As a Man Thinketh
By James Allen
Foreword
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
I. Thought and Character
The aphorism, "As a man thinketh in his heart so
is he," not only embraces the whole of a man's being, but is so
comprehensive as to reach out to every condition and circumstance of his life.
A man is literally what he thinks, his character being the complete sum of all
his thoughts.
As the plant springs from, and could not be 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.
Thought in the mind hath made us.
What we are By thought we wrought and built. If a man's mind Hath evil
thoughts, pain comes on him as comes
The wheel the ox behind...If one endure in purity
of thought joy follows him as his own shadow - sure.
Man is a growth by law, and not a creation by
artifice, 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 is not a thing of favor or chance, but is the natural result
of continued effort in right thinking, the effect of long-cherished association
with Godlike thoughts. An ignoble and bestial character, by the same process,
is the result of the continued harboring of groveling thoughts.
Man is made or unmade by himself; in the armory of
thought he forges the weapons by which he destroys himself. He also fashions
the tools with which he builds for himself heavenly mansions of joy and
strength and peace. By the right choice and true application of thought, man
ascends to the Divine Perfection; by the abuse and wrong application of
thought, he descends below the level of the beast. Between these two extremes
are all the grades of character, and man is their maker and master.
Of
all the beautiful truths pertaining to the soul which have been restored and
brought to light in this age, none is more gladdening or fruitful of divine
promise and confidence than this - that man is the master of thought, the
molder of character, and maker and shaper of condition, environment, and destiny.
As a being of Power, Intelligence, and Love, and the lord of his own thoughts,
man holds the key to every situation, and contains within himself that
transforming and regenerative agency by which he may make himself what he
wills.
Man is always the master, even in his weakest and most
abandoned state; but in his weakness and degradation he is the foolish master
who misgoverns his "household." When he begins to reflect upon his
condition, and to search diligently for the Law upon which his being is established,
he then becomes the wise master, directing his energies with intelligence, and
fashioning his thoughts to fruitful issues. Such is the conscious master, and
man can only thus become by discovering within himself the laws of thought;
which discovery is totally a matter of application, self-analysis, and
experience.
Only by much searching and mining are gold an diamonds
obtained, and man can find every truth connected with his being if he will dig
deep into the mine of his soul. And that he is the maker of his character, the
molder of his life, and the builder of his destiny, he may unerringly prove: if
he will watch, control, and alter his thoughts, tracing their effects upon
himself, upon others, and upon his life and circumstances; if he will link cause
and effect by patient practice and investigation, utilizing his every
experience, even to the most trivial, as a means of obtaining that knowledge of
himself. In this direction, as in no other, is the law absolute that "He
that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened"; for
only by patience, practice, and ceaseless importunity can a man enter the Door
of the Temple of Knowledge.
II. Effect of Thought on Circumstances
A man's mind may be likened to a garden, which may be
intelligently cultivated or allowed to run wild; but whether cultivated or
neglected, it must, and will, bring forth. If no useful seeds are put into it,
then an abundance of useless weed seeds will fall therein, and will continue to
produce their kind.
Just as a gardener cultivates his plot, keeping it
free from weeds, and growing the flowers and fruits which he requires, so may a
man tend the garden of his mind, weeding out all the wrong, useless, and impure
thoughts, and cultivating toward perfection the flowers and fruits of right,
useful, and pure thoughts, By pursuing this process, a man sooner or later
discovers that he is the master gardener of his soul, the director of his life.
He also reveals, within himself, the laws of thought, and understands with ever-increasing
accuracy, how the thought forces and mind elements operate in the shaping of
his character, circumstances, and destiny.
Thought and character are one, and as character can
only manifest and discover itself through environment and circumstance, the
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 his entire character, but that those
circumstances are so intimately connected with some vital thought element
within himself that, for the time being, 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 arrangement of his life there is no element of chance, but all is the
result of a law which cannot err. This is just as true of those who feel
"out of harmony" with their surroundings as of those who are
contented with them.
As the progressive and evolving being, man is where he
is that he may learn that he may grow; and as he learns the spiritual lesson
which any circumstance contains for him, it passes away and gives place to
other circumstances.
Man is buffeted by circumstances so long as he
believes himself to be the creature of outside conditions. But when he realizes
that he may command the hidden soil and seeds of his being out of which
circumstances grow, he then becomes the rightful master of himself.
