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The Tenth Lesson: Sub-Consciousing.655
upon them the truth that something within them will come to the rescue.
So, presenting a confident air, they will manage to say a few platitudes or
commonplaces, while the sub-conscious mind is most rapidly gathering its
materials for the answer. In a moment an opening thought “flashes upon”
the man, and as he continues idea after idea passes before his conscious and
eager attention, sometimes so rapidly that it is almost impossible to utter
them and lo! the danger is over, and a brilliant success is often snatched from
the jaws of an apparent failure and defeat. In such cases the mental demand
upon the sub-conscious mind is not voiced in words, but is the result of a
strong mental need. However, if one gives a quick verbal command “Attend
to this,” the result will be heightened.
We have known of cases of men prominent in the world’s affairs who
made a practice of smoking a cigar during important business interviews,
not because they particularly cared for tobacco, but because they had
learned to appreciate the value of a moment’s time for the mind to “gather
itself together,” as one man expressed it. A question would be asked, or a
proposition advanced suddenly, demanding an immediate answer. Under
the watchful eyes of the other party the questioned party tried not to show
by his expression any indication of searching for an answer, for obvious
reasons. So, instead, he would take a long puff at the cigar, then a slow
attentive look at the ashes on its tip, and then another moment consumed
in flicking the ash into the receptacle, and then came the answer, slowly,
“Well, as to that—” or some other words of that kind, prefacing the real
answer which had been rapidly framed by the sub-conscious mind in time
to be uttered in its proper place. The few moments of time gained had
been sufficient for the sub-conscious mind to gather up its materials, and
the matter to be shaped properly, without any appearance of hesitation
on the part of the answerer. All of this required practice, of course, but the
principle may be seen through it all, and in every similar case. The point is
that the man, in such cases, sets some hidden part of his mind to work for