Art and science of personal magnetism: Theron Q. Dumont, 1913

[TestY]

@Karea Ricardus D. and others have written about the power of the one's mental atmosphere or the power of one's "vibration", for example in his article on Cali Pimp, and the X-Factor series. CaliPimp's source was Theron Q. Dumont, also known as William Atkinson, and his book "Personal magnetism". I came across an old ad for the book:

The Art and Science of Personal Magnetism

Here's a few quotes:

In physical science the term Induction is used to indicate that quality in a manifestation of energy which tends to reproduce in a second object the vibrations manifesting in the first object, without direct contact between the two bodies. And in this same manner do the Thought-Waves carry the vibrations of the mind sending them forth to great distances, or lesser ones, tending to set up similar vibrations in the minds of other persons within their field of force. Thus a person feeling a strong degree of anger will pour forth waves of that degree of mental vibration, which, coming in contact with the brains of other persons, tend to set up a similar feeling or emotion and thus cause the person to “feel cross” or “peevish” or even to manifest a similar angry state of mind.

In the same manner the Thought-Waves of a person will continue to vibrate around him wherever he goes, and those coming in contact with him will be impressed by the character of his vibrations in this way. Some men send forth gloomy vibrations which you feel when you come in contact with them. Others radiate good-cheer, courage and happiness, which conditions are induced in those with whom they come in contact. Many people manifest these qualities so strongly that one can notice the effect the moment such persons enter a room. They carry their atmospheres with them, and the same is induced in the minds of others around them.

Another case is that of a young student of mine, the son of a prominent businessman. Thus young man was well educated, polished, and moreover, possessed of a all the requisites of a successful salesman, except that of inspiring a feeling of friendship on the part of those with whom he came in contact. He was called upon to approach prominent businessmen in connection with his work for his father, and while he was able to present his arguments logically and forcibly, he was nevertheless handicapped by the fact that he repelled friendship, rather than invited it.

Is cure was very easy. I simply put him through a course of the mirror exercises in the "direct flash", until he had mastered the technique; and then had him saturate his mind with the mental image and idea of: "You like me - you like me very much;" "You feel attracted to me;" "You are my friend, and wish to show your friendship for me," etc.,

Well, this you man began to radiate such an atmosphere of likeability, friendship, etc., that he made friends right and left, even without trying - it was in the air around him, it seemed. His old trouble disappeared like magic - he was made over into a new man. And, yet it was all very simple, you see. Mere child's play, when one has the secret, as you now have".

"The preceding practice exercises may be followed by a similar practice of sending forth "flashes" of anything that you may wish to actually send to other persons later on ...:

"You like me.
...
You are attracted towards me!"

 

[Spyce D]

I have been working on this for quite some time.

And I realised that I had been putting lot of inhibitions on myself , internally ..... on how I can't get things and other stuff .

Still lot to work on.

 

[TestY]

Yes, if we are not in the right state of mind, we will feel conflicted about the practice. So it is important to focus on developing the right feeling and mind-state for the practice to be congruent. The words and mental images help in getting the feeling going. One can also use one's memory and bring to mind a past time one felt the relevant feeling.

"A controlled imagination, and a steadied, concentrated attention on the feeling of the wish fulfilled"

 

[Chase]

Nice find, @TestY.

I like reading old ads like this.

One of the most common assignments for new copywriters is to go through the Robert Collier Letterbook, which is just heaps and heaps of old newsletters from 100 years ago. And they're GREAT! The same basic type of copy still sells today. Same headline structures. Same body copy structures.

It's neat to see some of the techniques they use for selling here. Talking about how many men are content to just drift through life, content to be commonplace. I can't tell you how many times I've had conversations like that with people: "Look, most folks WANT to be ordinary... just drifting along not rocking the boat."

But if you are in the minority of folks who does not want to be "just another commonplace man", you read something like that and sit up straight in your chair: "Oh yeah, this guy's talking about me!"

Interesting how it leads by asking if you're a cold guy who makes no impression on others.

It also contrasts being able to attract women vs. making no impression on them.

Interesting the use of "sex magnetism" -- here they mean something that put into 2020s parlance would probably best be approximated by a phrase like "gender magnetism" (shiver)... or maybe just "woman magnetism." They are not saying 'sex' like 'fuck her in the pussy!' but 'magnetism between the sexes'.

It's hard not to read that as "attract her right onto your dick" though, since the phrase has been so transformed over the years...!

They make no bones about advertising power here, too. In today's world it almost seems a bit scandalous to advertise "power" directly. Though I have little doubt it would work, too.

Chase

 

[TestY]

Indeed, guys like Tony Robbins have rehashed these guys with his "Unlimited Power", "How to Unleash the Power Within", etc.
I like the framework of "Personal Power", which Dumont/Atkinson has written a 1500 pages book on, and which Tony Robbins has released a course on.

