Affirmation · “The Subconscious Says Yes”
Atkinson's Dynamic Mentation
Set a definite, energized mental ‘vibration’ by concentrated will and repeated affirmation, so that the dominant mental attitude is positive and magnetic — Atkinson’s claim being that like attracts like in the thought world, drawing matching thoughts, people, and conditions.
Choose the exact positive state you intend to embody. Concentrate the whole will on a single energized affirmation (“I AM ___“), said with force and feeling, until it becomes your dominant attitude. Cut every fear/doubt vibration as it arises. Hold calm expectancy that like draws like, and act on the openings.
What it is
William Walker Atkinson — the prolific New Thought author (and “Yogi Ramacharaka” / “Theron Q.
Dumont”) who popularized “the Law of Attraction” — taught that thought is a vibration radiating from the mind, and that “like attracts like in the thought world.” His signature practice, which he variously called Dynamic Mentation and trained through “New Psychology” drills, is to deliberately set a strong, definite positive vibration by concentrated will plus energized affirmation, making the desired mental attitude the dominant, habitual one.
The emphasis is distinctly muscular: not gentle, calm impression (Troward) but forceful, willed concentration that “broadcasts” a charged mental state.
The Method
- Choose a definite mental state to vibrate. Pick the exact quality you intend to embody and emit — confidence, courage, health, success. “Thoughts are things”; you are always vibrating something, so choose deliberately.
- Concentrate the will (the core drill). Atkinson’s New Psychology drills train concentration as a muscle: fix the whole attention on the single idea/affirmation, excluding all else, holding it steadily. Practise gathering scattered attention to one point and keeping it there — concentration is “the secret of mental power.”
- Energize an affirmation. State the desired condition as present fact, but charge it with feeling and force: “I AM courageous,” “I radiate success,” said with vigor and conviction, not flatly. The energy behind the affirmation is what raises its “vibration.”
- Make it the dominant note. Repeat the energized affirmation until the positive state becomes the habitual background attitude — “the predominant mental attitude” — so that it operates between drills, not only during them.
- Cut the negative vibrations. Refuse fear, doubt, and worry the moment they arise; “you can change your vibrations by changing your thought.” Mental discipline guards the dominant note.
- Expect the like to come. Hold the calm expectancy that the energized state draws matching thoughts, opportunities, and people toward you, and act on the openings it brings. (Sourcing note: quoted phrases are from Thought Vibration and Atkinson’s New Thought / New Psychology writings; the numbered structure is an attributed paraphrase.)
Source & Lineage
William Walker Atkinson (1862–1932), a lawyer and businessman who turned to New Thought after a breakdown and recovery, edited New Thought and Advanced Thought magazines and wrote scores of books under his own and pen names.
Thought Vibration (1906) is a foundational popularization of “the Law of Attraction”; his concentration/will drills shaped a generation of practical mental-training courses.
Common refinements
Flat affirmation. For Atkinson the energy is the point; a listless repetition has no “vibration.” Charge it with feeling and will.
- Forcing into strain. Concentrated will should be focused, not clenched; tension fatigues attention. Build the drill gradually.
- Letting the negative note dominate. One charged worry can become the dominant vibration; guard the predominant attitude actively.
- Mistaking it for passive wishing. This is a discipline of trained will, plus action on the openings — not lying back and waiting.