SSt
s
AC1LITY
A Man
Thinketh
JAMES
ALLEN
"This BooKe is .mi DC.
Ahd
yt LooS A^6 you yt
I
1'pRAy you
to
home
'
jj,i
'
_.'
fir?<X
bARteLy to Be So
see
my
Booke BRothe
-sfe
* AS
A MAN
THINKETH
BY JAMES ALLEN
AUTHOR OF "FROM PASSION TO PEACE'
AUTHORIZED EDITION
NEW YORK
THOMAS
Y.
CROWELL COMPANY
PRINTED IN UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
THOUGHT AND CHARACTER
7
EFFECT OF THOUGHT ON CIRCUMSTANCES
.
.
11
EFFECT OF THOUGHT ON HEALTH AND THE
BODY
26
THOUGHT AND PURPOSE
THE THOUGHT-FACTOR
30
IN
ACHIEVEMENT
.
.
VISIONS AND IDEALS
34
39
SERENITY
.
2056170
45
THIS
little
volume (the
result of meditation
and experience) is not intended as an exhaustive
treatise on the
much-written-upon subject of
the
power of thought.
It is
suggestive rather
than explanatory, its object being to stimulate
men and women to the discovery and perception of the truth that
"They themselves
are makers of themselves"
by virtue of the thoughts which they choose and
encourage; that mind is the master-weaver, both
of the inner
garment of character and the outer
garment of circumstance, and that, as they may
have hitherto woven in ignorance and pain they
may now weave in enlightenment and happiness.
JAMES ALLEN
Broad
ParJ^
lljracombe,
England.
Avenue,
As a Man
Thinketh
THOUQHT
THE
APHORISM, "As a man thinketh in his
is he," not
only embraces the whole of
heart so
a man's being, but is so
comprehensive as to
reach out to
condition
and circumstance
every
of his
life.
A
his character
man
is
literally
what he
being the complete
sum
of
thinks,
all
his
thoughts.
As the
and could not be
plant springs from,
without, the seed, so every act of a man springs
from the hidden seeds of thought, and could
not have appeared without them. This applies
equally to those acts called "spontaneous" and
"unpremeditated" as to those which are deliberately executed.
Act
is
the blossom of thought, and joy and
suffering are its fruits; thus does a man garner in the sweet and bitter fruitage of his own
husbandry.
[7]
"Thought
in the
mind hath made
us.
What we
are
By thought was wrought and built. If a man's
mind
Hath evil thoughts, pain comes on him as comes
The wheel the ox behind.
.
.
.
.
If
.
In purity of thought, joy follows
As
Man
his
is
artifice,
own shadow
one endure
him
sure."
a growth by law, and not a creation
by
and cause and effect is as absolute and
undeviating in the hidden realm of thought as
in the world of visible and material
things.
A
noble and Godlike character
favour or chance, but is
not a thing of
the natural result of conis
tinued effort in right thinking, the effect of longcherished association with Godlike thoughts.
An
ignoble and bestial character, by the same
is the result of the continued harbour-
process,
ing of grovelling thoughts.
Man
is
made
or
unmade by
himself; in the
armoury of thought he forges the weapons by
wbich he destroys himself; he also fashions the
tools with which he builds for himself
heavenly
mansions of joy and strength and peace. By the
choice and true application of thought,
right
man
ascends to the Divine Perfection;
by the
abuse and wrong application of thought, he de-
[*]
scends below the level of the beast.
these
acter,
Of
Between
two extremes are all the grades of charand man is their maker and master.
all
the beautiful truths
pertaining to the
which have been restored and brought
in this
light
age, none is more gladdening
soul
fruitful of divine
that
this
man
to
or
promise and confidence than
the master of
thought, the
is
moulder of character, and the maker and shaper
of condition, environment, and
destiny.
As a being of Power, Intelligence, and Love,
and the lord of
the
key to every
himself
that
his
own
thoughts, man holds
and contains within
situation,
transforming
agency by which he
he wills.
and
may make
regenerative
himself what
Man
is
always the master, even in his weakand most abandoned state; but in his
weakness and degradation he is the foolish mas-
est
who misgoverns his "household." When
he begins to reflect
upon his condition, and to
ter
search
being
diligently
is
for the
established,
Law upon which
his
he then becomes the wise
master, directing his energies with intelligence,
and fashioning his thoughts to fruitful issues.
is the conscious master, and man can
only
thus become
by discovering within himself the
Such
[9]
JMAK
laws of thought; which discovery is totally a
matter of application, self-analysis, and experience.
Only by much searching and mining are gold
and diamonds obtained, and man can find every
truth connected with his being if he will dig
deep
into the
maker
mine
of his soul;
of his character, the
and the builder of
ingly prove,
his
if
his
destiny,
he
thoughts, tracing their effects
and upon
and
others,
upon
and
may
his
upon
life
effect
the
is
his life,
unerr-
he will watch, control, and
stances, linking cause
tice
and that he
moulder of
alter
himself,
and circum-
by
patient pracinvestigation, and utilizing his every
even to the most trivial,
every-day
experience,
means of obtaining that knowlof
himself
which is Understanding, Wisedge
dom, Power. In this direction, as in no other,
occurrence, as a
is
the law absolute that
est;
and
to
him
"He
that seeketh find-
that knocketh
it
shall
be
opened"; for only by patience, practice, and
Door
ceaseless
importunity can a man enter the
of the
Temple
of
Knowledge.
