Echoes from the past

I chanced upon a book written by a sage who lived between 1864 and 1912 titled ‘As a Man Thinketh’. So vividly did it illustrate the concept I discussed in my last blog that I decided to share some lines from the book in this post. You can tell the impact it left on me from the tone of this write up. My conclusion, coming off from that experience, is that truth is timeless, has no respect for age, race or geographical location. It works whether you live in the palaces of the Middle East or in the dungeon of Guantanamo Bay.

Come with me and let us ponder on some lines that echo from the past, peradventure you too, like me, may find some wisdom to help steer the direction of your life towards your desired destination.

On thoughts and character.........................

'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.'

'Man is always the master, even in his weakest and most abandoned state; but in 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.'

On thoughts and 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.'

'The soul attracts that which it secretly harbours; 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.'

'Circumstance does not make the man; it reveals him to himself. Men do not attract that which they want, but that which they are.'

'Law, not confusion, is the dominating principle in the universe. 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.'

'Thoughts of courage, self-reliance, and decision, and decision crystallize into manly habits, which solidify into circumstances of success, plenty and freedom.'

'A particular 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 can choose his thoughts, and so indirectly, yet surely, shape his circumstances.'

'Nature helps every man to the most gratification of the thoughts which he most encourages, and opportunities are presented which will most speedily bring to the surface the good and evil thoughts.'

On thoughts and health......................................

'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 the youthfulness and beauty.'

'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.'

'There is no physician like cheerful thought for dissipating the ills of the body; there is no comforter to compare with the 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.'

On thoughts and purpose..........................

'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 through a different route), to failure, unhappiness, and loss, for weakness cannot persist in a power-evolving universe.'

'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.'

On thoughts and 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 equipose 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.'

'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 and enduring will be his achievements.'

'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 high thought can only be maintained by watchfulness. Many give way when success is assured, and rapidly fall back into failure.'

On thoughts and visions and ideals........................

'The dreamers are the saviours of the world. Humanity cannot forget its dreamers. The world is beautiful because they have lived; without them, labouring humanity will perish. He who cherishes a beautiful vision, a lofty ideal in his heart, will one day realize 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.'

'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.'

'The vision that you glorify in your mind, the Ideal that you entrone in your heart - this you will build your life by, this you will become.'

James Allen's As A Man thinketh.