That circumstances grow out of thought every man knows
who has for any length of time practiced self-control and self-purification,
for he will have noticed that the alteration in his circumstances has been in
exact ratio with his altered mental condition. So true is this that when a man
earnestly applies himself to remedy the defects in his character, and makes
swift and marked progress, he passes rapidly through a succession of
vicissitudes.
The soul attracts that which it secretly harbors; that
which it loves, and also that which it fears. It reaches the height of its
cherished aspirations. It falls to the level of its unchastened desires - and
circumstances are the means by which the soul receives its own.
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 shapes itself to the
inner world of thought, and both pleasant and unpleasant external conditions
are factors which make for the ultimate good of the individual. As the reaper
of his own harvest, man learns both by suffering and bliss.
A man does not come to the almshouse or the jail by
the tyranny of fate of circumstance, but by the pathway of groveling thoughts
and base desires. Nor does a pure-minded man fall suddenly into crime by stress
of any mere external force; the criminal thought had long been secretly
fostered in the heart, 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 apart from vicious inclinations, or ascending into virtue and its
pure happiness without the continued cultivation of virtuous aspirations. And
man, therefore, as the Lord and master of thought, is the maker of himself, the
shaper and author of environment. Even at birth the soul comes to its own, and
through every step of its earthly pilgrimage it attracts those combinations of
conditions which reveal itself, which are the reflections of its own purity and
impurity, its strength and weakness.
Men do not attract that which they want, but that
which they are. Their whims, fancies, and ambitions are thwarted at every step,
but their inmost thoughts and desires are fed with their own food, be it foul
or clean. The "divinity that shapes our ends" is in ourselves; it is
our very self. Man is manacled only by himself. Thought and action are the
jailers of Fate - they imprison, being base. They are also the angels of
Freedom - they liberate, being noble. Not what he wishes and prays for does a
man get, but what he justly earns. His wishes and 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 against an effect without, while all the time he is
nourishing and preserving its cause in his heart. That cause may take the form
of a conscious vice or an unconscious weakness; but whatever it is, it
stubbornly retards the efforts of its possessor, and thus calls aloud for
remedy.
Men are anxious to improve their
circumstances, but are unwilling to improve themselves. They therefore remain
bound. The man who does not shrink from self-crucifixion can never fail to
accomplish the object upon which his heart is set. This is as true of earthly
as of heavenly things. Even the man whose sole object is to acquire wealth must
be prepared to make great personal sacrifices before he can accomplish his
object; and how much more so he who would realize a strong and well-poised
life?
Here is a 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 trying to deceive his employer on
the ground of the insufficiency of his wages. Such a man does not understand the
simplest rudiments of those principles which are the basis of true prosperity.
He is not only totally unfitted to rise out of his wretchedness, but is
actually attracting to himself a still deeper wretchedness by dwelling in, and
acting out, indolent, deceptive, and unmanly thoughts.
Here is a rich man who is the victim of a painful and
persistent disease as the result of gluttony. He is willing to give large sums
of money to get rid of it, but he will not sacrifice his gluttonous desires. He
wants to gratify his taste for rich and unnatural foods and have his health as
well. Such a man is totally unfit to have health, because he has not yet
learned the first principles of a healthy life.
Here is an employer of labor who adopts crooked measures
to avoid paying the regulation wage, and, in the hope of making larger profits,
reduces the wages of his workpeople. Such a man is altogether unfitted for
prosperity. And when he finds himself bankrupt, both as regards reputation and
riches, he blames circumstances, not knowing that he is the sole author of his
condition.
I have introduced these three cases merely as
illustrative of the truth that man is the cause (though nearly always
unconsciously) of his circumstances. That, while aiming at the good end, he is
continually frustrating its accomplishment by encouraging thoughts and desires
which cannot possibly harmonize with that end. Such cases could be multiplied
and varied almost indefinitely, but this is not necessary. The reader can, if
he so resolves, trace the action of the laws of thought in his own mind and
life, and until this is done, mere external facts cannot serve as a ground of
reasoning.
Circumstances, however, are so complicated, thought is
so deeply rooted, and the conditions of happiness vary so vastly with
individuals, that a man's entire soul condition (although it may be known to
himself) cannot be judged by another from the external aspect of his life
alone.
