Chapter 6 - Is There A Superior Race In The Making?

Something is happening in the world today that is more powerful than atomic power, or hydrogen bombs, or anything else controlled by man that you can possibly conceive of!

This "something" is a power that is building up within certain people. It is putting almost unlimited power in their muscles, in their minds, in their hearts and, yes, in their very souls!

This power is building up in the lives of more and more people, because more and more people are learning to create this power within themselves. This power is making them superior people, masters of themselves and, therefore, potentially masters of the world.

The person you see in the mirror

This superior power may be present in the next person you meet. Conceivably it is present in the life of any truly successful person you know. But more important, it can be created in the person you see when you look in the mirror!

A moment ago I spoke of your membership in the "no mystery to life" club. I qualified for membership some time ago, and I want to welcome you to the fraternity! You and I are in the best of company, in this brotherhood. The members don't wear badges or special regalia. You will recognize a "brother" or "sister" by their air of self-confidence, by their relationship to progressive circumstances and by their attitude of "all's right with the world." And they will recognize you as a fellow-member as you display the same "signs" of faith in yourself and the world. "Meetings" are held whenever two or more "members" happen to get together. Try to be part of such a "meeting" yourself, two or three times a day. There is nothing better than to renew your faith in the principles of the club!

Making men masters of themselves

Now that you have joined this "club," you can qualify for another, rather exclusive association of people. Most of the members of our "club" belong to this one, too. This is the "better world through better people" club. Its slogan is "Make men masters of themselves."

Sound fantastic, over-idealistic or even slightly "crack-pot"? It could very well seem so to people who refuse to look at its objectives with an open mind, without an effort to understand. Frankly, membership in this group is limited to persons who practice self-influence to the highest degree. There is no intent that membership be on an "exclusive" basis. Apparently most people don't want to join, so the group is a minority group. Whether it grows to a majority, or fades from the face of the earth, depends upon people like you and me.

The power that is building up

Should you support this movement? I'll leave that to your judgment. Here are the facts about it. This movement goes a step beyond the "no mystery to life" concept. It proposes that not only is there "no mystery" but that there are potentials for a "superior race" in the world. Its supporters believe that this can become a possibility when more and more people understand and practice positive self-influence. They have a practical set of plans, and they are working the plans. They invite you to join with them if you believe that you are a candidate for this "superior race."

Progressiveness is in the air

There are many obvious factors that support this viewpoint. This movement takes its cues from four different conditions that exist among people today. First is the display of progressiveness coming from programs and leadership in the fields of religion, education, and social practice. The church, per se, has become more than ever an integrated factor in the lives of more and more people. The widest choice of educational opportunities is freely offered to more people. In the social order, many more practical, all-inclusive programs are in force, underwriting the security and welfare of more people. Your own inventory of what you see happening in these fields proves this display of mass progressiveness. This "superior race" movement believes that all of this is a demonstration of mass influence that helps point the way toward its goal.

Then second, there is the display of technological progress that is so obvious today. We have almost come to take for granted that the "impossible" will become a "certainty" in the technical fields. "You name it and it can be done," seems to be the motto here. We used to say about a person who was extravagant in his ideas: "He wants the moon, with a little red fence around it!" Today, a person wouldn't be asking for "too much/' if he said he wanted the moon! Somebody is liable to organize a "rocket party" and go up and get it for him! Our "better world" movement points to this "limitless" technological program as another demonstration of mass influence that supports their objectives.

Many people need help

Third, the movement points to a fundamental psychological factor that exists in people's lives. This is based upon the observation that people seem to respond more "naturally" to negative influences than to positive ones. Apparently people do not have to "learn" to respond to influences that induce fear, anxiety, doubt or guilt feelings. Of course there is a protective instinct prompting some of these reactions, but we do seem to respond more readily to such influences than to influences stemming from happiness, good-will or confidence. Apparently we have to "learn" from experience to respond more readily to positive influences. This "better world" movement believes that this psychological factor causes a need that each individual has. It is, therefore, a need that the world has and it sees the possibility of mass influence, for the good of all.

Finally, the movement points to the mass negative influences that exist in the world, at any one moment, and it reminds us of the great lessons that can be learned from those conditions. The dictator philosophy of leadership is an example. World-wide, we see this manifest itself in some national governments. Closer to home, we see it in the action of a few individuals, perhaps in our vocational relationship, in our community and, sometimes, even in the home. In back of this kind of leadership is pressure influence, i.e., influence by fear, by duress, by subjugation. Invariably the success of such leadership is dependent upon force. The people interested in our movement ask you to consider why this pressure and force is necessary. You will reach the same conclusion that they have, that force is necessary because people are being influenced to act against their wills. In some form or other, negative "brain washing" is necessary to the perpetuation of dictatorships. The great lesson to be learned from this is that the only way to effectively resist "slave" leadership is to help more and more people learn the skill of self-influence. That would seem like a herculean task, yet it is part of the program of this movement.

