The Mystery of Thought Transference Nona L. Brooks
Mysteries, 1924.
Divine Science Federation Int’l
3rd Printing, 1977.
Copyright Material
Reprinted by Permission
We say, “How wonderful! What marvelous things the brain of man conceives,” as each new invention takes its place among the marvels of the century. “What next?” we ask. It is not the brain of man in the accepted sense of the word brain, that is producing the wonders of the age; it is the Mind of God working through the brain of man. All of this development that so often seems to us mysterious, comes by law; there is no chance in it to the one who sees life as eternal progression. Although the latest invention seems greater than the one before it, each has its own place in the line of development that man is following. We think of great achievements as mysterious. How can man think out such wonderful things? Divine Science teaches us not to marvel at the brain power of men, but to recognize the One Mind in action through these men who are cooperating with the great forces of the Universe.
The trend of modern invention is toward the annihilation or elimination of time and space. To the one who believes in the unity of life this is a hopeful sign; for by means of the great mechanical devices of this era of development men are steadily being brought nearer and nearer together. We are today closer to those on the other side of the world owing to the great discoveries of radio and wireless than we were a hundred years ago to those a few miles away. This is all part of the law of progression.
I thrill when I hear that a heart beat in Schenectady was heard recently in San Antonio. We shall not need assembly rooms always; we shall sit in our homes, and hear the Sunday morning sermon, as well as the great musical programs, the operas, and speeches that are being broadcast now. From present indication we shall sit in our homes, some day in the not very distant future, and see the actors, as well as hear them, give their lines.
We who have watched the onward movement of natural science and invention with spiritual insight have known that greater and still greater developments would follow. The world is becoming truly one. Let us by our thinking and living speed the day when the oneness of mankind will be not only theorized over but practiced. It is the bringing together of men in common sympathy and clearer understanding that is the great ideal for the world to follow. The elimination of time and space by mechanical means is wonderfully significant of the unifying process that is working in the Law of Life.
We are almost tempted at times to think that in the greatness of recent discoveries we have heard the last words spoken in the development of different phases of human progress. Is there nothing more to be said? I believe that there are greater things still. When an inventor produced the amplifier for the radio which made it possible for ten thousand persons to hear what ten had heard before, we thought a final word had been spoken; then came the microphone, another invention which is so sensitive that it registers the sound if I drop a crumb of bread upon my table. This sound is registered many miles away. Some of us are saying, “There can be nothing greater than this.” I say that there are greater things in our midst right now.
The idea of radio is not new; the practical application of it is. The next step in the application of the principle is mental radio, no doubt. This is thought transference or telepathy. The psychologists are testing out the method of the transference of thought–and are proving that it can be done. Mental radio has been known by many people for years, but they have said little about their experience because they were awaiting further developments. The natural scientific men are not alone in their discovery of thought transference; the spiritual scientific women have seen this possibility for a long time. Their experiences have proved to them that thought messages can be sent without any mechanical means. Women have a deep insight into the things of the Spirit; this does not mean that men do not, but they are more concerned with the outer than women are–of necessity, of course. They are focusing thought upon that which is taking place in the outer conditions of daily existence. It was a woman, you remember, who first recognized the Christ; and she found it difficult to convince the men.
Mental telepathy means that thought messages sent out by me are caught by you. When thought messages were broadcasted by mental radio in years gone by, the phenomenon was considered supernatural. In the light of recent discoveries we find that this is not outside of the law. A great step had been taken; the scientific world is depending less upon material means.
There are two ways of contacting others metaphysically. We may reach them by mental concentration; this method is used by workers in applied psychology and mental science. It has its analogy in radio. The other method of contact is spiritual. In this method we reach another by knowing that there is only one Mind, and commune with him through this realization of unity. Let us for a moment assume the office of the one who forecasts. The spiritual method is the way of the future. It will be applied more and more as we think in terms of unity. The elimination of distance and time in our thought takes place as soon as we are established in the consciousness of the One Mind.
There is most helpful work being done today by the Spiritual scientists who are giving messages of the truth of Being to all the world. We in our treatments and silences are doing what wireless telegraphy is accomplishing by mechanical means. The effect of our thinking is felt not only in our midst and among the loved ones of our home group; these thought messages reach the uttermost parts of the earth. We have no way of measuring the power of thought; we know, however, that it is the mightiest force in existence. No one lives to himself alone. There is a universal radio system. Any one may listen in whose thought instrument is attuned. It is becoming recognized among natural scientists that every man is a radio station, and that we are constantly sending and receiving in the realm of thought. The psychologists are testing thought with instruments in order to prove to the world that thoughts are things. This is well; for the reports that come from learned men in great universities will be accepted by the world at large.
Divine Science teaches that since there is only one Mind, the transference of thought is by law; it is the natural method of communication among men. I like to think that we send thought blessings even to what the world has called the dark continent. I am sure that the natives in Africa can be reached by thought messages and blessed by these. Many of them are tuning in.
Luther Burbank tells many interesting incidents of thought transference in a recent magazine article in which he says that his mother was able to receive and send out thought messages. Mrs. Burbank was at one time attending a wedding at some distance from her home; she had intended to remain in this town during the night. Suddenly she became aware that her son had broken his arm. She returned to her home at once, to find that Luther’s arm had been broken at just the time the mental message had been received. Mr. Burbank says that his sister, according to tests made at the University of California, was able seven times out of ten, to receive messages sent to her telepathically. He says that weak thoughts must soon fall flat, while strong ones may travel to the ends of the earth, and that thoughts held in common by large numbers of people must “swell into a tremendous chorus.” Think of the privilege that is ours as individuals–that of lifting up the thought of the world. Every positive thought is an uplifting power. The ideal for the race is unity of thought. Is it true that the confused condition of the world today can be traced to the negative thoughts that the human race has been and still is generating and transmitting? We might well heed these words. We do not give sufficient attention to the power of our thoughts.
