The Power Of Your Subconscious Mind

“Your prayer is answered because your subconscious mind is principle, and by principle I mean the way a thing works.”

From his first chapter, Murphy describes the relationship between the conscious and subconscious minds in terms of scientific principles. He goes on to say that the subconscious mind works through the law of belief, which holds that a person must believe in the way their mind works in order to tap into its immense power. He will also discuss the concept of “scientific prayer,” his term for the basic process through which suggestions from the conscious mind are imprinted and acted upon by the subconscious mind. As a former chemist and a trained psychologist in a time when therapies are heavily influenced by research, Murphy understands the appeal of a scientific basis for a self-help process that relies heavily on The Psychology of Prayer, Belief, and Faith.

“Remember, it is the world within, namely, your thoughts, feelings, and imagery, that makes your world without.”

Murphy knows that his ideas about perception, reality, and self-change contradict popular thinking. As he says in the same chapter, most people try to change their conditions and circumstances by working with them. His proposal—that the change takes place in the subconscious—may seem radical to readers of the time. This is one reason why he often points to the concurrence between his ideas and those found in the great religions of the world, especially Christianity, to open people to the possibilities in his new way of thinking.

“It is of the greatest importance that we understand the interaction of the objective and subjective mind in order to learn the true art of prayer.”

The subjective mind, or subconscious, cannot distinguish between thoughts that are constructive and those that are counterproductive. In Murphy’s view, the subconscious will act on both kinds of thoughts. This is why, in order to form new and healthy habits, people must both habitually think about the higher concepts of harmony, peace, and joy and transmit vivid, positive thoughts from the objective or conscious mind to the subjective one through the process of scientific prayer.

“I explained to him that he should establish a major premise in his thinking, that the infinite intelligence of his subconscious mind was guiding, directing, and prospering him spiritually, mentally, and materially.”

Murphy gives various names to the mind of God, including “infinite intelligence.” He maintains that a single, omnipresent mind flows through all living things and is the source of the power of the subconscious mind. In Murphy’s view, this presence can lead anyone to any goal they desire. By reframing his own religious beliefs in a more neutral form, Murphy attempts to appeal to a much wider audience.

“My body and all its organs were created by the infinite intelligence in my subconscious mind. It knows how to heal me.”

Central to Murphy’s view on healing is that the subconscious mind itself is powered by divine creation and has therefore fashioned every part of the body; for this reason, it is perfectly qualified to heal the body as well. Murphy believes that the subconscious mind seeks to preserve human life and restore health. The way to tap into its healing powers is to remove the mental blocks that prevent healing and replace them with thoughts of harmony, health, and peace. This process works to heal both oneself and others.

“The psychologist or psychiatrist proceeds to remove the mental blocks in the patient so that the healing principle may be released.”

Murphy firmly believes that only God working through the process of scientific prayer can heal a patient. At the same time, as a psychologist, he is aware that his ideas overlap in some ways with principles of several prevailing therapies of the time, including rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT). Here, as he references a key concept of REBT, he acknowledges that a professional can indeed lead a patient toward mental healing.

“By entering into a sleepy, drowsy state, effort is reduced to a minimum.”

The majority of Murphy’s techniques involve making affirmations several times a day while in a drowsy, relaxed state, and especially before sleeping. This is because the negative thoughts of the conscious mind are not present during such times, thereby allowing the subconscious to do its work without any obstacles.

“Repeating an affirmation, knowing what you are saying and why you are saying it, leads the mind to that state of consciousness where it accepts that which you state as true.”

Murphy returns again and again to the importance of making affirmations, or positive statements expressing faith that a desired outcome will occur. By promoting this concept, he aligns himself with other 20th-century authors and supporters of positive thinking, most notably Napoleon Hill, the author of Think and Grow Rich (1937), and Norman Vincent Peale, the author of The Power of Positive Thinking (1952). However, Murphy differs from these authors when he brings in concepts from Divine Science, the church in which he was ordained as a minister. This church’s beliefs combine positive thinking with a belief in God as an infinite intelligence that dwells within everyone.

“Mental effort is invariably self-defeated, eventuating always in the opposite of what is desired.”

The subconscious mind cannot be compelled to accept an idea through willpower. Murphy calls this the law of reversed effort, stating that if a person’s desires and imagination are in conflict, the imagination will win out. Only when the conscious mind sends vivid pictures of the desired harmonious outcome to the subconscious mind can change take place.

“It is your right to be rich.”

