Seven Laws by Emmet Fox On this page...

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1. The Law of Substitution 2. The Law of Relaxation 3. The Law of Subconscious cti!ity ". The Law of #$actice %. The Two Facto$s &. 'hat (ou Thin) *+on ,$ows -. The Law of Fo$.i!eness

1. The Law of Substitution

There are a few great laws that .o!e$n all thin)in./ 0ust as the$e a$e a few fundamental laws in chemist$y/ in +hysics/ and in mechanics/ fo$ exam+le. We know that thought control is the 1ey of 2estiny/ and in o$de$ to lea$n thou.ht cont$ol we ha!e to )now and unde$stand these laws/ 0ust as the chemist has to unde$stand the laws of chemist$y/ and the elect$ician has to )now the laws of elect$icity. One of the great mental laws is the Law of Substitution. This means that the only way to .et $id of a ce$tain thou.ht is to substitute anothe$ one fo$ it. (ou cannot dismiss a thou.ht di$ectly. (ou can do so only by substitutin. anothe$ one fo$ it. 3n the +hysical +lane this is not the case. (ou can d$o+ a boo) o$ a stone by sim+ly o+enin. you$ hand and lettin. it .o4 but with thou.ht this will not wo$). 5f you want to dismiss a ne.ati!e thou.ht/ the only way to do so is to thin) of somethin. +ositi!e and const$ucti!e. 5t is as thou.h in o$de$/ let us say/ to d$o+ a +encil/ it we$e necessa$y to +ut a +en o$ a boo) o$ a stone into you$ hand/ when the +encil would fall away. If I say to you/ 62o not thin) of the Statue of Libe$ty6/ of cou$se/ you immediately thin) of it. 5f you say/ 657m not .oin. to thin) of the Statue of Libe$ty6/ that is thin)in. of it. 8ut now/ ha!in. thou.ht of it/ if you become inte$ested in somethin. else/ say/ by tu$nin. on the $adio/ you fo$.et all about the Statue of Libe$ty 99 and this is a case of substitution. When negative thoughts come to you/ do not fi.ht them/ but thin) of somethin. +ositi!e. #$efe$ably thin) of ,od4 but if that is difficult at the moment/ thin) of any +ositi!e o$ const$ucti!e idea/ and then the ne.ati!e thou.ht will fade out. It sometimes happens that ne.ati!e thou.hts seem to besie.e you in such fo$ce that you cannot o!e$come them. That is what is called a fit of de+$ession/ o$ a fit of wo$$y/ o$ +e$ha+s e!en a fit of an.e$. 5n such a case the best thin. is to .o to a .ood mo!ie o$ +lay/ o$ $ead an inte$estin. boo)/ say a .ood no!el o$ bio.$a+hy o$ t$a!el boo)/ o$ somethin. of the )ind. 5f you sit down to fi.ht the ne.ati!e tide you will +$obably succeed only in am+lifyin. it. Turn your attention to somethin. :uite diffe$ent/ $efusin. steadfastly to thin) o$ $ehea$se the difficulty/ and/ late$ on/ afte$ you ha!e com+letely .otten away f$om it/ you can come bac)

with confidence and handle it by s+i$itual t$eatment. 65 say unto you that you $esist not e!il6 (;atthew %<3=) F$om ;a)e (ou$ Life 'o$thwhile >a$+e$ ? Row +ublishe$. @o+y$i.ht 1="2/ 1="3/ 1=""/ 1="%/ 1="& by Emmet Fox

2. The Law of ela!ation

"nother of the great mental laws is the Law of Relaxation. 5n all mental wo$)in. effo$t defeats itself. The mo$e effo$t you ma)e the less will you$ $esult be. This of cou$se is 0ust the o++osite of what we find on the +hysical +lane/ but it will not su$+$ise us because we )now that in many cases the laws of mind a$e the $e!e$se of the laws of matte$. On the physical plane/ usually the mo$e effo$t we ma)e the .$eate$ the $esult. The ha$de$ you +$ess a d$ill the faste$ it will .o th$ou.h a +lan). The ha$de$ you hamme$ a nail the soone$ does it .o into the wall. The ha$de$ you wo$) in di..in. the .$ound the soone$ do you ha!e a ditch. The exact o++osite/ howe!e$/ is the case with thou.ht. "ny attempt at mental pressure is fo$edoomed to failu$e because the moment tension be.ins/ the mind sto+s wo$)in. c$eati!ely/ and 0ust $uns alon. on whate!e$ the old habit +atte$n is. 'hen you t$y to fo$ce thin.s mentally/when you t$y to hu$$y mentally/ you sim+ly sto+ you$ c$eati!e +owe$. To enable you$ mind to become c$eati!e a.ain you must un9tense it by consciously $elaxin.. In all mental working be $elaxed/ .entle/ and unhu$$ied fo$ effo$t defeats itself. 6In #uietness and in confidence shall be you$ st$en.th6. (5saiah 3A<1%). F$om ;a)e (ou$ Life 'o$thwhile >a$+e$ ? Row +ublishe$. @o+y$i.ht 1="2/ 1="3/ 1=""/ 1="%/ 1="& by Emmet Fox

