T H E P S Y CHO LO G I CAL M O M E NT (^175)
t h ese u nwelcom e idea s and th rus ting th em
i nt o oute r darkness, b u t such a c onc ep tion i s
e rroneo us a n d will l ea d to e gre giou s error.
If th e min d of th e b uye r c ont ain s th e i dea of
a noth er ca r th e p rop e r p roc e dure i s not to
dil a t e nega tively up on th a t c a r i n th e efio rt
to d rive i t o u t o f hi s mind. Eve ry w ord ut
tered ab ou t th a t c a r a ct s a s foo d for th e un
w elcom e i dea a nd c ause s i t to wax st ronge r
an d st ronge r. Th e p ra c tic e of c riticizing o r
c ondemning a rival c ommodity is b eing re cog
nized a s p oor b usine ss e th ic s, b u t w e m ay
go still farthe r a nd say th a t to sp eak eith e r
i n praise o r bl am e o f ri val good s i s p oo r p sy
ch ol o gy, fo r eve ry wo rd make s th e un de si re d
i de a still m o re t roubl esome.
Wha t are th e m eth ods, th en, by which the
unde si rabl e i dea s m ay b e force d out of th e
mind a n d th e desire d On e ench anced? Th e
a nswe r i s to forc e a ttention upo n I t ; wh e n
t hi s h app ens, th e strength o f t h e undesired
i dea s a utomatically decrea se s. Th e p sych o
l ogical si tuatio n m ay b ecom e cl ea re r wh e n
de sc ribe d i n t e rm s of b rai n ene rgy. Th e
b rai n, a cc ordin g to som e p sych ol o gi sts, i s
organize d i nt o a n umb e r of idea ti onal systems,
o ne fo r each i dea th at exi st s in th e min d. Any
i de ational sys tem m ay b e rouse d i n t o a c tion
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