A man may be honest in certain directions, yet suffer
privations. A man may be dishonest in certain directions, yet acquire wealth.
But the conclusion usually formed that the one man fails because of his
particular honesty, and that the other prospers because of his particular
dishonesty, is the result of a superficial judgment, which assumes that the
dishonest man is almost totally corrupt, and honest man almost entirely
virtuous. In the light of a deeper knowledge and wider experience, such
judgment is found to be erroneous. The dishonest man may have some admirable virtues
which the other does not possess; and the honest man obnoxious vices which are
absent in the other. The honest man reaps the 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 suffering and happiness.
It is pleasing to human vanity to believe that one
suffers because of one's virtue. But not until a man has extirpated every
sickly, bitter, and impure thought from his mind, and washed every sinful stain
from his soul, can he be in a position to know and declare that his sufferings
are the result of his good, and not of his bad qualities. And on the way to
that supreme perfection, he will have found working in his mind and life, the
Great Law which is absolutely just, and which cannot 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 experiences, good and bad, were the equitable outworking
of his evolving, yet unevolved self.
Good thoughts and actions can never produce bad
results. 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
himself, with the Law of his being. The sole and supreme use of suffering is to
purify, to burn out all that is useless and impure. Suffering ceases for him
who is pure. There could be not object in burning gold after the dross had been
removed, and perfectly pure and enlightened being could not suffer.
The circumstances which a man encounters with
suffering are the result of his own mental inharmony. The circumstances which a
man encounters with blessedness, not material possessions, is the measure of
right thought. Wretchedness, not lack of material possessions, is the measure
of wrong thought. A man may be cursed and rich; he may be blessed and poor.
blessedness and riches are only joined together when the riches are rightly and
wisely used. And the poor man only descends into wretchedness 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. A man is not rightly conditioned until he is a happy, healthy, and
prosperous being. And happiness, health, and prosperity are the result of a
harmonious adjustment of the inner with the outer, of the man with his
surroundings.
A man only begins to be a man when he ceases to whine
and revile, and commences to search for the hidden justice which regulates his
life. And as he adapts his mind to that regulating factor, he ceases to accuse
others as the cause of his condition, and builds himself up in strong and noble
thoughts. He ceases to kick against circumstances, but begins to use them as
aids to his more rapid progress, and as a means of discovering the hidden
powers and possibilities within himself.
Law, not confusion, is the dominating principle in the
universe. Justice, not injustice, is the soul and substance of life. And
righteousness, not corruption, is the molding and moving force in the spiritual
government of 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
will find that as he alters his thoughts toward things and other people, things
and other people will alter toward him.
The proof of this truth is in every person, and it therefore admits of easy
investigation by systematic introspection and self-analysis. Let a man
radically alter his thoughts, and he will be astonished at the rapid
transformation it will effect in the material conditions of his life.
men imagine that thought can be kept secret, but it
cannot. It rapidly crystallizes into habit, and habit solidifies into habits of
drunkenness and sensuality, which solidify into circumstances of destitution
and disease. Impure thoughts of every kind crystallize into enervating and
confusing habits, which solidify into distracting and adverse circumstances.
Thoughts of fear, doubt, and indecision crystallize into weak, unmanly, and
irresolute habits, which solidify into circumstances of failure, indigence, and
slavish dependence.
Lazy thoughts crystallize into habits of uncleanliness
and dishonesty, which solidify into circumstances of foulness and beggary.
Hateful and condemnatory thoughts crystallize into habits of accusation and
violence, which solidify into circumstances of injury and persecution. Selfish
thoughts of all kinds crystallize into habits of self-seeking, which solidify
into circumstances more of less distressing.
On the other hand, beautiful thoughts of all
crystallize into habits of grace and kindliness, which solidify into genial and
sunny circumstances. Pure thoughts crystallize into habits of temperance and
self-control, which solidify into circumstances of repose and peace. Thoughts
of courage, self-reliance, and decision crystallize into manly habits, which
solidify into circumstances of success, plenty, and freedom.
Energetic thoughts crystallize into habits of
cleanliness and industry, which solidify into circumstances of pleasantness.