$. The Law of Subconscious "ctivity

"s soon as the subconscious min% acce+ts any idea/ it immediately be.ins t$yin. to +ut it into effect. 5t uses all its $esou$ces (and these a$e fa$ .$eate$ than is commonly su++osed) to that end. 5t uses e!e$y bit of )nowled.e that you ha!e e!e$ collected/ and most of which you ha!e totally fo$.otten/ to b$in. about its +u$+ose. 5t mobiliBes the many mental +owe$s that you +ossess and most of which you ne!e$ consciously use. 5t d$aws on the unlimited ene$.y of the $ace mind. 5t lines u+ all the laws of natu$e as they o+e$ate both inside and outside of you/ to .et its way. Sometimes it succee%s in its +u$+ose immediately. Sometimes it ta)es a little time4 sometimes it ta)es a lon. time/ de+endin. on the difficulties to be o!e$come4 but if the thin. is not utte$ly im+ossible/ the subconscious will b$in. it about 99 once it acce+ts the idea. This law is true fo$ both .ood and bad ideas. This law/ when used ne.ati!ely/ b$in.s sic)ness/ t$ouble/ and failu$e4 and when used +ositi!ely/ b$in.s healin./ f$eedom/ and success. The 8ible teachin. does not say that ha$mony is ine!itable no matte$ what we do 99 that is #ollyanna 99 it teaches that ha$mony is ine!itable when ou$ thou.hts a$e +ositi!e/ const$ucti!e/ and )indly.

&rom this it follows that the only thin. we ha!e to do is to .et the subsconscious to acce+t the idea that we want $e+$oduced/ and the laws of natu$e will do the $est4 will b$in. fo$th the healthy body/ the ha$monious ci$cumstances/ the successful ca$ee$. 'e .i!e the o$de$s 99 the subconscious mind does the wo$) F$om ;a)e (ou$ Life 'o$thwhile >a$+e$ ? Row +ublishe$. @o+y$i.ht 1="2/ 1="3/ 1=""/ 1="%/ 1="& by Emmet Fox

'. The Law of (ractice

(ractice makes perfect. This familia$ +$o!e$b embodies one of the .$eat laws of human natu$e and 99 bein. a law 99 it is ne!e$ unde$ any ci$cumstance b$o)en. To become proficient in any field you must +$actice. The$e is sim+ly no achie!ement without +$actice and the mo$e +$actice/ +$o!ided it is done intelli.ently/ the .$eate$ will the +$oficiency be and the soone$ will it be attained. This is t$ue in the study of music/ in the study of a fo$ei.n lan.ua.e/ in lea$nin. to swim o$ s)ate o$ s)i o$ fly. 5t is t$ue in e!e$y concei!able b$anch of human endea!o$. #$actice is the +$ice of +$oficiency. In business life and in any )ind of mana.ement o$ administ$ation/ ex+e$ience is the fo$m that +$actice ta)es/ and he$e a.ain it is +$actice that ma)es +e$fect. That is why/ othe$ thin.s bein. e:ual/ an olde$ +e$son is usually to be selected fo$ $es+onsible +ositions $athe$ than a youn.e$. In metaphysics the effects of this law a$e +a$ticula$ly st$i)in.. Thou.ht cont$ol is enti$ely a matte$ of intelli.ent +$actice. nd t$ue $eli.ion may well be summed u+ as the #$actice of the #$esence of ,od. 8ut note that 5 said intelli.ent. Ciolent fo$cin. is not intelli.ent +$actice/ no$ is monotonous +loddin.. (ractice is the secret of attainment. 'e mi.ht +a$a+h$ase 2anton and say +$acticeD ... and mo$e +$acticeDD ... and still mo$e +$acticeDDD 6)e ye %oers of the wo$d/ and not hea$e$s only6 (Eames 1<22) F$om ;a)e (ou$ Life 'o$thwhile >a$+e$ ? Row +ublishe$. @o+y$i.ht 1="2/ 1="3/ 1=""/ 1="%/ 1="& by Emmet Fox

*. The Two &actors

+very thought is made u+ of two facto$s/ )nowled.e and feelin.. thou.ht consists of a +iece of )nowled.e with a cha$.e of feelin./ and it is the feelin. alone that .i!es +owe$ to the thou.ht. Fo matte$ how im+o$tant o$ ma.nificent the )nowled.e content may be/ if the$e is no feelin. attached to it nothin. will ha++en. 3n the othe$ hand/ no matte$ how unim+o$tant o$ insi.nificant the )nowled.e content may be/ if the$e is a la$.e cha$.e of feelin. somethin. will ha++en. This universal law is symboliBed in natu$e by the bi$d. bi$d has two win.s/ neithe$ mo$e no$ less/ and they must both be functionin. befo$e he can fly. It makes no %ifference whethe$ the )nowled.e content is co$$ect o$ not as lon. as you belie!e it to be co$$ect. Remembe$ that it is what we $eally belie!e that matte$s. $e+o$t

