On scores of occasions， when I have faced emergencies， some of them so grave that my lifewas in jeopardy， I have been miraculously guidedpast these difficulties through the influence of my“Invisible Counselors.”
My original purpose in conducting Council meetings with imaginary beings， was solely that ofimpressing my own subconscious mind， throughthe principle of auto-suggestion， with certaincharacteristics which I desired to acquire. In morerecent years， my experimentation has taken on anentirely different trend. I now go to my imaginarycounselors with every difficult problem whichconfronts me and my clients. The results are oftenastonishing， although I do not depend entirely onthis form of Counsel.
You， of course， have recognized that this chaptercovers a subject with which a majority of people arenot familiar. The Sixth Sense is a subject that willbe of great interest and benefit to the person whoseaim is to accumulate vast wealth， but it need notclaim the attention of those whose desires are moremodest.
Henry Ford， undoubtedly understands and makespractical use of the sixth sense. His vast businessand financial operations make it necessary for him tounderstand and use this principle. The late ThomasA. Edison understood and used the sixth sense inconnection with the development of inventions，especially those involving basic patents， in connectionwith which he had no human experience and noaccumulated knowledge to guide him， as was thecase while he was working on the talking machine，and the moving picture machine.
Nearly all great leaders， such as Napoleon，Bismark， Joan of Arc， Christ， Buddha， Confucius，and Mohammed， understood， and probably madeuse of the sixth sense almost continuously. Themajor portion of their greatness consisted of theirknowledge of this principle.
The sixth sense is not something that one cantake off and put on at will. Ability to use this greatpower comes slowly， through application of theother principles outlined in this book. Seldom doesany individual come into workable knowledge ofthe sixth sense before the age of forty. More oftenthe knowledge is not available until one is well pastfifty， and this， for the reason that the spiritual forces，with which the sixth sense is so closely related， donot mature and become usable except through yearsof meditation， self-examination， and serious thought.
No matter who you are， or what may have beenyour purpose in reading this book， you can profitby it without understanding the principle describedin this chapter. This is especially true if your majorpurpose is that of accumulation of money or othermaterial things.
The chapter on the sixth sense was included，because the book is designed for the purpose of presenting a complete philosophy by which individuals may unerringly guide themselves inattaining whatever they ask of life. The startingpoint of all achievement is DESIRE. The finishingpoint is that brand of KNOWLEDGE which leads tounderstanding—understanding of self， understandingof others， understanding of the laws of Nature，recognition and understanding of HAPPINESS.
This sort of understanding comes in its fullnessonly through familiarity with， and use of theprinciple of the sixth sense， hence that principle hadto be included as a part of this philosophy， for thebenefit of those who demand more than money.
Having read the chapter， you must have observedthat while reading it， you were lifted to a high levelof mental stimulation. Splendid！ Come back to thisagain a month from now， read it once more， andobserve that your mind will soar to a still higherlevel of stimulation. Repeat this experience fromtime to time， giving no concern as to how much orhow little you learn at the time， and eventually youwill find yourself in possession of a power that willenable you to throw off discouragement， master fear，overcome procrastination， and draw freely uponyour imagination. Then you will have felt the touchof that unknown “something” which has been themoving spirit of every truly great thinker leader，artist， musician， writer， statesman. Then you willbe in position to transmute your DESIRES into theirphysical or financial counterpart as easily as youmay lie down and quit at the first sign of opposition.
FAITH VS. FEAR！
Previous chapters have described how to developFAITH， through Auto-suggestion， Desire and theSubconscious. The next chapter presents detailedinstructions for the mastery of FEAR.
Here will be found a full deion of the sixfears which are the cause of all discouragement，timidity， procrastination， indifference， indecision，and the lack of ambition， self-reliance， initiative，self-control， and enthusiasm.
Search yourself carefully as you study these sixenemies， as they may exist only in your subconsciousmind， where their presence will be hard to detect.
Remember， too， as you analyze the “Six Ghosts ofFear，” that they are nothing but ghosts because theyexist only in one’s mind.
Remember， also， that ghosts—creations of uncontrolledimagination—have caused most of the damage peoplehave done to their own minds， therefore， ghosts can beas dangerous as if they lived and walked on the earthin physical bodies.
The Ghost of the Fear of Poverty， which seized theminds of millions of people in 1929， was so real thatit caused the worst business depression this countryhas ever known. Moreover， this particular ghost stillfrightens some of us out of our wits.