EXTRACTS FROM AS A MAN THINKETH by James Allen (Part 3)

The outer world of circumstances shapes itself (in accordance) to the inner world of thought. 9

Man, in the outer conditions of his life, always arrives at the fruition and fulfillment of the inmost desires, the aspirations, and the thoughts he allows himself to be dominated by. 9 (paraphrased)

A man does not come to the alms-house (beggary) or the jail by the tyranny of fate or circumstance, but by the pathway of grovelling thoughts and base desires. Nor does a pure-minded man fall suddenly into crime by stress (pressure) or any mere external force. The criminal thought had long been fostered in the heart, and the hour of opportunity revealed its gathered power. 9-10

Circumstance does not make the man; it reveals him to himself. 10

No such conditions can exist as descending into vice and its attendant sufferings apart from vicious inclinations, or ascending into virtue and its pure happiness, without the continued cultivation of virtuous aspirations. 10

Man, as the lord and master of thought, is the maker of himself and the shaper of and author of (his) environment. 10

Even at birth, the soul comes of its own and through every step of its earthly pilgrimage…attracts those conditions which reveal itself, which are the reflections of its own purity and impurity, its strength and weakness. 10

Men do not attract that which they want, but that which they are. Their whims, fancies, and ambitions are thwarted at every step, but their inmost thoughts and desires are fed with their own food, be it foul or clean. 10

Man is manacled (chained) only by himself; thought and action are the jailors of Fate – they imprisoned, when they are base; they are also the angels of Freedom – they liberate, when they are noble. 10 (paraphrased)

Man does not get what he wishes and prays for; he gets what he justly earns (paraphrased). “His wishes and prayers are only gratified and answered when they harmonize with his thoughts and actions.” 10

In the light of this truth, what then is the meaning of “fighting against circumstances?” It means that a man is continually revolting against an outside effect, while all the time he is nourishing and preserving its cause in his heart… And this cause may be a vice or an unconscious weakness; but whatever it is, it is stubbornly retarding the efforts of its owner, and by so doing is calling aloud for urgent remedy. 10 (paraphrased)

Men are anxious to improve their circumstances, but are unwilling to improve themselves; they therefore remain bound. 10

The man who does not shrink from self-crucifixion can never fail to accomplish an object upon which his heart is set. 10

Man is the causer [though nearly always unconsciously] of his circumstances, and…whilst aiming at the good end, he is continually frustrating its accomplishment by encouraging thoughts and desires which cannot possibly harmonize with that end. 11

The honest man reaps the good results of his honest thoughts and acts; he also brings upon himself the sufferings which his vices produce. The dishonest man likewise garners his own suffering and happiness. 12

EXTRACTS FROM AS A MAN THINKETH by James Allen (Part 2)

Man is the master of thought, the moulder of (his own) character, and the maker and shaper of (his) condition, environment, and destiny. 6

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. 6

Man is always the master, even in his weakest and most abandoned state. But in his weakness and degradation he is a foolish master who misgoverns his “household” (i.e. his life). When he begins to reflect upon his condition and 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. 6

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. 6

A man may truly prove that he is the maker of his character, the moulder of his life, and the builder of his destiny 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 the most trivial, everyday occurrence) as a means of obtaining that knowledge of himself which is understanding, wisdom and power. 6 (paraphrased)

Only by patience, practice, and ceaseless importunity (tireless persistence) can a man enter the door of the temple of (self-) knowledge. 7

EFFECTS OF THOUGHTS ON CIRCUMSTANCES

A man’s mind can be likened to a garden, which may be intelligently cultivated or allowed to run wild; but whether cultivated or neglected, it must, and will bring forth. If no useful seeds are put into it, then an abundance of useless weed-seeds will fall therein, and will continue to produce their kind. 8

Just as a gardener cultivates his plot, keeping it free from weeds, and growing the flowers and fruits which he requires, so may a man tend the garden of his mind, weeding out all the wrong, useless and impure thoughts, and cultivating toward perfection the flowers and fruits of right, useful and pure thoughts. 8

Thought and character are one, and as character can only manifest and discover itself through environment and circumstance, (so will) the outer conditions of a person’s life be always found to be harmoniously related to his inner state. 8

Every man is where he is by the law of his being; the thoughts which he has built into his character have brought him there, and in the arrangement of his life there is no element of chance, but all is the result of a law which cannot err. 8

As a progressive and evolving being, man is where he is that he may learn, that he may grow; and as he learns the spiritual lesson which any circumstance contains for him, it passes away and gives place to other circumstances. 9

Man is buffeted (battered) by circumstances as long as he believes himself to be the creature of outside conditions, but when he realizes that he is a creative power, and 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. 9 (paraphrased)

Any man who has for any length of time practised self-control and self-purification knows that circumstances grow out of thought. 9 (paraphrased)

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 (harvests). 9

Every thought-seed sown or allowed to fall into the mind, and to take root there, produces its own, blossoming sooner or later into act, and bearing fruitage of opportunity and circumstance. Good thoughts bear good fruit, bad thoughts bad fruit. 9

EXTRACTS FROM AS A MAN THINKETH by James Allen (Part 1)

Of all the books I have read ever since I was blessed with the gift of literacy, one book that stands out in thought-provocation and economy of words is a long-lost 27-paged classic by James Allen entitled

 AS A MAN THINKETH.