about somethin. may be :uite unt$ue/ but if you belie!e it/ it has the same effect u+on you as if it we$e t$ue4 and that effect a.ain will de+end u+on the :uantity of feelin. attached to it. When we un%erstan% this Law we see the im+o$tance of acce+tin. only the T$uth conce$nin. life in e!e$y +hase of ou$ ex+e$ience. 5ndeed/ this is why Eesus said/ 61now the T$uth and the T$uth will set you f$ee.6 Fow we $ealiBe why ne.ati!e feelin.s (fea$/ c$iticism/ etc.) a$e so dest$ucti!e/ and a sense of +eace and .ood will is such a +owe$ fo$ healin.. F$om ;a)e (ou$ Life 'o$thwhile >a$+e$ ? Row +ublishe$. @o+y$i.ht 1="2/ 1="3/ 1=""/ 1="%/ 1="& by Emmet Fox

,. What -ou Think .pon /rows

What you think upon grows. This is an Easte$n maxim/ and it sums u+ neatly the .$eatest and most fundamental of all the Laws of ;ind. 'hat you thin) u+on .$ows. What you think upon grows. 'hate!e$ you allow to occu+y you$ mind you ma.nify in you$ life. 'hethe$ the sub0ect of you$ thou.hts be .ood o$ bad/ the law wo$)s and the condition .$ows. ny sub0ect that you )ee+ out of you$ mind tends to diminish in you$ life/ because what you do not use at$o+hies. The more you think about you$ indi.estion o$ you$ $heumatism/ the wo$se it will become. The mo$e you thin) of you$self as healthy and well/ the bette$ will you$ body be. The more you think about lac)/ bad times/ etc./ the wo$se will you$ business be4 and the mo$e you thin) of +$os+e$ity/ abundance/ and success/ the mo$e of these thin.s will you b$in. into you$ life. The more you think about you$ .$ie!ances o$ the in0ustices that you ha!e suffe$ed/ the mo$e such t$ials will you continue to $ecei!e4 and the mo$e you thin) of the .ood fo$tune you ha!e had/ the mo$e .ood fo$tune will come to you. This is the basic/ fundamental/ all9inclusi!e Law of ;ind/ and actually all +sycholo.ical and meta+hysical teachin. is little mo$e than a commenta$y u+on this. 'hat you thin) u+on .$ows (#hilli++ians "<G) F$om ;a)e (ou$ Life 'o$thwhile >a$+e$ ? Row +ublishe$. @o+y$i.ht 1="2/ 1="3/ 1=""/ 1="%/ 1="& by Emmet Fox

0. The Law of &orgiveness

It is an unbreakable mental law that you ha!e to fo$.i!e othe$s if you want to demonst$ate o!e$ you$ difficulties and to ma)e any $eal s+i$itual +$o.$ess. The vital importance of fo$.i!eness may not be ob!ious at fi$st si.ht/ but you may be su$e that it is not by me$e chance that e!e$y s+i$itual teache$ f$om Eesus @h$ist downwa$d has insisted so st$on.ly u+on it.

-ou must forgive in1uries/ not 0ust in wo$ds/ o$ as a matte$ of fo$m4 but since$ely/ in you$ hea$t 99 and that is the lon. and the sho$t of it. (ou do this/ not fo$ the othe$ +e$son7s sa)e/ but fo$ you$ own sa)e. 5t will ma)e no diffe$ence to him (unless he ha++ens to set a !alue u+on you$ fo$.i!eness)/ but it will ma)e a t$emendous diffe$ence to you. Resentment/ condemnation/ an.e$/ desi$e to see someone +unished a$e thin.s that $ot you$ soul/ no matte$ how cle!e$ly you may be dis.uisin. them. Such thin.s/ because they ha!e a much st$on.e$ emotional content than anyone sus+ects/ fasten you$ t$oubles to you with $i!ets. They fette$ you to many othe$ +$oblems which actually ha!e nothin. whate!e$ to do with the o$i.inal .$ie!ances themsel!es. &orgiveness %oes not mean that you ha!e to li)e the delin:uent o$ want to meet him4 but that you must wish him well. 3f cou$se you must not ma)e a 6doo$ mat6 of you$self. 3f cou$se you must not allow you$self to be im+osed u+on/ o$ ill t$eated. (ou must fi.ht you$ own battles and fi.ht them with +$aye$/ 0ustice/ and .ood will. 5t does not matte$ whethe$ you can fo$.et the in0u$y o$ not/ althou.h if you cease to $ehea$se it you +$obably will 99 but you must fo$.i!e. Fow $econside$ The Lo$d7s #$aye$. F$om ;a)e (ou$ Life 'o$thwhile >a$+e$ ? Row +ublishe$. @o+y$i.ht 1="2/ 1="3/ 1=""/ 1="%/ 1="& by Emmet Fox