We cannot alter external things, nor
shape other people to our liking, nor mould the world to our wishes
but we can alter internal things,-our desires, passions, thoughts,-we
can shape our liking to other people, and we can mould the inner world
of our own mind in accordance with wisdom, and so reconcile it to the
outer world if men and things. The turmoil of the world we cannot
avoid, but the disturbances of mind we can overcome. The duties and
difficulties of life claim our attention, but we can rise above all
anxiety concerning them. Surrounded by noise, we can yet have a quiet
mind; involved in responsibilities, the heart can be at rest; in the
midst of strife, we can know the abiding peace. The twenty pieces
which comprise this book, unrelated as some of them are in the letter,
will be found to be harmonious in the spirit, in that they point the
reader towards those heights of self-knowledge and self-conquest
which, rising above the turbulence of the world, lift their peaks
where the Heavenly Silence reigns.
-- James Allen
CONTENTS:
- True
Happiness
- The
Immortal Man
- The
Overcoming of Self
- The
Uses of Temptation
- The
Man of Integrity
- Discrimination
- Belief,
the Basis of Action
- Belief
that Saves
- Thought
and Action
- Your
Mental Attitude
- Sowing
and Reaping
- The
Reign of Law
- The
Supreme Justice
- The
Use of Reason
- Self-Discipline
- Resolution
- The
Glorious Conquest
- Contentment
in Activity
- The
Temple of Brotherhood
- Pleasant
Pastures of Peace
As a Man
Thinketh
A
classic of its time!
Your thoughts and your dreams determine what you are and what you will
be. This little book is meant 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.
Contents: Effect of Thought on Circumstances; Effect of Thought on
Health and Body; Thought and Purpose; Thought Factor in Achievement;
Vision and Ideals; Serenity.
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
The Path
of
Prosperity
In
the foreword James Allen states:
"I
looked around upon the world, and saw that it was shadowed by sorrow
and scorched by the fierce fires of suffering. And I looked for the
cause. I looked around, but could not find it; I looked in books, but
could not find it; I looked within, and found there both the cause and
the self-made nature of that cause. I looked again, and deeper, and
found the remedy. I found one Law, the Law of Love; one Life, the Life
of adjustment to that Law; one Truth, the truth of a conquered mind
and a quiet and obedient heart."
He
concludes that happiness is short-lived in a human life and wonders:
"Is there, then, no way of escape from pain and sorrow? Are there
no means by which bonds of evil may be broken? Is permanent happiness,
secure prosperity, and abiding peace a foolish dream? No, there is a
way, and I speak it with gladness, by which evil can be slain for
ever; there is a process by which disease, poverty, or any adverse
condition or circumstance can be put on one side never to return;
there is a method by which a permanent prosperity can be secured, free
from all fear of the return of adversity, and there is a practice by
which unbroken and unending peace and bliss can be partaken of and
realized.
And the beginning of the way which leads to this glorious realization
is the acquirement of a right understanding of the nature of evil.
It is not sufficient to deny or ignore evil; it must be understood. It
is not enough to pray to God to remove the evil; you must find out why
it is there, and what lesson it has for you. It is of no avail to fret
and fume and chafe at the chains which bind you; you must know why and
how you are bound. Therefore, reader, you must get outside yourself,
and must begin to examine and understand yourself. You must cease to
be a disobedient child in the school of experience and must begin to
learn, with humility and patience, the lessons that are set for your
edification and ultimate perfection; for evil, when rightly
understood, is found to be, not an unlimited power or principle in the
universe, but a passing phase of human experience, and it therefore
becomes a teacher to those who are willing to learn. Evil is not an
abstract some thing outside yourself; it is an experience in your own
heart, and by patiently examining and rectifying your heart you will
be gradually led into the discovery of the origin and nature of evil,
which will necessarily be followed by its complete eradication."
CONTENTS
The Lesson of Evil
The World a Reflex of Mental States
The Way out of Undesirable Conditions
The Silent Power of Thought: Controlling
and Directing One's Forces
The Secret of Health, Success and Power
The Secret of Abounding Happiness
The Realization of Prosperity