Gentle and forgiving thoughts crystallize into habits of gentleness, which
solidify into protective and preservative circumstances. Loving and unselfish
thoughts crystallize into habits of self-forgetfulness for others, which
solidify into circumstances of sure and abiding prosperity and true riches.
A particular train of thought persisted in, be it good
or bad, cannot fail to produce its results on the character and circumstances.
A man cannot 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 which he most encourages, and opportunities are presented which will
most speedily bring to the surface both the good and evil thoughts.
Let a man cease from his sinful thoughts, and all the
world will soften toward him, and be ready to help him. Let him put away his
weakly and sickly thoughts, and lo! opportunities will spring up on every hand
to aid his strong resolves. Let him encourage good thoughts, and no hard fate
shall bind him down to wretchedness and shame. The world is your kaleidoscope,
and the varying combinations of colors which at every succeeding moment it
presents to you are the exquisitely adjusted pictures of your evermoving
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.
It masters time, it conquers space; It cows that
boastful trickster, Chance, And bids the tyrant Circumstance 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.
III. Effect of Thought on Health and the Body
The body is the servant of the mind. It obeys the
operations of the mind, whether they be deliberately chosen or automatically
expressed. At the bidding of unlawful thoughts the body sinks rapidly into
disease and decay; at the command of glad and beautiful thoughts it becomes
clothed with youthfulness and beauty.
Disease and health, like circumstances, are rooted in
thought. Sickly thoughts will express themselves through a sickly body.
Thoughts of fear have been known to kill a man as speedily as a bullet, and
they are continually killing thousands of people just as surely though less
rapidly. The people who live in fear of disease are the people who get it. Anxiety
quickly demoralizes the whole body, and lays it open to the entrance of
disease; while impure thoughts, even if not physically indulged, will soon
shatter the nervous system.
Strong, pure, and happy thoughts build up the body in
vigor and grace. The body is a delicate and plastic instrument, which responds
readily to the thoughts by which it is impressed, and habits of thought will
produce their own effects, good or bad, upon it.
Men will continue to have impure and poisoned blood so
long as they propagate unclean thoughts. Out of a clean heart comes a clean
life and a clean body. Out of a defiled mind proceeds a defiled life and
corrupt body. Thought is the fountain of action, life and manifestation; make
the fountain pure, and all will be pure.
Change of diet will not help a man who will not change
his thoughts. When a man makes his thoughts pure, he no longer desires impure
food.
If you would perfect your body, guard your mind. If
you would renew your body, beautify your mind. Thoughts of malice, envy,
disappointment, despondency, rob the body of its health and grace. A sour face
does not come by chance; it is made by sour thoughts. Wrinkles that mar are
drawn by folly, passion, pride.
I know a woman of ninety-six who has the bright, innocent
face of a girl. I know a man well under middle age whose face is drawn into
inharmonious contours. The one is the result of a sweet and sunny disposition;
the other is the outcome of passion and discontent.
As you cannot have a sweet and wholesome abode unless
you admit the air and sunshine freely into your rooms, so a strong body and a
bright, happy, or serene countenance can only result from the free admittance
into the mind of thoughts of joy and good will and serenity.
On the faces of the aged there are wrinkles made by
sympathy, others by strong and pure thought, others are carved by passion. Who
cannot distinguish them? With those who have lived righteously, age is calm,
peaceful, and softly mellowed, like the setting sun. I have recently seen a
philosopher on his deathbed. He was not old except in years. He died as sweetly
and peacefully as he had lived.
There is no physician like cheerful thought for
dissipating the ills of the body; there is no comforter to compare with good
will for dispersing the shadows of grief and sorrow. To live continually in
thoughts of ill will, cynicism, suspicion, and envy, is to be confined in a
self-made prison hole. But to think well of all, to be cheerful with all, to
patiently learn to find the good in all - such unselfish thoughts are the very
portals of heaven; and to dwell day to day in thoughts of peace toward every
creature will bring abounding peace to their possessor.
IV. Thought and Purpose
Until thought is linked with purpose there is no
intelligent accomplishment. With the majority the bark of thought is allowed to
"drift" upon the ocean of life. Aimlessness is a vice, and such
drifting must not continue for him who would steer clear of catastrophe and
destruction.