FFCT OF THOUGHT
A MAN'S MIND may be likened to a garden,
which may be intelligently cultivated or allowed
run wild; but whether cultivated or ne-
to
glected, it must,
useful seeds are
and
will, bring forth.
put into
If
no
then an abundance
it,
of useless weed-seeds will fall therein, and will
continue to produce their kind.
it
Just as a gardener cultivates his plot, keeping
from weeds, and
the flowers and
free
fruits
growing
which he
requires,
garden of his mind,
so
may a man
weeding out
all
tend the
the wrong,
and impure thoughts, and cultivating
toward perfection the flowers and fruits of right,
useless,
useful,
ess,
a
and pure thoughts. By pursuing this
procsooner or later discovers that he is
man
the master-gardener of his soul, the director of
He also reveals, within himself, the laws
his life.
of
thought, and understands, with ever-increasing accuracy, how the thought-forces and mindelements operate in the
shaping of his character,
circumstances, and destiny.
Thought and
character are one,
and
as char-
can only manifest and discover itself
through environment and circumstance, the
acter
outer conditions of a person's
life
will
always be
found to be harmoniously related to his inner
state. This does not mean that a man's circumstances at
any given time are an indication of
but that those circumstances
his
entire character,
are
intimately connected with some vital thoughtelement within himself that, for the time being,
so
they are indispensable to his development.
Every man is where he is by the law of his
being; the thoughts which he has built into his
character have brought him there, and in the ar-
rangement of
chance, but
not
err.
his life there
all is
This
is
is
no element
just as true of those
who
feel
"out of harmony" with their surroundings
of those who are contented with them.
As
of
the result of a law which can-
as
a progressive and evolving being, man is
is that he
may learn that he may grow;
where he
and
as
he learns the
spiritual
lesson
circumstance contains for him,
and gives place
which any
it
passes
to other circumstances.
away
Man is buffeted by circumstances so long as
he believes himself to be the creature of outside
conditions, but
when he
realizes that
he
is
a
JMAH
creative
power, and that he
and seeds of
may command
the
being out of which
circumstances grow, he then becomes the rightful master of himself.
hidden
soil
his
That circumstances grow out of thought every
man knows who
has for any length of time
self-control and
for he
practised
self-purification,
will have noticed that the alteration in his cir-
cumstances has been in exact
ratio
So true
tered mental condition.
with
is
his al-
this that
a man earnestly applies himself to
remedy
the defects in his character, and makes swift
when
and marked
he
progress,
passes rapidly
a succession of vicissitudes.
The
soul attracts that
bours; that
it fears; it
pirations;
which
it
which
loves,
and
reaches the height of
to the level of
it falls
through
it
har-
its
cherished as-
its
unchastened
secretly
also that which
and circumstances are the means by
which the soul receives its own.
desires,
Every thought-seed sown or allowed to
fall
into the mind, and to take root there,
produces
its own,
blossoming sooner or later into act, and
bearing its own fruitage of opportunity and circumstance. Good thoughts bear good fruit, bad
thoughts bad
fruit.
The outer world
of circumstance
1*3]
shapes
itself
world of thought, and both pleasant and unpleasant external conditions are factors which make for the ultimate
good of the
to the inner
As
individual.
man
the
reaper
of his
own
harvest,
both by suffering and bliss.
Following the inmost desires, aspirations,
learns
thoughts,
by which he
allows himself to be
dominated (pursuing the will-o'-the-wisps of
impure imaginings or steadfastly walking the
highway of strong and high endeavour) a man
at last arrives at their fruition and fulfilment in
,
the outer conditions of his
life.
The
laws of
growth and adjustment everywhere obtain.
A man does not come to the almshouse or the
by the tyranny of fate or circumstance, but
by the pathway of grovelling thoughts and base
jail
desires.
Nor
does a
pure-minded
denly into crime by stress of any
force; the criminal thought had
cretly
fostered in the heart,
man
fall
sud-
mere external
long been
se-
and the hour of
opportunity revealed its gathered power. Circumstance does not make the man; it reveals
him
to himself.
No such conditions can exist as
descending into vice and
its
attendant sufferings
from vicious inclinations, or ascending
apart
into virtue and its
the
pure happiness without
[*]
JMAH
.A
continued cultivation of virtuous aspirations;
and man, therefore, as the lord and master of
is
thought,
maker of
the
himself, the shaper
at birth the
and author of environment. Even
own, and through every step
it attracts those comearthly pilgrimage
binations of conditions which reveal itself,
comes to
soul
of
its
its
which
are the reflections of
Men
its
own
and
purity
strength and weakness.
do not attract that which they want,
its
impurity,
but that which they are. Their whims, fancies,
and ambitions are thwarted at every step, but
their
their
ity
inmost thoughts and desires are fed with
food, be it foul or clean. The "divin-
own
that
our very
shapes
self.
our ends"
Man
is
is
in ourselves;
it is
manacled only by him-
thought and action are the jailers of Fate
they imprison, being base; they are also the
self:
angels of
Freedom
noble.
they liberate, being
wishes and prays for does a man
he justly earns. His wishes and
get, but what
Not what he
prayers are only gratified
and answered when
they harmonize with his thoughts and actions.