Mr. B.F. Mills told an amusing incident of thought transference which proves that we must not be too strenuous in our attempts to get a message across. Mr. Mills and a friend of his, by the name of Thompson, who were especially congenial mentally, decided to try an experiment in thought transference. They agreed that the experiment should be made at ten that evening. About six-thirty Mr. Mills was planning casually what message he should send to his friend. I will ask him when he last heard from his friend Anthony, and tell him to write to Anthony at once. Mr. Mills then dismissed the subject. At ten o’clock he set to work to concentrate with great vigor on the message to Mr. Thompson. He felt assured that such strenuous thought-work could not be done without results. At ten-thirty they were in communication. “Well, Thompson, what did you get?” asked Mr. Mills. “Not much of anything,” was his friend’s reply. Mr. Mills was greatly disappointed. “Well, didn’t you get something?” Mr. Thompson in a vague way answered, “I got something about an automobile. What did you really send?”
“I asked you when you had heard from Anthony, and added that you must write to him at once.” “That’s queer,” said Mr. Thompson, “at six-thirty I seized with the greatest desire to write to Anthony, and I did.” It was at six-thirty that Mr. Mills was planning his message to Mr. Thompson in a casual, easy way. The ten o’clock message had been blocked by the strenuous efforts of the sender to get it across.
Healing and all thought transference should be carried on with lack of effort, quiet certainty and confidence. Do not treat with screwed up faces and try to send out thought messages by making strenuous efforts. When our thought is directed toward the right thing, the realization of the truth of Being, we shall not be troubled by outer conditions. Let us not be diverted from the Big Thing by the lesser thing, the phenomenon. We should fix our thought upon the truth of the experience, not upon the experience itself. The truth is that good is omnipresent, and that he who is attuned to the harmonious activity of the universe of form will receive and likewise send out worth-while messages. Are we using the perfect thought power which is God-Mind in action? Are we ever more or less disturbed by the thought that there are many negative messages out on the waves of ether? We are told that this is true. We need not be disturbed, however, by these waves of thought; we shall not be affected by these unless we open ourselves to them. The great broadcasting process is ever at work; let us cooperate in the universal system by opening ourselves only to that which is true and by sending out only that which is positive.
I look back now upon the experiences my grandmother had in thought transference; her power was considered supernatural at that time. My grandfather with four other pioneers started out to explore the unbroken West. He had reached what we now call Missouri. This part of our continent seemed far away then; it took three weeks to get a letter from the West in my grandfather’s day. Grandmother dreamed one night that my grandfather had passed on; those in her family who tried to comfort her with the thought that it was only a dream after all, were assured that her dream was true. In three weeks a letter bearing the news of my grandfather’s passing was received. In those days what to many seemed supernatural, to me seems the most natural thing in the world.
Another instance of thought transference interested me. Four of us were driving around Denver in the days of open carriages; two of our party were strangers out to see the city. In the midst of a conversation in which we were all engaging, one of the guests said, “Pardon me, I am called upon to give a treatment; please go right on with your conversation.” After a time of silence she joined in the conversation again, and nothing more was said about the incident. Some time after this I met my friend, and she told me that at the time when she dropped out of the conversation the day of our drive, she did so because a call had come from her husband who seemed to be in great need. She responded to his call for help by beginning to treat at once. Her help had been needed; for she received word from her husband that at the time of receiving the impression of his need the walls of the mine in which he was working had caved in. He was buried in the dirt for a time, but after being carried out regained consciousness, and was found to have escaped injury.
Right thinking is the basis of powerful living. When we are tempted to think a thought of criticism, hatred, fear, envy, let us immediately meet the temptation, and come up over it. Someone else might be likewise tempted to open himself to the negative, and our wrong thought may find lodgment and do more harm than we think. While we are in a negative condition mentally, we are open to what we call the evil messages of others. But as long as we are positive in our thinking, we are safe in the Good.
I have had innumerable experiences in thought transference; in fact, they are daily occurrences.
When we think of ourselves as broadcasting and receiving stations, is there not a thrill that comes with the thought? Reflect for a moment on the privilege that is ours–that of helping to uplift the world. Let us keep our station in tune with the good and the true; then none of the negative thoughts can possibly reach us. Negative thoughts are evils–temporal of course. I would prefer, however, to face one good-sized devil than a thousand sneaking ones in the form of wrong thoughts. If only the race would wake up to the truth, and guard its thinking, for there seems to be what we may call race thought–an attitude toward life that is infixed in the race. Some psychologists have much to say about what they call the subconscious–the reservoir of race conceptions that seem to be a force in the world. What kind of thoughts are you and I contributing to the race consciousness? Remember that our responsibility is that all of our thinking be constructive. The world needs lifting up out of the concept of separation into the realization of love.
The greatest of all methods of thought transference is spiritual realization of the unity of all men. There are many of our brothers seeking the best; let it come persistently from you and me. I often think, as I speak, and look into the eager faces of the audience before me, of our invisible audiences in other cities and other countries; those who are searching to find God. Let us feed the spiritually hungry. This means cooperation with the law of love. There are seekers everywhere–in homes, schools, and offices–and there are broadcasters everywhere. Remember that we can broadcast truth from the kitchen as well as from the platform. Let us be sure that we are receiving our messages from Spirit, and then, broadcast these and no others to the world.
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