 

Characteristically, I have often shared this book with friends, but most of them don't get to read it to the end because of its "rugged" language. And they therefore don't get blessed by the priceless wisdom Mr Allen grafted in the book.

What I have therefore chosen to do in order to get as many of my friends to benefit from the book is to share some extracts of the book in digestible bits. I believe this will be easier to comprehend and even create a thirst to read the book itself in everyone. Where Mr Allen's language was more complex for easy understanding, I have paraphrased for easy understanding without compromising his semantic and his depth.

Below are the excerpts from the first chapter of the book. 

Enjoy! 

THOUGHT AND CHARACTER

A man is literally what he thinks, his character being the complete sum (total results) of all his thoughts.

As the plant springs from…the seed, so every act of man springs from the hidden seeds of thought…This applies equally to those acts called “spontaneous” as to those which are deliberately executed.

Act is the blossom (manifestation) of thought…joy and suffering are its fruitage (fruits); thus…a man garner in (reaps) the sweet and bitter fruitage of his own husbandry. 5

We are wrought (constructed) and built by thought. 5 (paraphrased)

Man is a growth by law, and not a creation by artifice. 5

Cause and effect are as absolute and undeviating in the hidden realm of thought as in the world of visible and material things. 5

A noble and God-like character is not a thing of favour or chance, but is the natural result of continued effort in right thinking, (as well as) the effect of long-cherished association with God-like thoughts. An ignoble and bestial character…is the result of the continued harbouring of grovelling thoughts. 5

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. 6

By the right choice and true application of thought, man ascends to…divine perfection. By the abuse and wrong application of thought he descends below the level of the beasts. [Between these two extremes are all the grades of character, and man is their maker and master]. 6

How To Boost Your Creative Output (Part 2)

The most important way you can boost your output is to get rid of the zero-sum assumption. If you feel that each idea created limits your ability to create new ideas, your output will be only a trickle. The best writers, programmers, designers and idea-generators I know believe that the supply of ideas is endless. You only need to know how to turn on the flow.Here are some tips to get you started:

Churn Without Judgment If you stress about the quality of work you are outputting, then the flow will be cut off. Writers block is a symptom of perfectionism. Churn first, judge later. 

Idea Breeding Use past ideas to generate new ideas. I've written close to 500 articles in the past two years. If I ever get stuck, all I need to do is search through past articles. Almost always they leave unanswered questions that can be tackled with a new article.

Creative Input Feed your brain with books. I read about 50-70 books a year. The most creative people I know can read over a 100. By devouring knowledge you add to the variety of ideas you can produce. 

Be Patient It can take a while for your brain to get into the right flow. I can write 1500 words in an hour when I'm in the right mental state. But that state often requires working through twenty minutes where I type no more than a sentence. Take the time to accelerate your creative flow. 

Use Large Time Chunks Since it takes time to warm up your creative muscles, you can't expect to go fast if you are constantly stopping. Use large chunks of time where you can build up speed and work for a few hours before taking a break.

Publish Garbage If you are starting out in a new pursuit, you have only one goal: boost creative output. This often means publishing junk until you train yourself to do a better job. Feedback from the world (not self-judgement) is the fastest way to hone your creative flow. 

Set a Quota Give yourself a certain output criteria for each day, week or month. This will build up a high creative output that can later be refined. Instead of just creating when you feel like it, set a target. Sometimes you'll produce garbage. But you'll also produce a lot more winners than by being a perfectionist.

Hit the Challenge Zone If you set too few standards for quality, you won't improve. But if you set too high standards, your creative output will plummet. The challenge zone is the area where you have enough challenge to improve yourself but not so much that you can't perform. 

Aim With Your Challenge Zone There is a tendency to use external factors to define your standards. For example, you want to become a musician, so you decide to set your standards to one of your favorite bands. This is a mistake. By setting the challenge zone to external criteria you kill your creative output or kill your quality. You only need to compete with yourself; don't judge yourself by others' standards.

Nuke Those Assumptions If you assume that your creative output is fixed, it will be. Set yourself a high quota and aim within your challenge zone. You'll probably be surprised at how much more you can produce if you force yourself to. More importantly, you'll probably be surprised that quality doesn't usually suffer when you boost creative output.

 

Scott Young is a university student who writes about productivity, habits and self-improvement. http://www.scotthyoung.com/blog/