And this Truth has been put to the test by hundreds of thousands of people and has
been found to be the Truth exactly in proportion to the usefulness of the apparatus which
they used.
19. A man would not expect to locate stars hundreds of millions of miles away
without a sufficiently strong telescope, and for this reason Science is continually
engaged in building larger and more powerful telescopes and is continually rewarded by
additional knowledge of the heavenly bodies.
20. So with understanding; men are continually making progress in the methods which they use to come into communication with the Universal Mind and its infinite possibilities.
21. The Universal Mind manifests itself in the objective, through the principle of
attraction that each atom has for every other atom, in infinite degrees of intensity.
22. It is by this principle of combining and attracting that things are brought together.
This principle is of universal application and is the sole means whereby the purpose of
existence is carried into effect.
23. The expression of growth is met in a most beautiful manner through the
instrumentality of this Universal Principle.
24. In order to grow we must obtain what is essential for our growth, but as we are at
all times a complete thought entity, this completeness makes it possible for us to receive
only as we give; growth is therefore conditioned on reciprocal action, and we find that
on the mental plane like attracts like, that mental vibrations respond only to the extent of
their vibratory harmony.
25. It is clear, therefore, that thoughts of abundance will respond only to similar
thoughts; the wealth of the individual is seen to be what he inherently is. Affluence
within is found to be the secret of attraction for affluence without. The ability to produce
is found to be the real source of wealth of the individual. It is for this reason that he who
has his heart in his work is certain to meet with unbounded success. He will give and
continually give; and the more he gives, the more he will receive.
26. What do the great financiers of Wall Street, the captains of industry, the
statesmen, the great corporation attorneys, the inventors, the physicians, the authors --
what do each of these contribute to the sum of human happiness but the power of their
thought?
27. Thought is the energy which the law of attraction is brought into operation, which
eventually manifests in abundance.
28. The Universal Mind is static Mind or Substance in equilibrium. It is differentiated
into form by our power to think. Thought is the dynamic phase of mind.
29. Power depends upon consciousness of power; unless we use it, we shall lose it,
and unless we are conscious of it, we cannot use it.
30. The use of this power depends upon attention; the degree of attention determines
our capacity for the acquirement of knowledge which is another name for power.
31. Attention has been held to be the distinguishing mark of genius. The cultivation of
attention depends upon practice.
32. The incentive of attention is interest; the greater the interest, the greater the
attention; the greater the attention, the greater the interest, action and reaction; begin by
paying attention; before long you will have aroused interest; this interest will attract
more attention, and this attention will produce more interest, and so on. This practice
will enable you to cultivate the power of attention.
33. This week concentrate upon your power to create; seek insight, perception; try to
find a logical basis for the faith which is in you. Let the thought dwell on the fact that
the physical man lives and moves and has his being in the sustainer of all organic life air,
that he must breathe to live. Then let the thought rest on the fact that the spiritual man
also lives and moves and has his being in a similar but subtler energy upon which he
must depend for life, and that as in the physical world no life assumes form until after a
seed is sown, and no higher fruit than that of the parent stock can be produced; so in the
spiritual world no effect can be produced until the seed is sown and the fruit will depend
upon the nature of the seed, so that the results which you secure depend upon your
perception of law in the mighty domain of causation, the highest evolution of human
consciousness.

Part Eighteen - Study Questions

171. How is the difference in individual lives measured?
172. What is the law by which the individual may control other forms of intelligence?
173. Where does the creative power originate?
174. How does the Universal create form?
175. What is the connecting link between the individual and the Universal?
176. What is the principle by which the means of existence is carried into effect?
177. How is this principle brought into expression?
178. Upon what condition does the law of growth depend?
179. What is it that we give?
180. What do we receive?