The Contagion Of Thought

The same writer says, along the same general lines: "Many have of course

noticed the differing mental atmospheres of stores, offices, and other

places of business. Some of such places give one an air of confidence

and trust; others create a feeling of suspicion and distrust; some

convey an impression of active, wideawake management, while others

impress one as being behind the times, and suffering from a want of

alert, active management. These differing mental atmospheres are caused

by the different prevailing mental attitudes of the owners of the

respective establishments. The managers of business places send forth

thought-waves of their own, and their employees naturally falling into

the pace set for them also send forth similar vibrations, and before

long the whole place is vibrating on a certain scale. A change of

management soon produces a marked change in the entire mental atmosphere

of the place. In the same way, we notice the mental atmospheres of the

houses we happen to visit; in this way we become conscious of an entire

mental scale of many notes, the notes being sounded unconsciously by the

minds of the occupants of the houses. From some thresholds radiate

harmony, while others breathe the spirit of inharmony. Some radiate

emotional warmth, while others chill one like an iceberg, by reason of

the emotional coldness of the dwellers therein. Likewise, the low

quarters of our cities, the dens of vice, and the haunts of dissipation

vibrate with the character of the thought and feeling of those

inhabiting them. And, often, the weak-willed visitor is thus tempted. In

the same way, certain other places are charged with the vibrations of

strong, helpful, elevating mental states, which tend to lift up and

elevate, energize and stimulate the minds and feelings of those visiting

these places. Thought and feeling are contagious, by reason of the laws

of mental vibration and mental induction."