Haanel introduces the Solar Plexus — the physical seat of the subconscious mind — and explains how fear blocks the flow of energy that creates health, magnetism, and outward results.
About this content: The Master Key System was written by Charles F. Haanel in 1912 and is in the public domain. The original text is reproduced here in full. The plain-language breakdown, reflection questions, and exercises are Headway's original work.
By now you've spent two full weeks sitting still — first holding the body, then holding the mind. If you've done the work, you've already done more focused mental training than most people do in a lifetime. Don't underestimate that. This week Haanel begins connecting the inner work to the physical body and to the energy you radiate outward into the world.
Lesson 3 is where Haanel reveals the physical mechanism — the Solar Plexus — through which mental work shapes your body and the energy you radiate outward. Take your time with it. You have a full week.
Introduction
You have learned that the individual mind acts on the Universal, and that the result of this action is cause and effect. Thought is the cause; the experiences you meet in life are the effect. Stop complaining about conditions as they are — it rests with you to change them. Direct your effort toward the mental resources always at your command, and persist until you realize that no proper object in life can fail if you understand your power and stay committed.
1.
The conscious and subconscious minds work through two parallel nervous systems. The cerebro-spinal system, centered in the brain, is the organ of the conscious mind — the channel through which we receive sense perception and exercise control over the body.
2.
The sympathetic system, centered in the Solar Plexus, is the organ of the subconscious — the channel of all mental action that unconsciously supports the vital functions of the body.
3.
The Solar Plexus is the sun of the body. It is a central point of distribution for the energy the body is constantly generating. This energy is real, and it radiates outward, enveloping the body in an atmosphere of its own making.
4.
When this radiation is strong, a person is called magnetic. They wield real power for good. Their mere presence often brings comfort to troubled minds. When the Solar Plexus radiates freely, the body is filled with health and others experience a pleasant sensation in their company.
5.
When this radiation is interrupted, the result is disease — physical, mental, or environmental. Every ill of the human race traces back to a blockage in this flow.
6.
The Solar Plexus is the point at which the part meets the whole — where the finite becomes infinite, where the universal becomes individualized, where the invisible becomes visible. There is no limit to the amount of life one can generate from this center.
7.
Non-resistant thought expands the Solar Plexus. Resistant thought contracts it. Pleasant thought expands it; unpleasant thought contracts it. Thoughts of courage, power, confidence and hope produce a corresponding state — but the one arch enemy that must be destroyed before any light can shine is fear.
8.
Fear is the cloud that hides the sun. It makes us fear the past, the present and the future; fear ourselves, our friends and our enemies; fear everything and everybody. When fear is completely destroyed, the light shines, the clouds disperse, and the source of power, energy and life is revealed.
9.
Our attitude of mind toward life determines what we meet. If we expect nothing, we shall have nothing. If we demand much, we shall receive the greater portion. The world is harsh only as we fail to assert ourselves. Criticism is bitter only to those who cannot make room for their ideas.
10.
The most natural way to impress the subconscious is to mentally concentrate on the object of your desire. When you concentrate, you are impressing. This is the method by which every great inventor, financier, and statesman has converted the invisible force of desire, faith, and confidence into tangible facts in the objective world.
Exercise (from Part Three):
For your third week, go one step further. Not only be perfectly still and inhibit all thought as far as possible, but relax — let go, let the muscles take their normal condition. This removes pressure from the nerves and eliminates the tension that produces physical exhaustion. Make this exercise as thorough and complete as possible; mentally determine that you will relax every muscle and nerve until you feel quiet, restful, and at peace with yourself and the world. The Solar Plexus will then be ready to function, and you will be surprised at the result.
Haanel is making a claim in Lesson 3 that sounds extreme on first reading: that the body — your health, your vitality, the energy you radiate — is governed by the same mental laws as your circumstances. He's not speaking metaphorically. He's saying the solar plexus is the physical seat of the subconscious mind, the place where mental work translates into physical reality.
You don't have to accept the metaphysics to take the practical point. Your mental state and your physical state are not separate systems. They affect each other constantly. Most people only notice this when stress shows up as a headache, when anxiety shows up as a stomach ache, when prolonged worry shows up as exhaustion that no amount of sleep can fix. Haanel is making a stronger claim — that it works in both directions, and that you can use it deliberately.
It has no filter. It cannot say "that's not true." Think about the self-talk most people carry without even noticing it — the things that sound like facts but are really just old deposits:
"The one arch enemy of the Solar Plexus which must be absolutely destroyed before there is any possibility of letting any light shine is fear."
That is the diagnosis. Fear contracts. Fear shuts down the flow. Fear is the cloud that hides the sun. And fear is not just the dramatic kind — fear of failure, fear of rejection, fear of loss. It includes the low-grade fear most people carry every day. The fear of not being enough. The fear of being seen. The fear of asking. The fear that drains energy out of every interaction without ever being named.
Haanel's prescription is direct: when fear is gone, the light shines. Not because anything external has changed, but because the channel is finally open. The energy that was being spent on contraction is now available for everything else.
The exercise this week is about practicing that openness. Body still, mind still, and now — fully relaxed. Tension is fear made physical. When you consciously release tension, you give yourself a small demonstration of what Haanel is pointing to. The body softens. The breath deepens. Energy returns. You may not be able to hold it for long the first few times. That's normal. The practice is the return.
One more thing worth noticing: Haanel is also introducing the concept of "magnetism" here — the idea that the energy you radiate affects the people around you. Most of us have met people who walk into a room and the atmosphere changes. That's real, and Haanel is saying it's trainable. Not through performance or charm, but through the inner work that opens the channel.
Setup: Same as before. Sit erect, feet flat, hands folded, body completely still. Set a timer for 15 to 30 minutes.
What's new this week: Add full physical relaxation. Hold the body still — but let every muscle release. Notice where you're holding tension — your jaw, your shoulders, your hands, your forehead, your stomach — and consciously release each place. Be still in body AND completely relaxed in muscle. The two are not the same.
Then add visualization: Hold the intention that energy is radiating from the center of your torso outward — filling your body with vitality, then extending past your skin into the space around you. Don't strain to see it. Just hold the intention while you sit.
Optional phrase to hold silently: "I am whole. I am well. I am at peace." Use Haanel's words or your own. The words matter less than the intention behind them.
Do this every day for seven days. Notice what changes — not just during the sitting, but in how your body feels throughout the day, and in how others respond to you.
Sit with these during the week. You don't need to answer them all at once. Let them work on you.
What is the low-grade fear you carry every day — the one that's so familiar you may not even notice it anymore? Fear of being seen? Of being judged? Of asking? Of not being enough? Name it as specifically as you can.
Where in your body do you carry tension? Jaw, shoulders, stomach, hands? What's the connection between where you hold tension and what you've been afraid of?
Haanel says fear contracts the Solar Plexus and shuts down the flow of energy. Where in your life do you notice contraction? Where have you been "small" without meaning to be?
Think of someone you know whose presence changes the atmosphere of a room — for better. What is it about them? Could you become that for someone else?
After a week of practicing relaxation, what shifted? In your body, in your mood, in your interactions with others? What surprised you?
Or return to this page next week — Lesson 4 will be live here.
The audio below is Barry's reading of Haanel's original Part Three — the Introduction and all 33 numbered sections. Listen after reading for reinforcement, or use it on a walk or commute. Open the original text below before pressing play to follow along word for word.
Audio credit: Narrated by Barry, of Giving Voice to the Wisdom of the Ages. Barry spent years researching and recording lost spiritual classics — purchasing source materials out of pocket, maintaining over 18 free audio libraries, and keeping everything free by choice. We're grateful for it.