The Mystic Will E-Book

Charles Godfrey Leland

• Herausgeber: Booksell-Verlag
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2019

Beschreibung

In 'The Mystic Will,' Charles Godfrey Leland presents a unique exploration of the interplay between willpower and mystical philosophy. Blending elements of psychology, metaphysics, and spirituality, Leland unveils the concept of the 'mystic will'—a transformational force that transcends ordinary human persistence. His literary style is both lyrical and didactic, employing vivid imagery and engaging anecdotes to draw readers into the depths of esoteric wisdom. Set against the backdrop of 19th-century spiritualism and the rise of occult studies, Leland's work reflects a period of profound inquiry into the nature of consciousness and existence. Charles Godfrey Leland was an influential American writer, folklorist, and advocate of spiritualism, who immersed himself in the study of the mystical traditions of various cultures. His extensive travels and interactions with diverse spiritual practices profoundly shaped his worldview, leading him to synthesize this knowledge into a cohesive framework in 'The Mystic Will.' Leland's passion for folklore and magic is evident in this text, revealing how his personal experiences and scholarly pursuits informed his vision of the powers of the human will. Readers seeking to deepen their understanding of spirituality and the potential of human will will find 'The Mystic Will' to be an enlightening read. Leland's insightful analysis invites readers to contemplate their own capacities for change and growth, making it a must-read for anyone interested in the intersections of psychology, spirituality, and personal transformation. In this enriched edition, we have carefully created added value for your reading experience: - A succinct Introduction situates the work's timeless appeal and themes. - The Synopsis outlines the central plot, highlighting key developments without spoiling critical twists. - A detailed Historical Context immerses you in the era's events and influences that shaped the writing. - A thorough Analysis dissects symbols, motifs, and character arcs to unearth underlying meanings. - Reflection questions prompt you to engage personally with the work's messages, connecting them to modern life. - Hand‐picked Memorable Quotes shine a spotlight on moments of literary brilliance. - Interactive footnotes clarify unusual references, historical allusions, and archaic phrases for an effortless, more informed read.

Leseprobe

Charles Godfrey Leland

The Mystic Will

Enriched edition. A Method of Developing and Strengthening the Faculties of the Mind, through the Awakened Will, by a Simple, Scientific Process Possible to Any Person of Ordinary Intelligence

In this enriched edition, we have carefully created added value for your reading experience.

Introduction, Studies and Commentaries by Garrett Holland

Edited and published by Good Press, 2019

[email protected]

EAN 4057664642523

Table of Contents

Introduction

Synopsis

Historical Context

The Mystic Will

Analysis

Reflection

Memorable Quotes

Notes

Introduction

Table of Contents

The Mystic Will contends that a trained, steadfast will can quietly reshape one’s conduct and, with persistence, one’s circumstances. Charles Godfrey Leland approaches this idea not as an abstract metaphysician but as a practical teacher, intent on showing how mental habits can be strengthened. The book’s emphasis is method rather than marvel, presenting the will as a faculty that grows through use. Readers encounter an argument for disciplined attention, framed in accessible terms and stripped of theatrical mystery. Far from promising sudden wonders, it points to incremental change achieved through daily effort, clarity of purpose, and self-directed practice.

This work belongs to the tradition of practical philosophy and self-culture that accompanied the occult revival and New Thought currents around the turn of the twentieth century. Leland, an American writer and folklorist, writes for general readers intrigued by the borderland between psychology and esoteric lore. The book is not a narrative but a manual-like exploration of mental training. It moves within the broader climate of popular psychology then in circulation, drawing on commonplace ideas of suggestion, habit, and concentration. As a historical artifact, it reflects a period when self-help literature and esoteric speculation frequently overlapped in tone and audience.

The premise is straightforward: willpower is not a mysterious gift but a capacity that can be cultivated through attention, repetition, and directed imagination. Leland’s voice is measured and conversational, setting out a sequence of reflections and exercises designed to be applied in ordinary life. The mood is encouraging without being grandiose, inviting readers to test principles rather than accept them on authority. The style favors plain examples over elaborate symbolism, leaning on familiar situations to show how intention becomes action. The experience is less a display of arcana than a guide to mental housekeeping, deliberately eschewing sensationalism in favor of steadiness.

