CONCENTRATION 743or the desire for that end, may be likened to the apple seed, and the
blending of the forces of energy of the two or more minds may be
likened to the seed, the air, and the soil out of which come the ele-
ments that form the material objects of that desire.
I know of a family of mountain folk who, for more than six genera-
tions, have lived in the mountainous region of Kentucky. Generation
after generation of this family came and went without any noticeable
improvement of a mental nature, with each generation following in the
footsteps of its ancestors. They made their living from the soil, and
as far as they knew, or cared, the universe consisted of a little spot of
territory known as Letcher County. They married strictly in their own
set, and in their own community.
Finally, one of the members of this family strayed away from the
flock, so to speak, and married a well-educated and highly cultured
woman from the neighboring state of Virginia. This woman was an
ambitious person who was well aware that the universe extended beyond
the borders of Letcher County, and covered, at least, the whole of the
southern states. She had heard of chemistry, botany, biology, patho-
logy, psychology, and of many other subjects that were of importance
in the field of education.
When her children reached an age of understanding, this woman
would talk to them of these subjects, and they in turn began to show
a keen interest in them. One of her children is now the president of a
great educational institution, where most of these subjects are taught.
Another of them is a prominent lawyer, while still another is a suc-
cessful physician.
Her husband, thanks to the influence of her mind, is a well-known
dental surgeon and the first of his family, for six generations, to break
from the traditions by which the family had been bound.
The blending of her mind with his gave him the needed stimulus
to spur him on and it inspired him with ambition such as he would
never have known without her influence.