Book Review: Thought Vibration

Written in 1906, Thought Vibration by William Walker Atkinson, is as current and relevant today as it was a century ago. Atkinson, a somewhat forgotten New Thought pioneer, was also an attorney, merchant, publisher, editor and author of more than 100 books, many under pseudonyms.

Without being preachy, Atkinson explores the ideas of increasing willpower, mastering the real self, living fully, ridding the mind of negative thought, training habits, harnessing emotions, and developing new brain power. His older writing style is still lively and surprisingly refreshing 100 years later.

I love Atkinson’s “in your face” attitude about will power. (If you don’t have any, you’re mentally lazy!) And his thoughts on what he calls “asserting the life-force” or really living and experiencing each moment of every day, call us to stop doing things half-hearted. Take an interest, man!

Atkinson spends a lot of time discussing fear and how it affects our attitudes and, eventually, our ability to succeed. Fear, he says, is an expectancy of the feared thing. To banish fear, start to do some of the things you could do if you were not afraid to try. Assert courage and, eventually, the fear will recede.

Atkinson leaves us with some thoughts on our views of successful people. We imagine successful people to be superior. And if we ever get the chance to meet someone we deem as superior, many times we are disappointed to find that they are the same as ourselves! The difference, Atkinson asserts, is the successful person’s belief in themselves and their ability to concentrate. Resist the urge to undervalue ourselves and overvalue others.

Amazing how the world around us is so different yet the human element remains the same!