In the light of this truth, what, then, is the
meaning of "fighting against circumstances"?
It means that a man is
continually revolting
[-5]
<A
JMAK
against an effect without, while
all
the time he
nourishing and preserving its cause in his
heart. That cause
may take the form o a conis
scious vice or
whatever
its
an unconscious weakness; but
stubbornly retards the efforts of
calls aloud for
possessor,
remedy.
Men are anxious to improve their circumit is, it
and thus
but are unwilling to improve themthey therefore remain bound. The man
does not shrink from self-crucifixion can
stances,
selves;
who
never
to
fail
accomplish the object upon which
This is as true of
as of
his heart is set.
earthly
heavenly things. Even the man whose sole object is to acquire wealth must be prepared to
make
great personal
complish
his object;
who would
Here
is
a
realize a
sacrifices
before he can ac-
and how much more so he
strong and well-poised
life?
man who is wretchedly poor. He is
extremely anxious that his surroundings and
home comforts should be improved, yet all the
time he shirks his work, and considers he is justified in
on the
trying to deceive his employer
his
wages. Such
does not understand the simplest rudiments of those principles which are the basis of
ground of the insufficiency of
a
man
and is not only totally unfitted
prosperity,
to rise out of his wretchedness, but is actually
true
attracting
to himself a
still
deeper wretchedness
by dwelling in, and acting out, indolent, deand unmanly thoughts.
ceptive,
Here is a rich man who is the victim of a
painful
and
persistent
He
disease as the result of
willing to give large sums of
gluttony.
money to get rid of it, but he will not sacrifice
his
his
gluttonous desires. He wants to
is
gratify
taste for rich
and unnatural viands and have
Such a man
health as well.
is
totally
his
unfit to
have health, because he has not yet learned the
first
principles
of a
healthy
life.
an employer of labour who adopts
crooked measures to avoid paying the regulation
Here
is
wage, and, in the hope of making larger
reduces the wages of his
work-people.
man is altogether unfitted for
profits,
Such a
prosperity,
when he
finds himself
bankrupt,
both
and
as re-
gards reputation and riches, he blames circumstances, not knowing that he is the sole author
of his condition.
I
have introduced these three cases merely
illustrative of
the truth that
man
is
as
the causer
(though nearly always unconsciously) of his circumstances, and that, whilst aiming at a good
end, he is continually frustrating its accomplish-
ment by encouraging thoughts and
desires
which cannot possibly harmonize with that end.
Such cases could be multiplied and varied almost
indefinitely,
the reader can,
if
but
he so
this is
of the laws of thought in his
and
until this
is
not necessary, as
resolves, trace the action
own mind and life,
done, mere external facts can-
not serve as a ground of reasoning.
Circumstances, however, are so complicated,
thought
is
so
deeply rooted, and the conditions
so
with individuals,
happiness vary
vastly
that a man's entire soul-condition
(although it
may be known to himself) cannot be
of
judged by
another from the external aspect of his life
man may be honest in certain direcalone.
A
yet suffer privations; a man may be dishonest in certain directions,
yet acquire wealth;
but the conclusion usually formed that the one
tions,
man
fails
because of bis particular honesty, and
because of bis particular
prospers
that the other
dishonesty,
is
the result of a
superficial judg-
ment, which assumes that the dishonest
man
is
almost totally corrupt, and the honest man almost entirely virtuous. In the light of a deeper
knowledge and wider experience, such judgThe dishonest
is found to be erroneous.
ment
man may have some
admirable virtues which
I'll
<AS .A JdAH.
the other does not
and the honest man
possess;
obnoxious vices which are absent in the other.
The
honest
man
the
reaps
good
results of his
honest thoughts and acts; he also brings upon
himself the sufferings which his vices produce.
The
dishonest
man
likewise garners his
own
and happiness.
suffering
It is
one
a
pleasing
to
human
vanity to believe that
suffers because of one's virtue;
man
has
but not until
and
extirpated every sickly, bitter,
impure thought from
every sinful stain from
his
mJnd, and washed
can he be in a
his soul,
to know and declare that his
position
sufferings
are the result of his
good, and not of his bad
and on the way to, yet long before he
qualities;
has reached, that
supreme perfection, he will
have found, working in his mind and life, the
Great
Law which
is
and which
absolutely just,
cannot, therefore, give good for evil, evil for
good. Possessed of such knowledge, he will
then know, looking back upon his past ignorance and blindness, that his life is, and always
was, justly ordered, and that all his past expe-
good and bad, were the equitable outworking of his evolving, yet unevolved self.
riences,
Good thoughts and
bad
results;
actions can never produce
bad thoughts and actions can never
produce good results. This is but saying that
nothing can come from corn but corn, nothing
from
nettles
but
nettles.
Men
understand this
law in the natural world, and work with it; but
few understand it in the mental and moral
world (though its operation there is just as simple and undeviating), and they, therefore, do
not cooperate with it.
Suffering is always the effect of wrong
thought in some direction. It is an indication
that the individual is out of
harmony with him-
Law of his being. The sole and
use
of suffering is to
to burn
supreme
purify,
out all that is useless and impure. Suffering
There could be no
ceases for him who is
pure.
self,
with the
object in burning gold after the dross had been
removed, and a perfectly pure and enlightened
being could not suffer.
