As A Man
Thinketh
by
James Allen
Rewritten and
translated into more modern terms
Chapter One
We are what we think we are. This not only affects the
way we feel, but affects every condition and circumstance in our lives. We are
literally what we think, our
character being the complete sum of all our thoughts.
Just as plants could not exist without a
seed, every act of mankind 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
deliberate.
Act is the blossom of thought, and joy and
suffering are its fruits.
Thought in the mind has made us what we are.
We use thought to form and create ourselves
If we have evil thoughts, pain comes on us
As surely as the funeral procession follows the
hearse
If we
have joyous thoughts
Happiness follows us as our own shadow.
Mankind is a
growth by law, and not a mechanical creation, and cause and effect is just as real in the
hidden realm of thought as in the world of visible and material things. A noble
and Godlike creature is not a thing of favor or chance, but is the natural result
of continued effort in positive thought. And it is the effect of long-cherished
association with Godlike thoughts. A beastly character, by the same process, is
the result of constant negative and lustful thoughts.
We are made or unmade by ourselves; with thought we make the weapons of slow deliberate(although unconscious) suicide. Also with thought, we make the tools to create heavenly mansions of joy, strength and peace. By the true application of thought, we ascend to Divine Perfection; by the abuse and wrong application of thought, we descend below the level of the beast. Between these two extremes are all the grades of character, and we are their maker and master.
Of
all the great truths there is to discover, there is none mightier than knowing
that we are the master of thought, the molder of character, and maker and
shaper of our condition, environment, and destiny.
As
beings of Power, Intelligence, and Love, and the captain of our own thoughts,
we hold the key to every situation. And we have the power to make ourselves into
anything we wish.
We are always in control, even in our weakest and most abandoned state; but in our weakness and degradation, we are foolish masters that misgovern our "household." When we begin to reflect upon our condition, and to search diligently for the Law upon which our existence is established, we then become the wise master, directing our energies with intelligence, and thinking more productive thoughts. We can only become the wise master by discovering the laws of thought. That discovery is totally a matter of application, self-analysis, and experience.
Only
by much searching and mining are gold and diamonds obtained, and we
can
find every hidden truth about ourselves if we will dig deep into the mine of
our soul. We can prove that we are the maker of our character, the molder of
our lives, and the builder of our destiny. How? All we need to do is watch, control, and alter our thoughts, and
trace their effects on others and the outside world. With a little patience and investigation, we can link everything in our
lives to cause and effect.
"All
that seeketh shall findeth; and to all that knocketh it shall be
opened". For only by patience,
practice, and ceaseless effort can
we open the Door to the Temple of Knowledge.
