The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1912-03-31
By C.. S. MADDOCKS.

his horse TO make him 60 out Of the barn
does not reason. But the man who. when the
horse refuses TO go out procures bucket
Of oats, lets the horse begin to eat them.
and, while its attention IL thus distracted.
gently leads It out through the door. res-
sons, for he solves a problem for which or
binary habits OF thought or action do not
sufiice."
The reasoning and thoughtful parent. in
stead OF constantly telling his child that be
10 bad and that he cannot have this or that
because he Is bad. behaves with the child In
something the same way as the man behaves
with his horse when he abstracts his atten-
tion for good. There Is q frightful loss Of
sweetness Of human spirit because parents
never reason as to how their methods OF
dealing with child win finally result. The
child. instead OF being led gently. Is con-
stantly being dashed with the tongue IL no:
the whip And a. they deal with their chill
dren 50 some men try to deal with the world.
and 1t always baIks.
Men have succeeded by acting upon i'm
pulse or spontaneous thinking. but theirs Is
never a solid success unless controlled
thought has come to their aid at some point
Prof. Thorndyke, In discriminating between
these two. says: THE difference 10 that
AA NSLuShcO NAAlAAAAB SaGA AlOAbHA - ~
comes is attended to; its usefulness is judged
in the light Of our general system Of Ideas
and purposes concerning the topic in hand:
It is allowed to remain and influence the fu-
ture course OF thought only when 1t seems A..
Arnold Bennett in his little book called
How to Live on Twentyfour Hours a.
Day" has brief chapter on controlling the
mind, every word Of which Is worth quoting
He closes by saying: Get your mind in
hand and see how the process cures half the
evils OF nfe-especialyl worry. that miserable,
avoidable. shameful disease-worry!''
This is what he says about the way to do
so: 4" People say. One can't help ones
thoughts Button can. The control Of the
thinking machine is perfectly possible.
Learn to Concentrate.
And since nothing whatever happens to
US outside or own brain; since nothing
hurts US or gives US pleasure except within
the brain. the supreme importance Of being
able to control what goes on in that myster-
ious brain is patent This idea is one OF the
Oldest platitudes, but It is a platitude whose
profound truth and urgency most people
live and die without realizing. People COM
plain Of the lack OF power to concentrate
not whiting that they can acquire the power
IL they choose
And without the power to concentrate
that Is TO say. without the power to dictate
to the brain its task and to insure obedience
true life is impossible. Mind control is the
first element OF full existence.
Hence. 1t seems TO me that the FIRST bust
ness Of the day should be TO put the mind
through its PAGES. You look after your body.
inside and out; you run grave danger In hack
ing hairs OF your skin; you employ a whole
army Of individuals. from the milkman to the
pig killer, to enable you to bride your stom-
ach into decent behavior. Why not devote q
little attention to the far more delicate ma
chinery Of the mind, especially as you will
REQUIRE no extraneous aid? 1t II for this
portion Of the art and craft Of living that
have reserved the time from the moment OF
quitting your door to the moment Of arriy-
ing at your office.
What? I am to cultivate my mind in
the street, on the platform. in the train.
and in the crowded street again. Precisely.
Nothing simpler! No tools required! Not
even a book Nevertheless. the AFFAIR is not
easy. When you leave your house, concen-
trate your mind on a subject )no matter
what, TO begin With.