The circumstances which a
man encounters
own mental
The circumstances which a man
with suffering are the
result of his
inharmony.
encounters with blessedness are the result of
own mental harmony.
his
Blessedness, not mate-
is the measure of
right thought;
possessions,
wretchedness, not lack of material possessions,
man may
is the measure of
wrong thought.
rial
A
be cursed and
rich;
he
may
be blessed and poor.
Blessedness and riches are only joined together
the riches are rightly and wisely used;
descends into wretchedand the
man
when
ness
poor
only
when he
regards
his
lot
as
a
burden
unjustly imposed.
Indigence and indulgence are the two extremes of wretchedness. They are both
equally
unnatural and the result of mental disorder.
man
is
not rightly conditioned until he
is
A
a
happy, healthy, and prosperous being; and hapand prosperity are the result of a
piness, health,
harmonious adjustment of the inner with the
man with his surroundings.
outer, of the
A
man
ceases to
only begins to be a
whine and
revile,
search for the hidden justice
life.
And
as
man when he
and commences to
which
regulates his
he adapts his mind to that reguhe ceases to accuse others as the
lating factor,
cause of his condition,
and builds himself up
in
and noble thoughts; ceases to kick
against circumstances, but begins to use them
and as a
as aids to his more
rapid progress,
strong
means of discovering the hidden powers and
possibilities
within himself.
Law, not confusion,
is
the
dominating prinin the universe; justice, not injustice, is
ciple
the soul and substance of life; and
righteous-
ness,
not corruption,
the
is
moulding and mov-
ing force in the spiritual government o the
world. This being so, man has but to right
himself to find that the universe is
right; and
during the process of putting himself right, he
he alters his thoughts towards
will find that as
things and other people, things and other people will alter towards him.
The
of this truth
proof
and
it
therefore admits of
is
in
every person,
easy investigation
by
systematic introspection and self-analysis. Let a
man
radically
thoughts, and he will
alter his
be astonished at the rapid transformation
in the material
effect
Men
but
it
imagine that thought can be kept
cannot;
and habit
it
it
conditions of his
will
life.
secret,
into habit,
rapidly crystallizes
circumstance. Bestial
solidifies into
thoughts crystallize into habits of drunkenness
and sensuality, which
into circumstances
of
destitution
solidity
disease:
and
impure
thoughts of every kind crystallize into enervating and confusing habits, which solidify into
and adverse circumstances thoughts
distracting
:
of fear, doubt, and indecision
into
crystallize
weak, unmanly, and
irresolute habits,
which
into circumstances of failure, indigence,
solidify
and slavish
dependence: lazy thoughts
crystal-
into habits of uncleanliness
lize
which
esty,
into
solidify
and dishon-
circumstances
of
and beggary: hateful and condemna-
foulness
into habits of accusatory thoughts crystallize
tion and violence, which
into cirsolidify
cumstances of injury and persecution: selfish
thoughts of all kinds crystallize into habits of
self-seeking,
more or
which
less
solidify
distressing.
into circumstances
On
the other hand,
beautiful thoughts of all kinds
into
crystallize
habits of
and kindliness, which
grace
into
solidify
and sunny circumstances:
pure
thoughts crystallize into habits of temperance
and self-control, which solidify into circumgenial
stances of
repose
age, self-reliance,
manly
of
habits,
success,
and peace: thoughts of courand decision crystallize into
which
plenty,
solidify
and
into circumstances
freedom:
energetic
thoughts crystallize into habits of cleanliness
and industry, which solidify into circumstances
of
pleasantness: gentle
into habits
crystallize
and
into
solidify
stances:
and forgiving thoughts
of gentleness, which
protective
preservative
loving and unselfish thoughts
crystalfor others,
self-forgetfulness
into circumstances of sure and
lize into habits of
which
solidify
circum-
abiding prosperity and true riches.
A particular train of thought persisted in, be
good or bad, cannot fail to produce its results
on the character and circumstances.
man canit
A
not directly choose his circumstances, but he
can choose his thoughts, and so
indirectly, yet
surely, shape his circumstances.
Nature helps every man to the gratification
of the thoughts
opportunities
speedily bring
evil
which he most encourages, and
presented which will most
are
to the surface
both the good and
thoughts.
man cease from his sinful thoughts,
the world will soften towards him, and
Let a
and
all
be ready to help him;
let
him put away
his
weakly and
ties
and lo! opportunisickly thoughts,
spring up on every hand to aid
will
strong resolves; let him encourage good
no hard fate shall bind him down
thoughts, and
his
to wretchedness
and shame. The world
is
your
and the varying combinations of
kaleidoscope,
it
colours which at
every succeeding moment
presents
tures of
to
you
are the
exquisitely adjusted pic-
your ever-moving thoughts.
"You
will
be what you will to be;
Let failure find
its false
content
In that poor word, 'environment,'
But spirit scorns it, and is free.
JMAH
<A
It
masters time,
It
it
conquers space;
trickster, Chance,
bids the tyrant Circumstance
cows that boastful
And
Uncrown, and
fill
a servant's place.
The human Will, that force unseen,
The offspring of a deathless Soul,
Can hew a way to any goal,
Though
walls of granite intervene.
Be not impatient in delay,
But wait as one who understands;
When spirit rises and commands,
The gods
are ready to obey."
