This is the third rule for the Mastery of Desire by Theron Q. Dumont from his work titled, The Master Mind. Links to the first and second rule as well as a link to a site to read the book for free will be linked at the bottom of the page.

RULE #3

Refuse to dwell upon the idea or mental picture. Feelings, emotions, and desires are often caused by ideas, resulting fro the process of thought or recalled in memory. Likewise they are deepened and strengthened by the recalling into consciousness of such ideas. Feelings, desires, and emotions are fed and nourished by the ideas or mental pictures associated with them and by cutting off their supply of nourishment, one can starve out the emotion, feeling, or desire.

Think about it. When you go about your day and you suddenly recall the memory of someone who insulted you, you begin to experience an emotion. Let’s call it anger. You start replaying the entire experience in your mind and what happens? Your anger grows. Then you start to think of the person who insulted you and you picture that person mentally and associated feelings regarding said person spring to life and all of those feelings, including your anger, grow.

Next, you may form mental images of revenge, or recall how you felt after the insult and soon you ruin your whole day because you dwelt on the ideas and mental pictures associated with the person who insulted you and the whole situation when it occurred. If you had simply refused to dwell on those thoughts and mental images, then your whole day would not have been ruined and you wouldn’t have had to feel all the anger and associated emotions you built up over the day.

Feed your mind with the ideas, and mental pictures, of the object or subject of the feeling, emotion, or desire which you wish to cultivate and develop. 

Using the same principle that feelings, emotions, and desires are fed and nourished by ideas and mental images associated with them, use mental visualization to develop a clear mental picture of the subject or object of desire that you wish to cultivate.

An example of this would be a gym-goer who sees a picture of a professional body-builder in a magazine or on social media and suddenly their desire to have a powerful and strong body is fired up because they can clearly imagine the body they desire; its right in front of them. However, if they were to imagine going home and snacking out in front of the TV, and form more mental images of this desire to eat and relax, then that may be exactly what happens. It all depends on which desire our gym-goer feeds with their ideas and mental images.

The Master Mind by Theron Q. Dumont

MASTERY OF DESIRE RULE #1

MASTERY OF DESIRE RULE #2

MASTERY OF DESIRE RULE #4