d shaped by the Ego
if intelligent methods are followed.

The majority of people consider that Character is a fixed something,
belonging to a man, that cannot be altered or changed. And yet they show
by their everyday actions that at heart they do not believe this to be a
fact, for they endeavor to change and mould the characters of those
around them, by word of advice, counsel, praising or condemnation, etc.

It is not necessary to go into the matter of the consideration of
the causes of character in this lesson. We will content ourselves by
saying that these causes may be summed up, roughly, as follows: (1)
Result of experiences in past lives; (2) Heredity; (3) Environment;
(4) Suggestion from others; and (5) Auto-suggestion. But no matter how
one's character has been formed, it may be modified, moulded, changed,
and improved by the methods set forth in this lesson, which methods are
similar to what is called by Western writers, "Auto-suggestion."

The underlying idea of Auto-suggestion is the "willing" of the individual
that the changes take place in his mind, the willing being aided by
intelligent and tried methods of creating the new ideal or thought-form.
The first requisite for the changed condition must be "desire" for the
change. Unless one really desires that the change take place, he is
unable to bring his Will to bear on the task. There is a very close
connection between Desire and Will. Will is not usually brought to bear
upon anything unless it is inspired by Desire. Some people connect the
word Desire with the lower inclinations, but it is equally applicable to
the higher. If one fights off a low inclination or Desire, it is because
he is possessed of a higher inclination or Desire. Many Desires are
really compromises between two or more conflicting Desires--a sort of
average Desire, as it were.

Unless one desires to change his character he will not make any move
toward it. And in proportion to the strength of the desire, so will be
the amount of will-power that is put in the task. The first thing for
one to do in character building is to "want to do it." And if he finds
that the "want" is not sufficiently strong to enable him to manifest the
perseverance and effort necessary to bring it to a successful conclusion,
then he should deliberately proceed to "build up the desire."

Desire may be built up by allowing the mind to dwell upon the subject
until a desire is created. This rule works both ways, a