FFCT OF THOUGH? OH HEALTH
THE BODY
is
the servant of the mind.
It
obeys
the operations of the mind, whether
they be dechosen or
liberately
automatically expressed.
At the
of unlawful thoughts the
body
bidding
into disease and
at the comrapidly
decay;
mand of glad and beautiful
it becomes
sinks
thoughts
clothed with youthfulness and beauty.
Disease and health, like circumstances, are
rooted in thought. Sickly thoughts will
express
themselves through a
of fear have been
ily
as a bullet,
sickly body. Thoughts
to kill a man as
known
and they
speed-
are
continually killing
thousands of people just as surely though
rapidly.
are the
The
people
who
less
live in fear of disease
people who get it. Anxiety quickly demoralizes the whole
body, and lays it open to
the entrance of disease; while
impure thoughts,
if not
will soon shatphysically indulged,
ter the nervous
system.
even
Strong, pure, and happy thoughts build up
the body in vigour and grace. The body is a
JMAH
delicate
and
plastic instrument,
which responds
to the thoughts
readily
by which
and habits of thought will
it is
impressed,
produce their
good or bad, upon it.
Men will continue to have impure and
own
effects,
poi-
soned blood so long as they propagate unclean
thoughts. Out of a clean heart comes a clean
and a clean
Out of a defiled mind
life
body.
proceeds
Thought
festation;
a defiled
is
life
and a corrupt body.
life, and mani-
the fount of action,
make
the fountain pure, and
all
will
be pure.
Change
of diet will not
not change his thoughts.
his
help
a
When
man who will
a man makes
thoughts pure, he no longer desires impure
food.
Clean thoughts make clean habits. The sowho does not wash his body is not a
called saint
He who
has strengthened and
purified
does
not need to consider the mathoughts
levolent microbe.
saint.
his
If
you would perfect your body, guard your
If
you would renew your body, beautify
mind.
your mind.
Thoughts of malice, envy,
disap-
pointment, despondency, rob the body of its
health and
sour face does not come
grace.
by
A
chance;
that
I
made by
it is
mar
are
know
a
sour thoughts. Wrinkles
drawn by
woman
folly, passion, pride.
who
of
has the
ninety-six
bright, innocent face of a girl. I know a man
well under middle age whose face is drawn into
The one
inharmonious contours.
of a sweet and
the outcome
is
the result
the other
sunny
disposition;
of passion and discontent.
As you cannot have
is
a sweet and wholesome
abode unless you admit the air and sunshine
into
freely
your rooms, so a strong body and a
or serene countenance can
bright, happy,
only
result
from the
free
admittance into the mind
of thoughts of
and goodwill and serenity.
joy
the faces of the aged there are wrinkles
On
made by sympathy;
others
by strong and pure
thought, and others are carved by passion: who
cannot distinguish them? With those who
have lived righteously, age is calm, peaceful,
like the
sun. I
softly mellowed,
setting
and
have recently seen a philosopher on his deathbed. He was not old except in years. He died
as
he had lived.
sweetly and peacefully as
There
for
is
no physician
dissipating
comforter to
the
ills
like cheerful
of the
thought
body; there is no
compare with goodwill for dispersing the shadows of grief and sorrow. To live
continually in thoughts of
ill-will,
and envy, is to be confined
made prisonhole. But to think well of
suspicion,
cheerful with
good
in all
very portals
cynicism,
in a selfall,
to be
learn to find the
patiently
such unselfish thoughts are the
of heaven; and to dwell day by day
all,
to
thoughts of peace toward every creature will
bring abounding peace to their possessor.
in
THOUGH? tAHV
UNTIL THOUGHT
linked with purpose there
With the
intelligent accomplishment.
majority the barque of thought is allowed to
is
is
no
"drift"
upon the ocean
of
life.
Aimlessness
is
a
and such drifting must not continue for
him who would steer clear of catastrophe and
vice,
destruction.
They who have no
central
purpose in their
an easy prey to petty worries, fears,
troubles, and self-pity ings, all of which are indilife
fall
cations of weakness,
which
as
lead, just as surely
sins
(though
deliberately planned
ferent route), to failure,
unhappiness,
for weakness cannot
in a
persist
by
a dif-
and
loss,
power-evolving
universe.
A
man
should conceive of a legitimate purand set out to accomplish it.
pose in his heart,
He
should
make
this
purpose the centralizing
take the form of a
point of his thoughts. It may
ideal, or it may be a worldly object,
spiritual
but
according to his nature at the time being;
whichever it is, he should steadily focus his
thought-forces
upon the
object
[30]
which he has
set
He
before him.
should
make
this
purpose his
supreme duty, and should devote himself to its
attainment, not allowing his thoughts to wanephemeral fancies, longings, and
This
is the
road to self-conimaginings.
royal
trol and true concentration of
thought. Even if
der
away
into
he fails again and again to accomplish his purpose (as he necessarily must until weakness is
overcome) the strength of character gained will
,
be the measure of his true success, and. this will
form a new starting-point
for future
power and
triumph.
Those who
are not
prepared for the apprehen-
great purpose, should fix the thoughts
the faultless
no
performance of their
sion of a
upon
duty,
matter
Only
how
insignificant their task
in this
way can
may
appear.
the thoughts be
gathered
and focussed, and resolution and energy be developed, which being done, there is nothing
which may not be accomplished.
