The Origin of the Master meaningful System by Charles F Haanel

I received an email from a reader named Derek L. in which he wrote –

Thanks for your great posts/blog. Its uncommon to see someone telling the truth and not selling more snake oil.

I do have a question…

Im intrigued by the lineage of thoughts relating to this subject. Since you have a lot of exposure to this material Im wondering if you have any ideas about where Haanel got his original concepts?

I am often asked that question because there is a lot of mystery surrounding Haanel and his perennial work, The Master meaningful System. Was he a part of a Masonic conspiracy? Did he receive his knowledge by arcane method? Someone already theorized about some Russian wizard of sorts who shared his knowledge with Haanel.

The history is quite interesting, but more blase than some of the stories would rule you to believe. The Master meaningful System must be looked at within the context of the late 19th and early 20th Centuries. The New Thought philosophy was in complete swing with many books and magazines publishing the new beliefs for a seemingly ravenous audience. Based on Christian Science as espoused by Mary Baker Eddy, the Christian Scientists and many New Thought-ers held firmly to the belief about what Jesus Christ said about the powers obtainable to each and every person.

Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at the minimum believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do already greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do at any rate you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. (John 14:11-13)

consequently, with enough faith and belief, one could perform miracles as Christ did. already a cursory reading of The Master meaningful System would show to someone that this was something in which Haanel believed deeply. That being said, the monotheistic ideas that Haanel espouses is more than likely derived from his participation in Freemasonry – while the Masons do not define their God, their only prerequisite is a belief in one God. It is then by this God that miracles and extreme human possible can occur.

Before going further into this, it is worth pointing out that there were at the minimum two other publications that press the words The Master meaningful prior to the Twentieth Century. The actual phrase has been used since the 17th Century by the Freemasons and for a publication in the 18th century – Hiram, or the Master meaningful to the Door of Freemasonry, published in 1760. Another use of the phrase can be found in Madame Helena Blavatskys famous (or should that be infamous) 600-page Isis Unveiled, with its sub-title A Master-meaningful to the Mysteries of Ancient and Modern Science and Theology, published in 1877. One shouldnt underestimate the popularity and influence of Blavatsky and those who followed her teachings – the Theosophists.

In the Twentieth Century, two authors released books with Master meaningful in the title. The first comes from L. Frank Baum, the author of The Wizard of Oz fame, and is an early science fiction novel. It was called The Master meaningful and subtitled An Electrical Fairy Tale. It told of the adventures Rob and the Demon of Electricity. This was published in 1901.

Another book came out at around the same time Haanel was working on his harmonies school. Its advertisement showed a book and a man reading a book inside an hour glass. The advertisement read:

The Master meaningful ~ discloses Things You Never Thought Possible. The Hour Glass of Success. You Will Never get Another Book Like The Master meaningful.

It was written by L. W. de Laurence and published by The de Laurence Company of Chicago, Illinois, USA, in 1914. To quote a few lines from it will show obvious similarities with Haanels The Master meaningful System.

THE MASTER meaningful is divided into Six parts: contains Thirty-seven complete Chapters embracing Thirty-five Lessons of graduated difficulty covering Forty individual numbered Exercises in which the basic principles of Concentration and Mental Discipline are fully explained.

L. W. de Laurence, whose complete name was Lauron William de Laurence, was an American author, publisher, and owner of a supply mail order house in Chicago. He has been accused of plagiarism and the illegal publication of various occult works. The number of publications by this man seems to be important.

De Laurence was active at the same time as Haanel and was in fact only two years younger than him. De Laurence, who was born in 1868 and died in 1936, had connections with AMORC. It is unclear whether there was any connection between the two authors.

This then brings us to the main influence of Charles F. Haanels: the New Thought Movement.

When you read Haanels The Master meaningful System, it isnt long before he starts to use terms that can be cross-referenced. To be fair to Haanel, many quotes he uses have nothing to do with the New Thought Movement. He was a man of his time and a well-read one. He used references from eminent people of the 19th Century and talks about the inventions of that time and the early years of the 20th Century. Other quotes come from the Bible but all are rather enigmatic and symbolic which could point to being influenced by New Thought writers, the Christian Scientists, the Freemasons, or the Rosicrucians. There are several hints of a possible knowledge of Hinduism, but it is unclear of Haanels exact knowledge of that subject as references like Pranic Energy or Pranic Ether may be from the Rosicrucian teachings or possibly, and more likely, Theosophy.