They who have no central purpose in their life fall an
easy prey to worries, fears, troubles, and self-pityings, all of which are
indications of weakness, which lead, just as surely as deliberately planned
sins (though by a different route), to failure, unhappiness, and loss, for
weakness cannot persist in a power-evolving universe.
A man should conceive of a legitimate purpose in his
heart, and set out to accomplish it. He should make this purpose the
centralizing point of his thoughts. It may take the form of a spiritual ideal,
or it may be a worldly object, according to his nature at the time being. But
whichever it is, he should steadily focus his thought forces upon the object
which he has set before him. He should make this purpose his supreme duty, and
should devote himself to its attainment, not allowing his thoughts to wander
away into ephemeral fancies, longings, and imaginings. This is the royal road
to self-control and true concentration of thought. Even if 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 apprehension of a
great purpose, should fix the thoughts upon the faultless performance of their
duty, no matter how insignificant their task may appear. Only in this way can
the thoughts be gathered and focused, and resolution and energy be developed,
which being done, there is nothing which may not be accomplished.
The weakest soul, knowing its own weakness, and
believing this truth - that strength can only be developed by effort and
practice, will at once begin to exert itself, and adding effort to effort,
patience to patience, and strength to strength, will never cease to develop,
and will at last grow divinely strong.
As the physically weak man can make himself strong by
careful and patient training, so the man of weak thoughts can make them strong
by exercising himself in right thinking.
To put away aimlessness and weakness, and to begin to
think with purpose, is to enter the ranks of those strong ones who only
recognize failure as one of the pathways to attainment; 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 to the left. Doubts and fears should be rigorously excluded; they are
disintegrating elements which break up the straight line of effort, rendering
it crooked, ineffectual, useless. Thoughts of doubt and fear never accomplish
anything, and never can. They always lead to failure. Purpose, energy, power to
do, and all strong thoughts cease when doubt and fear creep in.
The will to do springs from the knowledge that we can
do. Doubt and fear are the great enemies of knowledge, and he who encourages
them, who does not slay them, thwarts himself at every step.
He who has conquered doubt and fear has conquered
failure. His every thought is allied 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 prematurely to the ground.
Thought allied fearlessly to purpose becomes creative
force. He who knows 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.
IV. The Thought-Factor in Achievement
All that a man achieves and all that he fails to
achieve is the direct result of his own thoughts. In a justly ordered universe,
where loss of equipoise would mean total destruction, individual responsibility
must be absolute. A man's weakness and strength, purity and impurity, are his
own, and not another man's. They are brought about 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 his
happiness are evolved from within. As he thinks, so he is; as he continues to
think, so he remains.
A strong man cannot help a weaker unless the weaker is
willing to be helped, and even then the weak man must become strong of himself.
He must, by his own efforts, develop the strength which he admires in another.
None but himself can alter his condition.
It has been usual for men to think and to say,
"Many men are slaves because one is an oppressor; let us hate the
oppressor." Now, however, there is among an increasing few a tendency to
reverse this judgment, and to say, "One man is an oppressor because many
are slaves; let us despise the slaves." The truth is that oppressor and
slave are cooperators in ignorance, and, while seeming to afflict each other,
are in reality afflicting themselves. A perfect Knowledge perceives the action
of law in the weakness of the oppressed and the misapplied power of the
oppressor. A perfect Love, seeing the suffering which both states entail,
condemns neither. A perfect Compassion embraces both oppressor and oppressed.
He who has conquered weakness, and has put away all
selfish thoughts, belongs neither to oppressor nor oppressed. He is free.
A man can only rise, conquer, and achieve by lifting
up his thoughts. He can only remain weak, and abject, and miserable by refusing
to lift up his thoughts.
Before a man can achieve anything, even in worldly
things, he must lift his thoughts above slavish animal indulgence. He may not,
in order to succeed, give up all animality and selfishness, by any means; but a
portion of it must, at least, be sacrificed. A man whose first thought is
bestial indulgence could neither think clearly nor plan methodically. He could
not find and develop his latent resources, and would fail in any undertaking.
Not having commenced manfully to control his thoughts, he is not in a position
to control affairs and to adopt serious responsibilities. He is not fit to act
independently and stand alone, but he is limited only by the thoughts which he
chooses.