And yes, the drifters vs. the goal-getters. This view seems to appeal to people across the ages! As Aristotle writes in the Eudemian ethics:

Everybody who is able to live according to their own purposive choice should set before themselves some goal [skopos] to aim at through living in a good way – the goal could be achieving recognition, or distinction, or wealth, or culture – on which they will keep their eyes fixed in everything they do. It is clearly a sign of foolishness not to create order in your life in terms of having an end [telos].

"Sex magnetism" - even if he does write "opposite sex" just below, is indeed a risky phrasing today. Albeit a bit imprecise, one could perhaps say "Attraction magnetism", or "love magnetism".

Dumont did indeed also go quite far in his advertising..:

 

[gameboy]

I read the book up to page 9. There it says things like:

"advanced science now announces that every substance is radioactive", and
"it is now accepted as a fact that the human brain is strongly radioactive"

Was this really believed at the time? I realize the book is from 1913, and am willing to give it the benefit of the doubt. But from today's perspective both of these statements are utter bullshit.

 

[TestY]

The result is most surprising, for advanced science now announces that every substance is radioactive, that is, every substance is constantly radiating energy of force from itself

I'm not sure whether the brain is radioactive according to his definition or not. I know that modern science is able to "read" the thoughts of the mind, by translating the brain-waves it radiates:

In one particularly telling exchange, a pair of researchers from the University of Texas at Austin who've successfully created a BCI that can rudimentarily translate brain waves into text described how it felt to realize their device was actually reading their thoughts.

However, the chapter on physical magnetism is meant to open people up to the idea that mental magnetism might work. We can, however, use a different and more moderate explanation for mental magnetism: people "ping" off each other to gauge how to treat each other. For example as seen in the sociometer theory.

 

[gameboy]

Right. I'll keep reading, I think the phenomena described may be real even though they can't be explained by science.

Just checked Wikipedia, it says radiocativity was only discovered in 1898, so it's likely that in 1913 people had all sorts of assumptions about it that later turned out to be wrong.

 

[TestY]

Karea, Tony Robbins and the X-Factor:
Some quotes from Karea from back in 2011 when he came upon this approach. He uses Tony Robbins as a vehicle for developing internal state control - who in turn draws upon the older New thought-movement:

I got the effects only partially – sometimes I’d be able to create AI, other times, not. Some days I was cleaning up, other days I was more inconsistent. I think what happened was that you need to extrovert the right emotional state! And I sometimes lucked onto the right state while extroverting. Reason? I hadn’t truly understood the self approval vs. self esteem( I kinda had gotten the idea but I had never understood the implementation. Tony Robbins Personal Power recently cleared that up for me. I can now choose freely how I feel... It’s amazing.

... I did both of them together today and it was un-REAL. Wham wham wham, EVERY hot girl I passed gave me MASSIVE AI. Just ridiculous. Totally STARING at me, six or seven hot girls in a row. It was like I saw a wave of energy pass through the subway in front of me hitting the girls and they were jolted. I mean holy shit, I got like goose bumps cause this NEVER happens. After that I lost that state again, I think it’s a matter of practicing this so much until eventually the self approving & extroverted state becomes the default state. Once I had lost the state, I went back to completely invisible to girls as I was walking around the subway, even when I proactively made eye contact with them, total ignore. Do you believe that?? Then... I was able to get back into it and got the AIs again. Unreal.

what the community considers game. I had no idea what it was and just labeled it the X-Factor and been searching for it ever since. Now I’m starting to see how this kind of stuff can be consistent eventually. ... Take care man, -Karea.

I still get a lot of AIs, and I used to be totally invisible to girls unless I created social proof first.
Another benefit: I don’t need warmup sets anymore, I don’t have and hardly any AA (there is some on the first
sets but it’s so manageable that there’s no way it would stop me from approaching).

On another note, I just had another three lays in a row. And then another three. I just do my thing now and get laid. No more sticking points to be found anywhere.

 

[Dash of Englishness]

What's the actual take home point from all this talk anyway? If only everyone on the planet read about personal magnetism, then would everyone know how to instantly make themselves feel super confident and motivated? That's essentially the claim here.

Doesn't it go within saying that anyone who has a positive energy within themselves, will be taking advantage of it anyway. If you don't have a positive energy within yourself then it is easier said than done to shift your mental state. Isn't this just stuff we all already know, except disguised as being something new with fancy language?

 

[TestY]

What's the actual take home point from all this talk anyway? If only everyone on the planet read about personal magnetism, then would everyone know how to instantly make themselves feel super confident and motivated? That's essentially the claim here.

Doesn't it go within saying that anyone who has a positive energy within themselves, will be taking advantage of it anyway. If you don't have a positive energy within yourself then it is easier said than done to shift your mental state. Isn't this just stuff we all already know, except disguised as being something new with fancy language?