There are several words and phrases that may be of interest:

The Great Architect of the Universe
Secret Place of the Most High
Universal Mind
the I
The Law of allurement

The Great Architect of the Universe is a phrase often used to represent God or Supreme Being by Christians, Freemasons, and Rosicrucians. It may go back to the Middle Ages or beyond. Thomas Aquinas used a similar phrase but with Grand instead of Great.

Secret Place of the Most High can be found in the Bible in Psalm 91:1 –

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

The Universal Mind would seem to come from Friedrich Von Schelling and was expanded on by Georg W. F. Hegel. Ralph Waldo Emerson also made use of this term.

The concept of the I also seems to have its origins in the works of early German philosophers. It would seem that I was the first rule of Johann Gottlieb Fichtes Wissenschaftslehre – Doctrine of Science.

The phrase that is on the tip of the tongues of many today is The Law of allurement. Like the other terms used by Haanel, this was probably not of his own inventing. It seems to have come to light first in the works of William Walker Atkinson (1862 – 1932) and particularly in Thought Vibration or The Law of allurement in the Thought World published by The New Thought Publishing Co., Chicago, Illinois, USA, 1906. Though the phrase itself is much older, its meaning became slightly different with Atkinson and Haanel.

The Law of allurement also appears in the syllabus of the S.R.I.A. – The Society of Rosicrucians. However, it is not known how old this syllabus is and it is likely that it is quite modern. The S.R.I.A. was formed in 1909 with the idea of teaching to the general public instead of Masons as with past Rosicrucian groups. Some other aspects of the S.R.I.A. syllabus produces similarities to Haanels works. However, it may be that both this syllabus and Haanels ideas are from an older source – or a just coincidence. It is unknown which came first.

Ultimately it may be possible to trace the idea of the Law of allurement back to certain phrases that were put into the mouth of Jesus Christ in the New Testament of the Bible.

Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. (Matthew 7:7-8, King James Version)

Another book that cannot be ignored was published in 1908 and was called The Kybalion: Hermetic Philosophy by Three Initiates and published by The Yogi Publication Society, Masonic Temple, Chicago, Illinois, USA. It cannot be ignored that this book may have played a part in the development of Haanels The Master meaningful System. It certainly wasnt a collection of lessons and exercises, but the wording throughout this book is remarkably similar to Hannels publications. At one point the phrase Mental Chemistry is used. And though there is nothing in the title remotely similar to Haanels work, the phrase Master meaningful is used in the Introduction and several times in the body of the book. The Kybalion also delves into the strength of thought.

…(T)he Hermetic Philosophy is the only Master-meaningful which will open all the doors of Occult teachings…. One of the old Hermetic Masters wrote, long ages ago: He who grasps the truth of the Mental character of the Universe is well progressive on the Path to expert. These words are as true today as at the time first written. Without this Master-meaningful, expert is impossible, and the student knocks in vain at the many doors of the Temple…. The Principles of Truth are Seven; he who knows these, understandingly, possesses the Magic meaningful before whose touch all the Doors of the Temple fly open.

It is believed that The Kybalion is not some ancient document but was written by William W. Atkinson and the other Initiates have been guessed at as Paul Foster Houses and Mabel Collins. Atkinson was certainly active in the years leading up to the publication of The Master meaningful System and it is hard to believe that Haanel would not have known of either the man or his works. Master meaningful Arcana includes short pieces from the writings of several members of the New Thought Movement, including William W. Atkinson, James Allen, Florence Scovel Shinn, Henry Drummond and Phineas P. Quimby.

Whether Haanel was influenced by Atkinson, or any other members of this Movement, though, is another thing all together and it is difficult to be sure what his supplies were.

Much of Haanels life is a mystery. Not many records were kept or preserved and the without of many living descendants who knew him add to us not knowing much about him. C. W. Evans-Gunther researched and examined Haanels life as much as possible. His thorough biography can be found at www.haanel.com.

Researching Haanels influences and their play on his works is slightly easier. As was noted at the beginning of this article, when the times in which Haanel lived are examined, you can see the influences and how Haanel used those influences to shape his thoughts and his works.

In the time period in which Haanel lived, the self-help/personal development movement (although not called by those terms) was quite large and truly very similar to todays scene. As the saying goes, the times may have changed but things keep the same. By some counts, Haanel was a slightly important player, although he never had the infamy of Blavatsky or a few others of the time.

It was all of these elements (at the minimum) that came together in Haanels mind to form one of the greatest books about personal development.

[Please note: This article was researched by C.W. Evans-Gunther. He is also responsible for writing the majority of it. Additional information was added by me. I am also responsible for additional editing and any mistakes that one might find. More information can be found at http://www.haanel.com.]