Key themes include concentration as the hinge of will, the formative power of habit, and the use of self-suggestion to align thought with purpose. Leland treats imagination not as escapism, but as a tool that, when disciplined, supports resolve. He is attentive to the ethical dimension of will: strength of purpose is meaningful only when directed toward constructive ends. The book also considers the friction between impulse and intention, and the ways routine can either undermine or sustain character. Throughout, it returns to the claim that small, consistent acts of focus accumulate into an inner firmness that readers can recognize and maintain.

Placed in its period, The Mystic Will resonates with contemporary interests in mesmerism, suggestion, and emergent popular psychology, while keeping its feet on the ground. Rather than building a complex esoteric system, it sketches a practical program that shares a family resemblance with the self-improvement literature of its era. Leland’s background in folklore and esoteric subjects informs the vocabulary, yet the counsel remains pragmatic. The book’s method reflects a broader cultural search for reliable techniques of self-mastery at a time when scientific language was increasingly shaping discussions of mind, belief, and habit. Its appeal lies in bridging curiosity and common sense.

For today’s readers, the book’s relevance is immediate: it addresses distraction, wavering motivation, and the challenge of turning intentions into routines. Its insistence on small, repeatable practices resonates with current conversations about habit formation and focused attention. The emphasis on self-observation, deliberate practice, and realistic pacing offers a counterweight to quick-fix promises. By encouraging readers to test ideas in daily life, it invites a practical skepticism that pairs well with its gentle optimism. Those interested in the genealogy of self-help will find a precursor to later approaches, while anyone seeking steadier purpose may find a clear, durable framework.

Approached as a reflective guide, The Mystic Will rewards patient reading and steady application. It suggests an apprenticeship to oneself: observe, intend, practice, and revise. The prose is plain but purposeful, and the counsel is cumulative, designed to be revisited rather than rushed. As a historical document, it illuminates how earlier generations framed mental training; as a living resource, it proposes methods that remain workable without specialized equipment or elaborate theory. Readers need not share the era’s vocabulary to benefit from its discipline. What the book ultimately offers is a sober confidence that the will, exercised thoughtfully, becomes a trustworthy companion.

Synopsis

Table of Contents

The Mystic Will by Charles Godfrey Leland is a practical manual on cultivating will power through the conscious use of suggestion and the resources of the subconscious mind. Written in a plain, instructive style, it aims to convert scattered insights from psychology, hypnotism, and traditional disciplines into everyday methods. Leland frames will not as a rare talent but as a trainable faculty strengthened by practice. He emphasizes that the work is neither magical nor mystical in a supernatural sense, despite the title, but a system for directing thought. The opening chapters set the purpose: to develop steady self command and effective action through disciplined mental habits.

Leland introduces the idea of subconsciousness as a continuous background of mental activity that receives, stores, and executes suggestions. He draws on contemporary notions of unconscious cerebration and the interaction between deliberate thought and automatic processes. The will, in this view, becomes powerful when clear intentions are repeatedly impressed on the deeper mind. Fixed ideas, once planted, tend to realize themselves in conduct. The author maintains that many apparent failures of resolve stem from poor methods of formation and reinforcement. By reorganizing how resolutions are made, recalled, and enacted, the book proposes to turn good intentions into reliable habitual performance.

The method begins with autosuggestion, delivered in simple, definite formulas stated quietly and confidently. Leland recommends putting resolutions into short phrases and repeating them at regular times, especially before sleep and upon waking, when the mind most readily accepts direction. Writing intentions and visualizing their execution strengthens the effect. The reader is advised to start with specific, verifiable aims such as waking at a chosen hour or completing a set task. Consistency matters more than intensity; suggestions should be frequent, orderly, and unambiguous. Over time, steady repetition engrains a tone of purpose, so the subconscious initiates and sustains actions with less conscious strain.

