Here’s an interesting quote by William Walker Atkinson:
“Each and every person has a thought-atmosphere, or aura, surrounding him, which reflects the general character of his thought, his feelings, and his general mental character. This atmosphere or aura is composed of and constituted by the vibrations of his radioactive thought, which are analogous to the vibrations of light, heat, electricity or magnetism; it is constantly renewed by the mental currents which are pouring out from the mental organism of the person.
These thought-vibrations of this thought-atmosphere more or less affect other persons coming within their field of induction. You know, from your own experience and that of others with which you are familiar, that when you meet a stranger, and have directed your attention to him, you are conscious of a “something about him” which produces a certain effect upon you, and which creates in your mind a more or less definite impression regarding him — very often a quite marked feeling of like or dislike. In some cases, even though your attention has not been directed toward the person, that “something about him” is so strong and active that it attracts and holds your attention, and makes you “take notice” of him.
You have shared the experience of many persons when, on certain occasions, you have been vividly impressed by the entrance of some particular person into a room, or office, or other place. There has been nothing out of the ordinary in the appearance of the person, or in his dress, carriage or general manner, but, nevertheless, you have felt in some way that there is something unusual about him. In some cases, you have experienced at once a marked attraction to, or perhaps a marked repulsion from certain individuals.
In other cases you have recognized a peculiar “air of authority” about certain persons; others have seemed to carry with them an “atmosphere of success”; others have seemed to be surrounded by a cloud of failure, lack of confidence, etc.; some have seemed to radiate cheerfulness and optimism; others have seemed to emanate gloom, pessimism, and discouragement. To some you have felt what may be called an “affinity”; to others you may have felt an actual antipathy.
Some persons seem to exert a thought-influence extending merely to a field immediately around them. Others seem to fill a room with their personality as soon as they enter it, or at least as soon as they direct their attention to the persons in the room.
Others, still, seemingly experience no difficulty in extending their thought-radiations so as to influence strongly a large number of people—the whole audience, assemblage, or congregation feels the “presence” of such a person as soon as he addresses them. Some exceptionally “magnetic” individuals — some great actors or orators — manifest thought-atmospheres composed of thought vibrations so active and powerful, that they fairly carry by storm the emotional natures of immense bodies of people, and sweep them off their feet in spite of their reason and will.
Some persons impress you at once as being positive, resourceful, self-confident individuals; others produce upon you the impression that they are negative, weak, colorless, non-resourceful, and lacking in self-confidence.
Some are “live wires,” others are “dead ones” — you feel this instinctively even before the person says a word or performs an action. It is not exactly as if you “think” the thing concerning the person in such cases — it is rather as if you “feel” it in some subtle indefinable way. If you have ever had the actual experience, you will know that it is more than the suggestion of manner, action, appearance, dress, words, etc.,—it is something that you “feel” about the person independent of your reasoning on the subject of his personality. The report seems to come from the emotional region of your mental being, rather than from the logical one.”
This is a great description that Atkinson did of personal magnetism. And for sure, what we train in Charisma School.