Let's see what the claims are. The claims are as follows:

a) One's "mental atmosphere" or vibe greatly influences one's interaction with other people, be it socially or professionally.
b) This mental atmosphere can be developed using specific exercises - which are quite simple, and don't require a lot of time
c) By doing this, one can become successful in one's social and professional relations. And as evidence, the following anecdotes are provided:

Dumont's anecdote:

Well, this young man began to radiate such an atmosphere of likeability, friendship, etc., that he made friends right and left, even without trying - it was in the air around him, it seemed. His old trouble disappeared like magic - he was made over into a new man. And, yet it was all very simple, you see. Mere child's play, when one has the secret, as you now have.

@Karea Ricardus D. 's anecdote:

I still get a lot of AIs, and I used to be totally invisible to girls unless I created social proof first.
Another benefit: I don’t need warmup sets anymore, I don’t have and hardly any AA (there is some on the first sets but it’s so manageable that there’s no way it would stop me from approaching).

On another note, I just had another three lays in a row. And then another three. I just do my thing now and get laid. No more sticking points to be found anywhere.

 

[Dash of Englishness]

Let's see what the claims are. The claims are as follows:

a) One's "mental atmosphere" or vibe greatly influences one's interaction with other people, be it socially or professionally.
b) This mental atmosphere can be developed using specific exercises - which are quite simple, and don't require a lot of time
c) By doing this, one can become successful in one's social and professional relations. And as evidence, the following anecdotes are provided:

Dumont's anecdote:

@Karea Ricardus D. 's anecdote:

I don't know, those exercises (the mirror ones) sound like the sort that would work on weak minded or easily manipulated people, and give them a temporary boost (hours, days, weeks) in confidence. Won't the novelty in something always enhance the effects anyway? Isn't it a bit naive to believe that a quick few exercises can just make you like Bradley Cooper on NZT? Or is it just a reflex action around here to always disagree with a space monkey?

So lets supposing someone had been fired from their job and felt like absolute shit, could they then just do these quick exercises and feel super confident all of a sudden; or would the effects just be a little less because of the situation?

 

[TestY]

You wrote:

Doesn't it go within saying that anyone who has a positive energy within themselves, will be taking advantage of it anyway. If you don't have a positive energy within yourself then it is easier said than done to shift your mental state. Isn't this just stuff we all already know, except disguised as being something new with fancy language?

As an answer, I provided two anecdotes of people who changed their social success through the practice of changing their mental states. As I understand it, you accept this possibility, but still have some reservations:

I don't know, those exercises (the mirror ones) sound like the sort that would work on weak minded or easily manipulated people, and give them a temporary boost (hours, days, weeks) in confidence. ... Isn't it a bit naive to believe that a quick few exercises can just make you like Bradley Cooper on NZT? ...

So lets supposing someone had been fired from their job and felt like absolute shit, could they then just do these quick exercises and feel super confident all of a sudden; or would the effects just be a little less because of the situation?

Let's take them in turn

a) The exercises only work on weak-minded people.
I suppose you mean that only weak-minded people can change their mental states in the ways described by Dumont/Atkinson and Tony Robbins. To uphold this claim, you would have to claim that Karea is weak-minded. Do you think this is the case?
Further, you would also need to make the general claim that only weak-minded people can change their mental state by using the techniques of auto-suggestion, mirror exercise, or Tony Robbins' emotional triad. Such a claim would depend on your view of human psychology. So my question would be: what is your view of the psychology of emotional states. I woud gently suggest looking into Aristotle's psychology.

b) The boost one gets will only be temporary
You presumably make this claim on the presupposition that one will lose one's focus/will-power, and revert back to one's habitual baseline. Dumont/Atkinson goes more into detail on how to make lasting changes to one's character in the following chapter.
Similarly, Classical Greek humanism and its psychology teaches that states can be turned into a stable disposition (hexis) through repeated practice.

c) It is naive to believe that a few quick exercises can be more than a quick-fix
Here's Atkinson's answer:

I do not ask for blind faith, but only for confidence until you are able to demonstrate for yourselves the truths I am passing on to you, as they were passed on to me, by those who went before

This was also the Buddha's attitude:

If you sincerely want to put an end to suffering — that's the condition — you should take certain things on faith, as working hypotheses, and then test them through following his path of practice.

d) One will still be at the mercy of external events, at least just a little bit
Let's say this is true - does that mean that there was in fact no take home point from Dumont's/Robbins' proposition anyways, as you said?
In my opinion it wouldn't be necessary to gain total and complete state independence from external events to find Dumont/Robbins' approaches to be valuable - and I believe the anecdotes show this.

Furthermore, I hold the view that it is indeed possible to reach a state of imperturbability so complete, that one would practically be 100 % state independent. This is the goal of several wisdom traditions, for example Stoic apatheia, Pyrrhonist ataraxia, Buddhist nirvana, and Vedic moksha. This is, however, no easy feat.