Ralph Waldo Trine (1866-1958)

 

Character-Building Thought Power

An excerpt:

UNCONSCIOUSLY we are forming habits every moment of our lives. Some are habits of a desirable nature; some are those of a most undesirable nature. Some, though not so bad in themselves, are exceedingly bad in their cumulative effects, and cause us at times much loss, much pain and anguish, while their opposites would, on the contrary, bring as much peace and joy, as well as a continually increasing power. Have we it within our power to determine at all times what types of habits shall take form in our Iives? In other words, is habit-forming, character-building, a matter of mere chance, or have we it within our own control? We have, entirely and absolutely. "I will be what I will to be," can be said and should be said by every human soul.

The Greatest Thing Ever Known 

From an Amazon Reviewer:

Trine was one of those old metaphysicians, like also Thomas Troward, Ella Wheeler Wilcox and Ernest Holmes, whose nobility of thought and elegant way with words are not easily rivaled by modern writers in the field. Like the others, he writes in the Christian Gnostic tradition and illumines the scriptures in a way that has relevance and practical application for seekers after truth. Only as Being projects itself into existence are we able to know it. We may know the fact that Being "is," but only as it manifests itself in form are we able to know it itself. And it is only through thought that we are able to conceive of Divine Being as the infinite spirit and essence of life and then to realise that it is the life of our life - in this way we can allow it to become incarnate in us. Rightly directed thought has redeeming power, so it is through our thought that we can create for ourselves a new heaven and a new earth. Trine explains why it is better to avoid perplexing theological theories and dogmas that merely give a vague promise of some afterlife instead of the means of actualising the divine life here and now. The one great truth of being is that there's no real life except God and to the extent that we realise the indwelling presence, we become awakened beings. But it is not the mere intellectual recognition, but the conscious vital and living realisation of this truth that makes it of value and renders it manifest in our everyday lives. This great classic is of the same quality as Trine's "In Tune with the Infinite" and I highly recommend it. -- Joburg Pete

   ABOUT RALPH WALDO TRINE

Ralph Waldo Trine was a philosopher, mystic, teacher and author of many books, and was one of the early mentors of the New Thought Movement. His writings had a great influence on many of his contemporaries including Ernest Holmes, founder of Religious Science. He was a true pioneer in the area of life-transforming thought. No other New Thought author has sold more books than he, his writings reaching far beyond New Thought circles out to the general public, which has bought and read Trine's books without ever knowing that they were New Thought.

He began his writing career in his early 30s. He was much influenced by the writings of Fitche, Emerson and the Scottish scientist/evangelist, Henry Drummond, his "What All the World's A-Seeking" expanding on a number of the themes covered in Drummond's inspirational classic, "The Greatest Thing in the World." His remarkable seminal book, "In Tune with the Infinite" was launched in 1897 and went on to sell over 2 million copies, and has stood the test of time for over a century. It was read by such luminaries as Queen Victoria, Janet Gaynor and Henry Ford. It is interesting that Henry Ford, pioneer of mass produced automobiles, attributed his success directly to having read "In Tune with the Infinite." After reading the book, Ford ordered it on mass, and distributed copies freely to high profile industrialists. It's a true mark of how powerful the book was and still is!  

In its pages we find perennial truths that have been restated in many other forms in recent years, though perhaps never so clearly. By recognizing the power of our thoughts and by harmonizing our own with the Divine will, we will attract perfect peace, health, love, prosperity and success. A number of chapters from "In Tune with the Infinite" can be read on-line in the book "This Mystical Life of Ours" listed below.

"Within yourself lies the cause of whatever enters into your life. To come into the full realization of your own awakened interior powers is to be able to condition your life in exact accord with what you would have it" (from: "In Tune with the Infinite")