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Will is able to direct or withhold the attention, as the case may

be. And in this control of the attention is the control of the
mind by the Will. The Will does not create thoughts, but by its
control and direction of the attention it is able to determine
just what objects shall be held before the conscious mind. Thus,
indirectly, the Will is the master of thought. It is a task worthy
of the strongest Will this mastery and control of attention in
the direction of perception. Prove it for yourself.
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Chapter XVI.
How to Control the Emotions.
The second phase of the development of the Will is that
of the mastery and control of the emotive faculties or
activities of the mind. The emotive activities include all
that we know as emotion, feeling, desire, etc., and as these
activities are the inciters of the Will, he who masters and governs
them is also master of the Will itself. In fact, as we have said in
the first part of this book, these activities are often considered
as phases of the Will itself.
While it is true that Will is incited to action by the emotive
faculties, it is likewise true that by the Will we may master, control,
direct and repress these emotive activities. To many persons
to the majority of persons, in fact it seems ridiculous to talk
of mastering feelings, emotions and desires. Such persons will
admit that one may control the action resulting from desires
and feelings, but that the feelings and emotions themselves
are beyond control, and come and go as they will. But this is
far from being correct. By the Will we may not only refuse to
act upon a feeling, emotion or desire, but we may also cause
these emotive activities to refrain from appearing in the field
of consciousness. This may be accomplished by the control
of the attention. By a firm control of the attention, one may
The Will