As part of his discussion of techniques for acquiring wealth in Chapters 9 and 10, Murphy states that everyone is on earth to be happy, and so everyone should have enough money to lead a happy life. Money is not evil, and one of his affirmations for getting it is to say, “I like money” (103). These chapters depart from the author’s treatment of techniques for most other goals in that they do not quote from the Bible. This is likely because Murphy, as a minister, knows that this particular discussion would potentially contradict conventional Christian beliefs connecting the love of money with the root of evil.

“Your thought is creative. Thought fused with feeling becomes a subjective faith or belief.”

In this passage, Murphy refers to the ways in which scientific prayer works. Thought is creative because under the right circumstances, the thoughts of the conscious, or objective, mind can tap the power of the subconscious, or subjective, mind. Belief in the process is key to success in obtaining the desired goal.

“There are many ways by which your prayer may be answered.”

Murphy stresses throughout the book that a desired outcome might not be a physical event. It might instead come in the form of an intuition, hunch, impulse, urge, idea, referral, or even advertisement. His point is that an answer will always come if the person trusts the workings of the subconscious.

“A successful man is not selfish. His main desire in life is to serve humanity.”

Murphy encourages readers to believe that it is good to be successful and wish to attract wealth. However, he advises people not to merely “get by” in life. Instead, they must have the goal of helping others through their work. The subconscious will aid in this process because it is always working toward the greater good.

“This answer, from his subconscious mind, gave him the long-sought answer of the circular rearrangement of the atoms that is known as the benzene ring.”

Murphy devotes special attention to issues that are influenced by sleeping and waking. In Chapter 12, he cites a number of scientists whose important discoveries came to them in their sleep, including chemist Friedrich von Stradonitz, who found the structure of the benzene ring in a dream. Murphy recommends paying attention both to one’s dreams and to thoughts that appear immediately upon awakening.

“The subconscious mind has a memory of everything that has ever transpired.”

The subconscious not only holds one’s own memories but is also able to hold the memory of all past history. This is because it is powered by the mind of God, where there is no time or space. Murphy maintains that archaeologists can call upon these memories to reconstruct ancient artifacts.

“Remember that the future, the result of your habitual thinking, is already in your mind except when you change it through prayer.”

Murphy believes that a person’s habitual thoughts will determine what happens to that person. This is why, to change the future—especially in the pursuit of specific goals—people must change the way they think on a daily basis. The subconscious will respond to whatever they think consistently.

“Marriage to be real must first be on a spiritual basis.”

The author believes that spouses should pray together, but he is talking about his own specific definition of prayer. He believes that marital friction is based on a lack of knowledge of the workings of the conscious and subconscious minds. To be perfectly honest and sincere with a spouse and to radiate love to them, each person should picture their spouse as they ought to be: joyful, happy, healthy, loving, and kind. This will lead to a harmonious union.

“The good you do for others come back to you in like measure; and the evil you do returns to you by the law of your own mind.”

The law of mind (which Murphy also calls “laws of mind” and “creative law of mind”) holds that the subconscious mind is open to suggestion. It does not reason or make distinctions between good and bad suggestions; it merely reacts to the impressions provided by the conscious mind. For this reason, it brings goodness to those who habitually think and do good things and evil to those who cheat and deceive.

“Give no one in all the world the power to deflect you from your goal.”

Murphy points out that appeasing others, especially those who are trying to manipulate, is never the right approach. He holds that people must be free to fulfill their aim in life—to serve humanity and reveal God’s wisdom, truth, and beauty to the world.

“Self-condemnation is called hell (bondage and restriction); forgiveness is called heaven (harmony and peace).”

Murphy asserts that God does not condemn or punish anyone. In this view, all suffering, including self-condemnation, is the product of one’s own destructive thinking. Self-forgiveness is an important part of forgiving, as it helps to align a person’s thoughts with the divine law of harmony and bring them happiness.

“Your thoughts are things.”

The short, sharp, and emphatic tone of this statement underscores its importance to the broader ideas of the book. Murphy asserts that external forces, including other people, do not create a person’s destiny. Instead, only a person’s own thoughts can do this. Those who understand and internalize this concept will find it possible to forgive those who try to oppose them.

“The solution lies within the problem. The answer is in every question.”

When people are presented with a difficult situation, they should assume that infinite intelligence in their subconscious mind will hold the answer. Belief that creative intelligence is removing mental blocks and bringing about the solution will let people find the answer they need. The process can be applied to breaking bad habits, including addiction.

“I told him that he could liken his conscious mind to a camera, that his subconscious mind was the sensitive plate on which he registered and impressed the picture.”

This is one of several metaphors that Murphy uses to describe the relationship between the conscious and subconscious minds. Others include a seed planted in the ground that eventually germinates and the way in which the captain of a ship controls their crew.