The weakest
ness,
soul,
and believing
knowing
this truth
its
own weak-
that
strength
can only be
developed by effort and practice,
will, thus believing, at once begin to exert it-
and, adding effort to effort, patience to
and strength to strength, will never
patience,
self,
[3']
cease to (develop,
and
will at last
grow
divinely
strong.
As
the physically
weak man can make him-
strong by careful and patient training, so
the man of weak thoughts can make them
self
strong
To
by
himself in right thinking.
exercising
aimlessness and weakness, and
put away
with purpose, is to enter the
ranks of those strong ones who only recognize
failure as one of the
pathways to attainment;
to begin to think
who make
all
conditions serve them, and
who
think strongly, attempt fearlessly, and accomplish masterfully.
Having conceived of his purpose, a man
should mentally mark out a straight pathway to
its achievement,
looking neither to the right
nor the
left.
Doubts and
fears
should be rigor-
eleously excluded; they are disintegrating
ments which break up the straight line of effort,
rendering
it
crooked, ineffectual, useless.
Thoughts of doubt and fear never accomplish
lead to
anything, and never can. They always
to do, and all
failure.
Purpose, energy, power
strong thoughts cease
creep
when doubt and
fear
in.
The will to do springs from the knowledge
we can do. Doubt and fear are the great
that
enemies of knowledge, and he who encourages
them, who does not slay them, thwarts himself at
every step.
has
He who
conquered doubt and fear has
His every thought is allied
failure.
conquered
with power, and all difficulties are bravely met
and wisely overcome. His purposes are seasonably planted, and they bloom and bring forth
fruit which does not fall
to the
prematurely
ground.
Thought
allied
creative force:
he
fearlessly
to
who knows
purpose becomes
this is
ready to
become something higher and stronger than a
mere bundle of wavering thoughts and fluctuating sensations; he
who
does this has become the
conscious and intelligent wielder of his mental
powers.
[33
IK
ALL THAT
to
thoughts.
man
a
achieve
achieves and
the
is
In a
direct
justly
that he
fails
of
own
his
ordered universe, where
equipoise would
individual responsibility
loss of
all
result
mean
total destruction,
must be
absolute.
A
man's weakness and strength, purity and imare his own, and not another man's;
purity,
are brought about
they
by himself, and not by
another; and they can only be altered by himself, never by another. His condition is also his
own, and not another man's. His suffering and
are evolved from within. As he
his
happiness
thinks, so he
is;
as
he continues to think, so he
remains.
A
strong
that weaker
man
is
then the weak
cannot help a weaker unless
willing to be helped, and even
man must become strong of
by his own efforts, develop
himself; he must,
the strength which he admires in another.
but himself can alter his condition.
None
It
has been usual for
men
1 34]
to think
anH
to
<A
say,
JMAK
"Many men
let
oppressor;
however, there
are slaves because
one
us hate the oppressor."
is
is
an
Now,
amongst an increasing few a
tendency to reverse this judgment, and to say,
"One man is an oppressor because
arc
slaves; let us despise the slaves."
that
oppressor
norance, and,
and
slave are
many
The truth
is
in
co-operators
igto afflict each
while seeming
A
other, are in reality afflicting themselves.
the action of law
perfect Knowledge perceives
in the weakness of the
and the mis-
oppressed
of the
a perfect Love,
applied power
oppressor;
the
which both states entail,
seeing
suffering
condemns neither; a perfect Compassion embraces both
and oppressed.
oppressor
He who has conquered weakness, and has
selfish
thoughts, belongs neither
nor
He is free.
oppressor
oppressed.
man can only rise, conquer, and achieve
all
put away
to
A
by
lifting
thoughts. He can only remain
abject, and miserable by refusing to
up
weak, and
his
up his thoughts.
Before a man can achieve
lift
worldly things, he must
lift
slavish animal indulgence.
der to succeed,
all
by
thoughts above
He may
not, in or-
animality and selany means; but a portion of it
give
fishness,
anything, even in
his
up
[35]
must, at
least,
be
sacrificed.
A man whose
first
indulgence could neither
think clearly nor
plan methodically; he could
not find and develop his latent resources, and
is
thought
would
fail
bestial
in
any undertaking.
Not
having
commenced manfully
to control his
he
to control affairs and to
is
not in a
position
He
adopt serious responsibilities.
is
thoughts,
not
fit
to
independently and stand alone. But he is
limited only
by the thoughts which he chooses.
act
There can be no
without
will
progress,
no achievement
and a man's worldly success
the measure that he sacrifices his con-
sacrifice,
be in
fused animal thoughts, and fixes his mind on
the development of his plans, and the strength-
ening of his resolution and self-reliance. And
the higher he lifts his thoughts, the more
he becomes, the
manly, upright, and righteous
will be his success, the more blessed and
greater
enduring will be his achievements.
The universe does not favour the greedy, the
dishonest, the vicious, although on the mere
surface it may sometimes appear to do so; it
the magnanimous, the virtuhelps the honest,
ous. All the great Teachers of the ages have declared this in varying forms,
has but to
know it a man
and
persist
[36]
in
to
prove and
making him-
.A
self
more and more virtuous by
lifting
up
his
thoughts.
