As a Man Thinketh

by James Allen

“They themselves are makers of themselves.”

mind is the master-weaver, both of the inner garment of character and the outer garment of circumstance,

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

every act of a man springs from the hidden seeds of thought,

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 a growth by law,

Man is made or unmade by himself; in the armoury of thought he forges the weapons by which he destroys himself;

By the right choice and true application of thought, man ascends to the Divine Perfection;

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.

Man is always the master, even in his weaker and most abandoned state;

directing his energies with intelligence, and fashioning his thoughts to fruitful issues.

is totally a matter of application, self-analysis, and experience.

linking cause and effect by patient practice and investigation,

MAN’S mind may be likened to a garden, which may be intelligently cultivated or allowed to run wild;

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.

Thought and character are one, and as character can only manifest and discover itself through environment and circumstance,

Every man is where he is by the law of his being;

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,

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

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.

Good thoughts and actions can never produce bad results; bad thoughts and actions can never produce good results.

Suffering is always the effect of wrong thought in some direction. It is an indication that the individual is out of harmony with himself,

The sole and supreme use of suffering is to purify, to burn out all that is useless and impure.

Suffering ceases for him w...

Blessedness, not material possessions, is the measure of right thought;

A man is not rightly conditioned until he is a happy, healthy, and prosperous being;

A man only begins to be a man when he ceases to whine and revile, and commences to search for the hidden justice which regulates his life.

he ceases to accuse others as the cause of his condition, and builds himself up in strong and noble thoughts;

as he alters his thoughts towards things and other people, things and other people will alter towards him.

Men imagine that thought can be kept secret, but it cannot; it rapidly crystallizes into habit, and habit solidifies into circumstance.

thoughts of fear, doubt, and indecision crystallize into weak, unmanly, and irresolute habits,

hand, beautiful thoughts of all kinds crystallize into habits of grace and kindliness,

pure thoughts crystallize into habits of temperance and self-control,

thoughts of courage, self-reliance, and decision crystallize into manly habits, which solidify into circumstances...

A man cannot directly choose his circumstances, but he can choose his thoughts, and so indirectly, yet surely, shape his circumstances.

put away his weakly and sickly thoughts, and lo, opportunities will spring up on every hand to aid his strong resolves;

The world is your kaleidoscope, and the varying combinations of colours, which at every succeeding moment it presents to you are the exquisitely adjusted pictures of your ever-moving thoughts.

“So You will be what you ...

“The human Will, that force unseen, the offspring of a deathless Soul, Can hew a way to any goal, Though walls of granite intervene.

“Be not impatient in delays but wait as one who understands; When spirit rises and commands The gods are ready to obey.”

THE body is the servant of the mind.

Anxiety quickly demoralizes the whole body, and lays it open to the, entrance of disease;

Strong, pure, and happy thoughts build up the body in vigour and grace.

Thought is the fount of action, life, and manifestation; make the fountain pure, and all will be pure.

Change of diet will not help a man who will not change his thoughts.

A sour face does not come by chance; it is made by sour thoughts.

They who have no central purpose in their life fall an easy prey to petty worries, fears, troubles, and self-pityings,

A man should conceive of a legitimate purpose in his heart, and set out to accomplish it.

adding effort to effort, patience to patience, and strength to strength, will never cease to develop, and will at last grow divinely strong.