There can be no progress, no achievement without
sacrifice. A man's worldly success will be in the measure that he sacrifices
his confused animal thoughts, and fixes his mind on the development of his
plans, and the strengthening of his resolution and self reliance. And the
higher he lifts his thoughts, the more manly, upright, and righteous he
becomes, the greater will be his success, the more blessed an enduring will be
his achievements.
The universe does not favor the greedy, the dishonest,
the vicious, although on the mere surface it may sometimes appear to do so; it
helps the honest, the magnanimous, the virtuous. All the great Teachers of the
ages have declared this in varying forms, and to prove and know it a man has
but to persist in making himself more and more virtuous by lifting up his
thoughts.
Intellectual achievements are the result of thought consecrated to the search
for knowledge, or for the beautiful and true in life and nature. Such
achievements may be sometimes connected with vanity and ambition but they are
not the outcome of those characteristics. They are the natural outgrowth of
long an arduous effort, and of pure and unselfish thoughts.
Spiritual achievements are the consummation of holy
aspirations. He who lives constantly in the conception of noble and lofty
thoughts, who dwells upon all that is pure and unselfish, will, as surely as
the sun reaches its zenith and the moon its full, become wise and noble in
character, and rise into a position of influence and blessedness.
Achievement, of whatever kind, is the crown of effort,
the diadem of thought. By the aid of self-control, resolution, purity,
righteousness, and well-directed thought a man ascends. By the aid of
animality, indolence, impurity, corruption, and confusion of thought a man
descends.
A man may rise to high success in the world, 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 directed thought, are governed
by the same law and are of the same method; the only difference lies in the
object of attainment.
He who would accomplish little must sacrifice little.
He who would achieve much must sacrifice much. He who would attain highly must
sacrifice greatly.
VI. Visions and Ideals
The dreamers are the saviors of the world. As the
visible world is sustained by the invisible, so men, through all their trials
and sins and sordid vocations, are nourished by the beautiful visions of their
solitary dreamers. Humanity cannot forget its dreamers. It cannot let their
ideals fade and die. It lives in them. It knows them in the realities which it
shall one day see and know.
Composer, sculptor, painter, poet, prophet, sage,
these are the makers of the afterworld, the architects of heaven. The world is
beautiful because they have lived; without them, laboring humanity would
perish.
He who cherishes a beautiful vision, a lofty ideal in his
heart, will one day realize it. Columbus cherished a vision of another world,
and he discovered it. Copernicus fostered the vision of a multiplicity of
worlds and a wider universe, and he revealed it. Buddha beheld the vision of a
spiritual world of stainless beauty and perfect peace, and he entered into it.
Cherish your visions. Cherish your ideals. Cherish the
music that stirs in your heart, the beauty that forms in your mind, the
loveliness that drapes your purest thoughts, for out of them will grow all
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 aspirations starve for lack of sustenance? Such is not the Law. Such a
condition of things can never obtain - "Ask and receive."
Dream lofty dreams, and as you dream, so shall you
become. Your Vision is the promise of what you shall one day be. Your Ideal is
the prophecy of what you shall at last unveil.
The greatest achievement was at first and for 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 they shall
not long remain so if you but perceive an Ideal and strive to reach it. You
cannot travel within and stand still without. Here is a youth hard pressed by
poverty and labor; confined long hours in an unhealthy workshop; unschooled,
and lacking all the arts of refinement. But he dreams of better things. He
thinks of intelligence, of refinement, of grace and beauty. He conceives of,
mentally builds up, an ideal condition of life. The vision of the wider liberty
and a larger scope takes possession of him; unrest urges him to action, and he
utilizes all his spare time and means, small though they are, to the
development of his latent powers and resources.
Very soon so altered has his mind become that the
workshop can no longer hold him. It has become so out of harmony with his
mentality that it falls out of his life as a garment is cast aside, and with
the growth of opportunities which fit the scope of his expanding 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 almost unequaled power. In his hands he holds the cords of
gigantic responsibilities. He speaks, and lo! lives are changed. Men and women
hang upon his words and remold their characters, and, sunlike, he becomes the
fixed and luminous center around which innumerable destinies revolve. He has
realized the Vision of his youth. He has become one with his Ideal.
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 less. Whatever your present
environment may be, you will fall, remain, or rise with your thoughts, your
Vision, your Ideal. You will become as small as your controlling desire; as
great as your dominant aspiration.