Intellectual achievements are the result of
thought consecrated to the search for knowlin life and
edge, or for the beautiful and true
nature.
Such achievements may be sometimes
connected with vanity and ambition, but they
are not the outcome of those characteristics;
natural outgrowth of
long and
they are the
arduous effort, and of pure and unselfish
thoughts.
achievements are the consummation
Spiritual
of holy aspirations. He who lives
in
constantly
of noble and
the
conception
lofty thoughts,
who dwells
all that is
and unselfish,
upon
will, as surely as
the
moon
character,
and
of
its
pure
the sun reaches
full,
and
its zenith and
become wise and noble in
rise into
a
position
of influence
blessedness.
Achievement, of whatever kind, is the crown
effort, the diadem of thought. By the aid of
self-control,
resolution,
purity,
and well-directed thought a
righteousness,
man
ascends;
by
the aid of animahty, indolence, impurity, corand confusion of thought a man deruption,
scends.
A man may rise to high success in the world,
[37]
and even to
lofty
altitudes in the
spiritual realm,
and again descend into weakness and wretchedness by allowing arrogant, selfish, and corrupt
thoughts to take possession of him.
Victories attained by right thought can
only
be maintained by watchfulness. Many give
way when success is assured, and rapidly fall
back into
failure.
All achievements, whether in the business,
intellectual, or spiritual world, are the result of
definitely
difference lies
He who
fice little;
sacrifice
must
thought, are governed by the
same method the only
in the object of attainment.
directed
same law and
are of the
;
would accomplish little must sacrihe who would achieve much must
much; he who would
sacrifice
greatly.
attain
highly
VISIOHS ^HT) 1T>ALS
THE DREAMERS
As
are the saviours of tKe world.
the visible world
ble, so
men, through
sustained
is
all
sordid vocations, are nourished
visions of their
cannot forget
ideals fade
them
solitary
its
and
by the
their trials
by the
dreamers.
dreamers;
and
it
invisi-
sins
and
beautiful
Humanity
cannot
let their
them; it knows
shall one
day see
die; it lives in
as the realities
which
it
and know.
Composer, sculptor, painter, poet, prophet,
these are the makers of the after-world,
sage,
the architects of heaven. The world is beautiful
because they have lived
;
without them, labour-
ing humanity would perish.
He who
cherishes a beautiful vision, a
lofty
ideal in his heart, will
lumbus cherished a
he discovered
it;
one day
realize
it.
vision of another world,
Coand
Copernicus fostered the vision
of a
of worlds and a wider universe,
multiplicity
and he revealed it; Buddha beheld the vision of
a
spiritual
world of
stainless
he entered into
peace, and
[39]
beauty and perfect
it.
Cherish your visions; cherish
your
cherish the music that
ideals;
your heart, die
that forms in
the loveliness
mind,
beauty
your
that
drapes your purest thoughts, for out of
them
will
grow
all
in
stirs
delightful conditions,
all
heavenly environment; of these, if you but remain true to them, your world will at last be
built.
To desire is to obtain; to aspire is to achieve.
Shall man's basest desires receive the fullest
measure of
gratification,
and
his
purest aspira-
tions starve for lack of sustenance?
Such
is
not
the Law: such a condition of things can never
"Ask and receive."
Dream lofty dreams, and
obtain:
as
you dream, so
you become. Your Vision is the promise
of what you shall one
day be; your Ideal is the
of what
prophecy
you shall at last unveil.
The greatest achievement was at first and for
shall
a time a dream.
The oak
sleeps
in the acorn;
the bird waits in the egg; and in the highest
vision of the soul a waking angel stirs. Dreams
are the seedlings of realities.
Your circumstances may be uncongenial, but
remain so if you but perthey shall not long
ceive an Ideal
and
strive to reach
not travel within and stand
still
it.
You
can-
without. Here
a youth hard pressed by
poverty and labour;
confined long hours in an unhealthy
workshop;
unschooled, and lacking all the arts of refineis
ment. But he dreams of better things; he
thinks of intelligence, of refinement, of
grace
and beauty. He conceives of, mentally builds
an ideal condition of life; the vision of a
up,
wider liberty and a larger scope takes possession
of him; unrest urges him to action, and he utilizes all his
time and means, small though
spare
the
are, to
development of
his latent
powVery soon so altered has his
mind become that the workshop can no longer
hold him. It has become so out of harmony
they
ers
and
resources.
with his mentality that
a garment
is
it falls
cast aside, and,
out of his
life as
with the growth of
which fit the scope of his expandopportunities
ing powers, he passes out of it forever. Years later
we see this youth as a full-grown man.