Concentration is treated as the partner of suggestion. Leland proposes brief, progressive exercises to steady attention, such as gazing at a point, counting with even breathing, and holding a single idea without drift. The goal is not forced tension but calm persistence. By learning to inhibit distractions for small intervals, one acquires the ability to apply the mind at will. The practice includes returning gently to the chosen object whenever it wanders, thereby building control. This disciplined attention allows suggestions to be planted more distinctly and executed more surely, and it becomes the basis for orderly thinking, prompt decision, and economical use of mental energy.

Leland links will power to habit and forethought. He advises planning the day in advance, arranging tasks in sequence, and performing them punctually to cultivate a spirit of execution. Small, deliberately chosen acts serve as training weights for the will: writing a letter at a set hour, abstaining from an unnecessary indulgence, or finishing a modest piece of work without delay. Success with trivial obligations prepares one for larger demands. The author stresses prompt beginnings and consistent follow through, arguing that doing a little every day outperforms irregular effort. Forethought transforms distant intentions into near actions, reducing hesitation and preventing wasteful indecision.

The system extends to memory, study, and invention. Leland suggests using autosuggestion to prepare the mind to remember names, facts, or plans, and to think over problems briefly before sleep so the subconscious may continue the work. He notes that orderly classification, repetition in varied forms, and reviewing at set intervals cooperate with suggestion to fix knowledge. For creative tasks, he recommends alternating concentrated sessions with deliberate pauses, allowing ideas to ripen below the surface. The emphasis remains practical throughout: create clear objectives, give precise inner orders, and maintain regular routines, so that recall and insight occur more readily when they are needed.

Emotional regulation and bodily states are addressed as fields for will training. Leland proposes calm breathing, posture, and quiet autosuggestions to counter fear, anger, and fatigue, maintaining that steady self talk and composed bearing influence the underlying processes. He includes simple methods for easing pain or discomfort by diverting attention and affirming relief. Rest and moderate recreation are treated as supports for mental discipline, not indulgences. Insomnia, worry, and wavering resolve are approached with the same tools: clear commands, gentle persistence, and an emphasis on rhythm. The general claim is that orderly influence over feeling and sensation reinforces the broader habit of self mastery.

Leland also considers the outward effects of the trained will. He discusses personal influence, or fascination, as a natural consequence of self possession, clarity of purpose, and controlled expression. Quiet firmness in voice, steady attention to the interlocutor, and congruent gestures are presented as practical means of persuasion. The book distinguishes this from deception, insisting that genuine conviction is the strongest force in communication. While acknowledging traditions of magnetism and occult arts, the author locates their workable core in suggestion and example rather than mysterious agencies. The emphasis remains on ethical use, urging readers to apply influence for constructive ends and reciprocal benefit.

The concluding chapters reiterate the central message: will is strengthened by methodical practice that enlists the subconscious through clear suggestion, steady concentration, and persistent habit. Leland encourages readers to begin with small, precise objectives, to work at regular hours, and to keep records of progress. The promised result is a character capable of prompt, calm action in work, study, and conduct. The book closes by uniting older wisdom about self discipline with contemporary psychological concepts, asserting that what appears mystical is simply organized mental effort. The Mystic Will thus presents a compact program for converting intention into reliable, everyday power.

Historical Context

Table of Contents

Charles Godfrey Leland’s The Mystic Will emerged from the anglophone fin-de-siècle world, when London, Paris, and Philadelphia were hubs of both laboratory psychology and popular occultism. First issued in the 1890s as a practical tract on will-training and republished posthumously in London in 1907, the book addresses readers of an urban, industrial society grappling with rapid change. Its non-fiction setting is the lecture hall, the study, and the self-improvement circle rather than a fictional locale. Leland, educated in Philadelphia and in German universities, wrote for a transatlantic audience conversant with mesmerism, hypnotic research, and the burgeoning culture of pragmatic self-mastery in the decades around 1900.