In the beautiful words of Stanton Kirkham Dave,
"You may be keeping accounts, and presently you shall walk out of the door
that for so long has seemed to you the barrier of your ideals, and shall find
yourself before an audience - the pen still behind your ear, the ink stains on
your fingers - and then and there shall pour out the torrent of your
inspiration. You may be driving sheep, and you shall wander to the city -
bucolic and open mouthed; shall wander under the intrepid guidance of the
spirit into the studio of the master, and after a time he shall say, 'I have
nothing more to teach you.' And now you have become the master, who did so
recently dream of great things while driving sheep. You shall lay down the saw
and the plane to take upon yourself the regeneration of the world."
The thoughtless, the ignorant, and the indolent,
seeing only the apparent effects of things and not the things themselves, talk
of luck, of fortune, and chance. See a man grow rich, they say, "How lucky
he is!" Observing another become intellectual, they exclaim, "How
highly favored he is!" And noting the saintly character and wide influence
of another, the remark, "How chance aids him at every turn!"
They do not see the trials and failures and struggles
which these men have voluntarily encountered in order to gain their experience.
They 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.
They do not know the darkness and the heartaches; they only see the light and
joy, and call it "luck"; do not see the long and arduous journey, but
only behold the pleasant goal, and call it "good fortune"; do not
understand the process, but only perceive the result, and call it
"chance."
In all human affairs there are efforts, and there are results, and the strength
of the effort is the measure of the result. Chance is not. "Gifts,"
powers, material, intellectual, and spiritual possessions are the fruits of
effort. They are thoughts completed, objects accomplished, visions realized.
The vision that you glorify in your mind, the Ideal
that you enthrone in your heart - this you will build your life by, this you
will become.
VII. Serenity
Calmness of mind is one of the beautiful jewels of
wisdom. It is the result of long and patient effort in self-control. Its
presence is an indication of ripened experience, and of a more than ordinary
knowledge of the laws and operations of thought.
A man becomes calm in the measure that he understands
himself as a thought-evolved being, for such knowledge necessitates the
understanding of others as the result of thought. As he develops a right
understanding, and sees more and more clearly the internal relations of things
by the action of cause and effect, he ceases to fuss and fume and worry and
grieve, and remains poised, steadfast, serene.
The calm man, having learned how to govern himself,
knows how to adapt himself to others; and they, in turn, reverence his
spiritual strength, and feel that they can learn of him and rely upon him. The
more tranquil a man becomes, the greater is his success, his influence, his
power for good. Even the ordinary trader will find his business prosperity
increase as he develops a greater self-control and equanimity, for people will
always prefer to deal with a man whose demeanor is strongly equable.
The strong calm man is always loved and revered. He is
like a shade-giving tree in a thirsty land, or a sheltering rock in a storm.
Who does not love a tranquil heart, a sweet-tempered, balanced life? It does
not matter whether it rains or shines, or what changes come to those possessing
these blessings, for they are always sweet, serene, and calm. That exquisite
poise of character which we call serenity is the last lesson culture; it is the
flowering of life, the fruitage of the soul. It is precious as wisdom, more to
be desired than gold - yea, than even fine gold. How insignificant mere
money-seeking looks in comparison with a serene life - a life that dwells in
the ocean of Truth, beneath the waves, beyond the reach of tempests, in the
Eternal Calm!
"How many people we know who sour their lives,
who ruin all that is sweet and beautiful by explosive tempers, who destroy
their poise of character, and make bad blood! It is a question whether the
great majority of people do not ruin their lives and mar their happiness by
lack of self-control. How few people we meet in life who are well-balanced, who
have that exquisite poise which is characteristic of the finished
character!"
Yes, humanity surges with uncontrolled passion, is
tumultuous with ungoverned grief, is blown about by anxiety and doubt. Only the
wise man, only he whose thoughts are controlled and purified, makes the winds
and the 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 Blessedness are smiling, and sunny shore of your ideal awaits your coming.
Keep your hand firmly upon the helm of thought. In the bark of your soul
reclines the commanding Master; He does but sleep; wake Him. Self-control is
strength; Right Thought is mastery; Calmness is power.
Say unto your heart, "Peace, be still!"
The End