We
find
him a master
of certain forces of the
mind
which he wields with world-wide influence and
hands he holds
almost unequalled
power. In his
the cords of gigantic responsibilities; he speaks,
and
lo!
lives
hang upon
acters,
changed; men and women
words and remould their char-
are
his
and, sunlike, he becomes the fixed and
luminous centre round which innumerable des-
<AS
<
He has realized the Vision o
He has become one with his Ideal.
times revolve.
youth.
his
And you, too, youthful reader, will realize
the Vision (not the idle wish) of
your heart, be
it base or beautiful, or a mixture of both, for
you will always gravitate toward that which
you, secretly, most love. Into your hands will
be placed the exact results of your own thoughts;
you will receive that which you earn; no more,
no
Whatever your present environment
less.
be,
may
you
will
fall,
remain, or
rise
with your
thoughts, your Vision, your Ideal. You will become as small as
controlling desire; as
your
great as your dominant aspiration: in the beautiful words of Stanton Kirkham Davis, "You
may be
keeping accounts, and presently you
walk out of the door that for so long has
shall
seemed
to
shall find
still
you the
yourself
behind your
and then
gers
torrent of
barrier of
your
before an audience
ear,
ideals,
and
the pen
the inkstains on your finshall
pour out the
and there
your inspiration. You may be driving sheep, and you shall wander to the city
bucolic and open-mouthed; shall wander under
the
of the spirit into the stuintrepid guidance
dio of the master, and after a rime he shall say,
'I
have nothing more to teach you/
And now
JMAH
you have become the master, who did so recently dream of great things while driving
shall
sheep. You
lay down the saw and the
plane to take
the world."
The
upon
yourself
the regeneration of
thoughtless, the ignorant,
lent, seeing
and the indo-
only the apparent effects of things
and not the things themselves, talk of luck, of
and chance. Seeing a man grow rich,
they say, "How lucky he is!" Observing anfortune,
other
become
intellectual,
highly favoured he is!"
character
remark,
they exclaim, "How
noting the saintly
And
and wide influence of another, they
"How chance aids him at every turn!"
They do not
struggles
see the trials
and
failures
and
which these men have voluntarily en-
countered in order to gain their
experience; have
no knowledge of the sacrifices they have made,
of the undaunted efforts they have
put forth, of
the faith they have exercised, that
they might
overcome the apparently insurmountable, and
realize the Vision of their heart.
do not
They
know
the darkness and the heartaches;
they
the light and joy, and call it "luck";
see
only
do not see the long and arduous journey, but
only behold the pleasant goal, and call it "good
4
JMAK
fortune"; do not understand the process, but
only perceive the
In all human
result,
and
affairs
there are efforts,
call it
"chance."
and
there are results, and the strength of the effort
is the measure of the result.
Chance is not.
"Gifts," powers, material, intellectual, and spirare the fruits of effort;
they are
possessions
itual
thoughts completed, objects accomplished,
vi-
sions realized.
The
Vision that you glorify in your mind,
this
the Ideal that you enthrone in your heart
you will build your life by, this you will be-
CALMNESS OF MIND
jewels of wisdom.
is
one of the beautiful
It is
the result of long and
Its
presence is an
and of a more
ripened experience,
than ordinary knowledge of the laws and operations of
thought.
effort in self-control.
patient
indication of
A man becomes calm in the measure that he
understands himself as a thought-evolved benecessitates the undering, for such knowledge
standing of others as the result of thought, and
he develops a right understanding, and sees
as
more and more
things
by the
ceases to fuss
clearly
the internal relations of
action of cause
and
effect,
and fume and worry and
he
grieve,
and remains poised, steadfast, serene.
The calm man, having learned how to govern himself,
knows how
to
adapt himself to
and they, in turn, reverence his spiritual
feel that
strength, and
they can learn of him
others;
and
rely
upon him. The more
becomes, the greater
ence, his
power
for
is
tranquil
a
man
his success, his influ-
good.
Even the ordinary
trader will find his business
as
he develops a greater
prosperity increase
self-control
and equa-
nimity, for people will always prefer to deal
with a man whose demeanour is strongly equable.
The
calm
man
and
is
always loved
shade-giving tree in a
or a
in a storm.
thirsty land,
sheltering rock
"Who does not love a tranquil heart, a sweet-
strong,
He
revered.
is
like a
tempered, balanced
whether
it
life?
It
rains or shines, or
does not matter
what changes come
to those
for
possessing these blessings,
they are
always sweet, serene, and calm. That exquisite
poise of character
which we
last lesson of culture; it is
call
serenity
is
the flowering of
the
life,
the fruitage of the soul. It is precious as wisto be desired than gold
yea, than
dom, more
even fine gold.
How insignificant mere money-
seeking looks in comparison with a serene life
a life that dwells in the ocean of Truth, be-
neath the waves, beyond the reach of tempests,
in the Eternal
Calm!
"How many people we know who
lives,
who
ruin
all
that
explosive tempers,
character,
is
who
sour their
sweet and beautiful by
of
destroy their poise
It is a
question
and make bad blood!
whether the great majority of people do not
ruin their lives and
of self-control.
who
mar
are well-balanced,
which
poise
acter!"
is
their
happiness by lack
How few people we meet in life
who have
that
exquisite
characteristic of the finished char-
Yes, humanity surges with uncontrolled pasis tumultuous with
ungoverned grief, is
blown about by anxiety and doubt. Only the
wise man, only he whose thoughts are controlled and
makes the winds and the
purified,
sion,
storms of the soul obey him.
Tempest-tossed souls, wherever ye may be,
under whatsoever conditions ye may live, know
this
in the ocean of life the isles of Blessed-
ness are smiling, and the
ideal awaits
your
sunny shore of your
Keep your hand
coming.
firmly
upon the helm
of
thought.
In the
barque of your soul reclines the commanding
Master; He does but sleep; wake Him. Selfis
mas-
tery; Calmness is power. Say unto your
"Peace, be still!"
heart,
control
is
strength;
Right Thought
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