As A Man Thinketh

Forward

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

Ilfracombe, England

Thought And Character

“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 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

fruit; 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 was wrought and built.

If a man's mind hath evil thought,

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 are as absolute and undeviating in the hidden

realm of thought as in the world of visible and material things. A

noble and God-like 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 God-like 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 the

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 foolish

master who misgoverns his "household." When he begins to reflect

upon his condition and 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. This

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 mine of his soul. 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, linking cause and effect by patient

practice and investigation. And utilizing his every experience, even

the most trivial, everyday occurrence, as a means of obtaining that

knowledge of himself which is understanding, wisdom, power. 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.

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 flaws of thought, and understands, with ever-

increasing accuracy, how the thought-forces and mind elements

operate in the shaping of 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 a 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 is a creative power, and 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 it 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 circumstances 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 of

suffering and bliss.

Following  the inmost  desires, aspirations,  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 endeavor), a man at last arrives at their fruition and fulfillment

in the outer conditions of his life.

The laws of growth and adjustment everywhere obtain.  A man

does not come to the alms-house or the jail by the tyranny of fate or

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

and the shaper of and author of environment. Even at birth the soul

comes of 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. Man is manacled only by himself; thought and

action are the jailors of Fate--they imprison, being base; they are

also the angels of Freedom--they liberate, being noble.

Not what he wished 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 it 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 improve, 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, and 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 causer (though nearly always

unconsciously) of his circumstances, and that, whilst 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 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, yet long

before he has reached that supreme perfection , he will have found,

working in his mind and life, the great law which is absolutely just,

and which 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 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 no 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 with suffering are

the result of his own mental inharmony. The circumstances which a

man  encounters with blessedness are the result of his own mental

harmony. 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 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; 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.

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 towards things and other people, things and other people

will alter towards 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 circumstance. Bestial thoughts crystallize 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 weak, 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 distressful circumstances.

On the  other  hand, beautiful thoughts of all kinds 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

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 gratification of the thoughts which

he most encourages, and opportunities are presented which will

most speedily bring to the surface both the good and the evil

thoughts.

Let a man cease from his sinful thoughts, and all the world will

soften towards him, and be ready to help him. Let him put away his

weakly and sickly thoughts, and the 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 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.

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 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

Effects Of Thoughts On Health And 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 sooner 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 a corrupt body. Thought is the fount 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.

Clean thoughts make clean habits.  The so-called saint who

does not wash his body is not a saint. He who has strengthened

and purified his thoughts does not need to consider the malevolent.

If you would perfect your body, guard your mind. If you would

renew your body, beautify your mind. Thoughts of malice, envy, and

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 in harmonious 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 goodwill

and serenity.

On the faces of the aged there are wrinkles 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, and softly mellowed, like the

setting sun. I have recently seen a philosopher on his death-bed. 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 goodwill 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 by 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 petty 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 diff route), to failure, unhappyness, 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. Whichever it is, he should steadily focus his thought-

forces upon the object he had 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 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. Once this is 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, thus believing, 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 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 can never accomplish anything. 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 overcome. His purposes are seasonably planted,

and they bloom and bring forth fruit that 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 bundle of wavering thoughts and fluctuating sensations. He

who does this has become the conscious and intelligent wielder of

his mental powers.

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V

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 sufferings and his happiness are

evolved from within. As he thinks, so is he; as he continues to

think, so he remains.

A  strong  man  cannot  help  a  weaker  unless  that  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!" But

there is amongst 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 slaves 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

20

has pushed 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, abject, and miserably 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,

necessarily, 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 begun to

manfully 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 that he chooses.

There can  be  no  progress  nor  achievement  without  sacrifice,

and a man's worldly success will be by 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. The higher he lifts his thoughts, the greater will

be his success, the more blessed and enduring will be his

achievements.

The  universe  does  not  favor  the  greedy,  the  dishonest,  the

vicious, although on the mere surface it sometimes may appear to

do so. It helps the honest, the magnanimous, the virtuous. All the

great teachers of the ages have declared this in varying ways, and to

prove it and to know it a man has but to persist in making himself

increasingly virtuous by lifting his thoughts.

Intellectual  achievements  are  the  result  of  thought

consecrated to the search for knowledge or for the beautiful and

true in nature. Such achievements may sometimes be connected

with vanity and ambition, but they are not the outcome of those

characteristics. They are the natural outgrowth of long and 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 selfless, 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

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blessedness.        Achievement of any 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, even to lofty

attitudes 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 be maintained only 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.  They

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  need  sacrifice  little;  he  who

would achieve much must sacrifice much. He who would attain

highly must sacrifice greatly.

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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

as the realities which it shall one day see and know.

Composer, sculptor, painter, poet, prophet, sage--these are the

makers of the after-world, 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 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.

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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 a soul a waking angle stirs. Dreams are the

seedlings of realities.

Your  circumstances  may  be  uncongenial,  but  they  shall  not

remain so if you only 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, or refinement, of

grace and beauty. He conceives of, mentally builds up, an ideal

condition of life. The wider liberty and a larger scope takes

possession of him; unrest urges him to action, and he uses all his

spare times and means 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 mind-set that it falls out of his life as a garment is cast

aside. And with the growth of opportunities that fit the scope of his

expanding powers, he passes out of it altogether. Years later we see

this youth as a grown man. We find him a master of certain forces

of the mind that he wields with worldwide influence and almost

unequaled power. In his hands he holds the cords of gigantic

responsibilities; he speaks and lives are changed; men and women

hang upon his words and remold their characters. Sun-like, 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, will realize the vision (not just 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 love most. 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.

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. Seeing a man grow rich, they say,

"How lucky he is!" Observing another become skilled intellectually,

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they exclaim, "How highly favored he is!" And noting the saintly

character and wide influence of another, they remark, "How chance

helps him at every turn!" They do not see the trials and failures and

struggles which these men have 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 so 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, 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.

The strength of the effort is the measure of the result. Change is

not. Gifts, powers, material, intellectual, and spiritual possessions

are the fruits of effort. They are thoughts completed, objectives

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.

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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,

and as he develops a right understanding, and sees ever more

clearly the internal relations of things by the action of cause and

effect, he ceases to fuss, fume, worry, and grieve. He 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. They feel that they can learn from 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 equitable.

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 who possess these blessings, for they are always

serene and calm. That exquisite poise of character that we call

serenity is the last lesson of culture. It is the flowering of life, the

fruitage of the soul. It is precious as wisdom--more desirable than

fine gold. How insignificant mere money-seeking looks in

comparison with a serene life. A life that dwells in the ocean of

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truth, beneath the waves, beyond the reach of the 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 you  may  be,  under whatever

conditions you may live, know this: In the ocean of life the isles of

blessedness are smiling and the sunny shore of your ideal awaits

your coming. Keep your hands firmly upon the helm of thought. In

the core 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!"

Develop a deeper understanding of the principles of As A Man

Thinketh.