James Allen
| James Allen (November 28, 1864 - 1912) was a writer of
inspirational books and poetry. Born in Leicester, England, James was 15
when his father, a businessman, was robbed and murdered. He left school
to work full-time in several British manufacturing firms to help support
the family. Eventually he married and became an executive secretary for
a large company. At age 38, he retired from employment and he and his
wife moved to a small cottage in Ilfracombe, of Devon, England to pursue
a simple life of contemplation. There he wrote for 9 years producing
over 20 works. James Allen died in 1912, at age 48. Allen's most famous book, As a Man Thinketh, was published in 1902. It is now considered a classic self-help book. Its underlying premise is that noble thoughts make a noble person, lowly thoughts make a miserable person. In short: you are what you think. A philosophical writer of British nationality who remains a hardly recognized author, James Allen's books illustrate the power of thought to have immense capabilities. Although he never achieved great fame or wealth, his works continue to influence people around the world. |
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This is the first section of "AS A MAN THINKETH "
AS A MAN THINKETH Chapter One
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 was 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 favour 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 harbouring of grovelling thoughts.
Man is made or unmade by himself; in the armoury 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 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 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 weaker 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 and 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 moulder 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
to 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.
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