The Master Key System Chapter 6 Explained
The Master Key System Chapter 6 is about the power of concentration and attention.
Haanel begins with a metaphor which helps explain the relationship between mind and thought.
“Ask any electrician what the effect of electricity will be and he will reply that ‘Electricity is a form of motion and its effect will depend upon the mechanism to which it is attached.’”
— Charles Haanel
Electricity is a form of energy which can be transmuted into other forms of energy.
You can use electricity to create sound energy through music.
You can use it to create heat through a heater.
We commonly use it to create light through lightbulbs.
The mind is akin to electricity.
“…thought is mind in motion (just as wind is air in motion), and its effect will depend entirely on the ‘mechanism to which it is attached.’”
If you think constructively, you will create something different from when you think destructively.
The energy is neutral; it’s what you do with your thinking that counts.
Ignorance of the internal world
People often get excited to learn about the specifications of a new car they are considering to purchase.
Whenever the new iPhone comes out, fans spends hours watching review videos familiarizing themselves with all the fine details.
We are obsessed with mechanisms in the outer world.
“…But most of us are content to remain in absolute ignorance of the greatest piece of mechanism which has ever come into existence, the brain of man.”
This is a sad reality, because the brain is the organ of the mind which allows us to have creative thought.
In the world of your thoughts there are no limitations.
You can create worlds and your own laws of physics.
J.K. Rowling and other authors create whole universes through the act of ‘world building’ from their minds.
Harry Potter was a billion-dollar creation which originated from one mind.
All great marvels are first conjured in thought before they take form in the material.
Yet people ignore this special gift.
The power also has the ability to change your body.
We have seen this through thousands of documented cases of the placebo effect.
“This influence of the mind can be exerted upon any part of the body, causing the elimination of any undesirable effect.”
The Master Key System Chapter 6 Big IDEA: Concentration of Thought
Most people are not able to create anything of substance because their thoughts are not in their control.
They have what Buddhists call the ‘Monkey Mind’, which jumps from one idea to another frantically like a monkey swinging from branches.
Thoughts which are dispersed like this have no power.
However, concentrated thoughts on which you persist do have power.
Haanel gives the analogy of sun rays hitting the Earth.
The sun has lots of energy, but that energy is dampened by the time it hits Earth.
Grab a magnifying glass which concentrates the photons to a single point, and you can now start a wildfire.
“The possibilities of attention when properly directed are so startling that they would hardly appear credible to the uninitiated.”
— Charles Haanel
Many of the greatest discoveries came from men and women who concentrated their thoughts on a single subject for several years.
Einstein spent years working on his theories.
Newton discovered calculus and the laws of motion whilst in seclusion.
Michelangelo went to great lengths to perfect his sculptures, even dissecting corpses to better understand human anatomy.
Such persistent and concentrated thought is becoming rare in the age of infinite distractions.
Perhaps this is the reason we are not seeing many zero-to-one type discoveries.
Many inventions are slight derivatives of earlier breakthroughs.
The Master Key System Chapter 6 Exercise
Here are the instructions for The Master Key System Chapter 6 Lesson’s exercise.
“In order to cultivate the power of attention, bring a photograph with you to the same seat in the same room in the same position as heretofore. Examine it closely at least ten minutes: Note the expression of the eyes, the form of the features, the clothing, the way the hair is arranged — in fact, note every detail shown on the photograph carefully. Now cover it and close your eyes and try to see it mentally. If you can see every detail perfectly and can form a good mental image of the photograph, you are to be congratulated; if not repeat the process until you can.”
— Charles Haanel
The idea of this exercise is to build your ability of concentration and visualization. This exercise is deceptively difficult for those who have not practiced visualization before.
You will notice that keeping an image in the mind for longer than a few seconds is not easy; the mind forgets small details and wanders off.
Start with a simple image, and once you can easily visualize it, graduate to more intricate photographs.
It’s often easier to use a photo of someone you know over a stranger.
Experiment with doing the exercise at different times of the day.
I noticed that my visualization skills were far superior right before sleeping, during the hypnagogic state when the body was rested.
Do this, and you will be one step closer to living and dying well.