Participation pays off

Those are the facts. Now here is the program of this movement. The goal is to have more and more people participate in life as strong, important individuals. The goal is to make it unpopular to be just a spectator in life and to let whatever happens just happen! The method agreed upon is based upon more and more people having the same kind of an experience with self-influence that you are having right now, as participants, and not as spectators.

The people associated with these objectives are committed to putting them into action by giving of themselves, by sharing and by being living examples of positive self-influence.

There you have it, the story of this "better world through better people" club. Will you support it? Do you believe that there is such a movement? Would you join such a movement?

There is no movement as such, with a "constitution and bylaws." But there are many people who believe in its principles and who believe that such a program would bring about a superior race. They do act as though they were committed to those principles. They feel this way and act this way because, although no such superior race will probably exist in their lifetimes, they want to qualify for that status, anyway. They have learned that such qualification supports their own patterns of life, as formed by self-influenced principles.

An invitation to progress

My associates in the Simmons Institute "belong" to this movement. Students of our Home Study Course "belong" to it. Every person that you know of who has made a worthwhile contribution to the world, to any degree, and who at the same time has acted to support his own distinctiveness, "belongs" to the movement.

Here is why we belong. I recommend that you consider them as reasons for your belonging, too. First, we believe in the principle involved. But beyond that, the reasons are purely personal, because they support our personal programs of self-influence. Since there are those mass programs in the fields of religion, education and social practice that have a progressive influence, the best way that we can take advantage of them personally is as supporting participants. Since the technological field is pointing the way to superior mass accomplishment, the best way we can take advantage of this personally is to support and use the good results.

Considering that psychological factor that tends to put negative influences above positive ones, we each know how to combat this with self-influence, just as you are learning to do. But it is to the personal advantage of each of us to have more people practicing the same skill because, as the mass average of positive influence goes up, we strengthen our own positions. Therefore, it is to our advantage to serve others by helping them understand self-influence and by showing them how. Thus, we are contributing to the creation of such a desirable mass influence and improving our own lives at the same time.

Service to others is good business

Service to others is also the basis of our interest in the negative influences that exist in the world. These man-made influences seem to have such strength, to be so aggressive, to have organized domination. We believe that positively influenced people can display great strength, can be equally aggressive and can eventually dominate world conditions. The fact that this is a staggering goal doesn't deter us in the least from doing what we can now, in the belief that a better tomorrow is possible. We believe that by being good examples of self-influence, we are giving courage to others who are struggling to overcome "slave" leadership. We know that a better world is dependent upon masses of individually "better people." So we support the idea because it is our world, too.

There is a familiar ring to those reasons why we "belong," isn't there? There is, because they are absolutely parallel to those three "agreements" (Chapter 2) that you are involved in with yourself. Yes, this "better world movement" is also based upon belief that is demonstrated, upon relationship to progressive action and upon service to others. Participation in this movement will take you above and beyond the status of self-influence that can result if you simply try to go it alone. This is so because there is an uncontestable law related to such participation. This law says that every time you give to others in a positive fashion, you receive much more in return.

Become a member

Two simple actions will start your participation in this movement. One is to get others interested in a program of self-influence. Help them "see the light" by becoming a missionary for the movement. Get others to read this book, too, so that you will have fellow workers close to you. The other way is to join organizations and groups that are working in the field of mass positive influence.

Is such a movement a realistic basis for a "superior race"? It most certainly is, because a "master race" must be composed of individually superior people. Superior people are those who are positively self-influenced. A "union" of such people, even though they may be a minority group today, could very well be called today's superior race. Aggressive minority groups have, in the past, brought about much of human progress. The prospect of a "better world through better people" is a possibility, provided more people become masters of themselves, even as you and we are.
It takes only a self-influenced decision on your part to make you a candidate for this "superior race." Will you serve others as you serve yourself, in the support of positive influences?

I believe that the contents of the next chapter will help you make this decision.

In Sum

A "better" world is dependent on the development of "better" people.

"Better" people are those who have understanding and practice self-influence.

Summary Of Part One Your Plan

You have been introduced to self-influence, to the power of the subconscious.

You have taken several preliminary steps to assure yourself of its existence.

You have decided what kind of person you want to be.

This you have done with the knowledge that you are important and have a purpose in life.

You have planned.

Now you are ready for a more penetrating investigation of the phenomenon of self-influence.

You are also ready for the next step practice.

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