As a man thinketh' is a book about the power of thought and particularly with the use and application of thought to happy and beautiful issues. Through this book, in simple words, James Allen has tried to show how each man holds the key to every condition, good or bad, that enters into his life.
Mind is the Master-power that molds and makes,
whole of a man’s being, but is so comprehensive as to reach out to every condition and circumstance of his life. 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.
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.
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.
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.
"A PERSON IS LIMITED ONLY BY THOUGHT THAT HE CHOOSES."
Mind is the Master-power that molds and makes,
And Man is Mind, and evermore he takes
The tool of Thought, and, shaping what he wills
Brings forth a thousand joys, a thousand ills:--
He thinks in secret, and it comes to pass:
Environment is but his looking-glass.
—Author of From Passion to Peace
Basis of the book
The title is influenced by a verse in the Bible from the Book of Proverbs, chapter 23, verse 7: "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he".
As
a being of Power, Intelligence, and
Love,
and the lord of this 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.
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. 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.
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.”
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.
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.
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.
“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.
