Affirmation · “The Subconscious Says Yes”
Law of Mentalism
Concentrate the mind on a single, clearly held aim and ‘project’ it, focusing thought-force toward a chosen outcome or person.
Define one precise aim. Relax. Concentrate on it single-pointedly, excluding all else. Picture it accomplished and hold it with intensity. Release, act, repeat.
What it is
A concentration-and-projection practice from A. Victor Segno’s The Law of Mentalism. Segno taught that thought is a real force — a “vibration” — that can be deliberately focused and directed.
The practice is to fix the mind, undistracted, on a single clearly defined aim (health, an outcome, or influence toward a person) and to “send” or project that thought, on the premise that concentrated mind-force tends to bring about its object.
The Method
- Define one aim precisely. State the single result you intend in clear, present-tense terms. Vagueness is treated as wasted force.
- Relax and quiet the body. Settle into stillness so attention is not pulled by physical restlessness — the prerequisite for concentrated thought.
- Concentrate single-pointedly. Hold the aim in mind with full, exclusive attention, excluding competing thoughts. Segno’s “Mentalism” makes sustained concentration the core skill.
- Build and “project” the thought. Picture the aim as accomplished and, with intensity, direct (project) the thought toward its object — the body’s healing, the desired condition, or a person held in mind. Segno frames this as transmitting thought-vibration.
- Release and repeat. End the session, return to ordinary action consistent with the aim, and repeat the concentration regularly. (Description is attributed paraphrase of Segno’s system; “thought-vibration” / “projection” are his framing.)
Source & Lineage
A. Victor Segno (b. 1870) founded the American Institute of Mentalism in Los Angeles and taught his system commercially through mail-order courses; The Law of Mentalism (1902) is its core text. It sits in the “thought-force / personal-magnetism” wing of New Thought.
Common refinements
Diffuse aim. Multiple or vague goals scatter the concentration; one precise aim per session.
- Trying to coerce others. Using “projection” to influence a specific person is both unsupported and ethically fraught — keep aims to your own state and conduct.
- Straining. Tense effort breaks concentration; relaxed, steady attention holds longer.
- Skipping action. Concentration is a primer for action, not a replacement for it.