I read yet another your-thoughts-make-your-destiny type of self-help book. It has the usual recommendations of positive thinking, affirmations, visualization, taking action, having gratitude and so on.
Instead of regurgitating those well-known self-help topics, I will highlight just the few things that make this book different from its peers.
The author, Claude Bristol, was a WWI veteran, investment bank, and newspaper reporter. He claims to have read many books of philosophy, religion, and psychology to discover a “golden thread” that ties them all together. He published a pamphlet TNT: It Rocks the Earth and later published Magic of Believing in 1948, not long after WWII. His goal was to give returning service men and women the mental tools they needed to have a successful life after the war.
So, what’s the secret? Namely, if you sincerely believe in an outcome, then you can achieve it. This is not just 20th century self-help hokum. For example, the Christian Gospels noted several times Jesus speaking of belief.
Matthew 17:20: "Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
Matthew 21:22: "And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith."
Mark 9:23: "Jesus said to him, 'If you can believe? All things are possible for one who believes."
Bristol dedicates chapters about parapsychology. He talks about his own life experiences such as when he got a hunch while boarding a boat that he would have dinner with the captain. Unbeknownst to him, the captain spotted Bristol boarding the ship and had an odd inclination to invite the boarding passenger to his table for dinner. A coincidence?
Is telepathy and extra-sensory perception (ESP) real? Bristol discusses the research done at universities in the 1930s which attempted to scientifically prove the existence of ESP, telepathy, and clairvoyance. He especially admires J.B. Rhine’s research at Duke University. However, Wikipedia notes that none of his results have been replicated. Bristol repeatedly cautions negative influences and beliefs undermine the success of ESP results. Is it legit? My own view on it is ambivalent.
From my own experience, there have been uncanny coincidences where I’m reminded about someone for no specific reason and then they shortly reach out to me or remember me somehow. This anecdote doesn’t prove anything, but I’ve heard of many people having similar “hunches” and intuitions like this appear from time to time.
Another unique part of this book is Bristol dedicating a lengthy chapter on how women, in particular, are well suited for these mind training techniques. Bristol claims women tend to have a more intuitive sense they can utilize. Readers may or may not agree but it was a perspective I have not yet seen in other self-help books.
Okay, so what techniques does Bristol recommend?
The first was writing “word pictures” for your top desires and goals on cards and placing them in conspicuous places where you will often see them. A word picture is a short phrase, no more than a few words, which encompasses your desire. This is like RHJ’s advice in It Works! The unique aspect is making it into short phrases and putting it onto cards.
For example, I took a blank four-by-six index card and folded it in half. That way it can stand up on its own. Write your word pictures on one side. Repeat the process to make additional cards and place them in multiple locations you will often see them—your bathroom, your desk, by your bed, and so on. However, there’s one caveat here: Don’t share these cards or goals with anyone because it can mess up the process. Every author I’ve read on subconscious programming has given this same advice. So of course, the phrases shown in the picture below are examples and not my actual goals.
The second piece of advice is what Bristol calls the “mirror technique”. Look yourself in the mirror directly in your eyes and give yourself a pep talk and visualize yourself achieving your goals. You might look like a weirdo, but Bristol felt so strongly on this technique that he recommended salesmen do it and have small mirrors placed at their desks and vehicles. Of course, this reminds me of SNL’s Stuart Smalley.
I will add one other technique here. This was not in Magic of Believing but I came across it while I was reading the book. It’s called the 68-second manifestation technique and is originally from Esther Hicks, famous for her “Abraham” books. The gist is that if you spend 68 seconds at least once a day in a calm, meditative state and visualize a positive outcome, you can help bring it to life. I can’t yet speak to its effectiveness but it seems like a quick and straightforward practice.