The Power of Positive Thinking

by Norman Vincent Peale

1. Sit relaxed in a chair. Completely yield yourself to the chair. Starting with your toes and proceeding to the top of your head, conceive of every portion of the body as relaxing. Affirm relaxation by saying: “My toes are relaxed—my fingers—my facial muscles.” 2. Think of your mind as the surface of a lake in a storm, tossed by waves and in tumult. But now the waves subside, and the surface of the lake is placid and unruffled. 3. Spend two or three minutes thinking of the most beautiful and peaceful scenes you have ever beheld, as, for example, a mountain at sunset, or a deep valley filled with the hush of early morning, or a wood at noonday, or moonlight upon rippling waters. In memory relive these scenes. 4. Repeat slowly, quietly, bringing out the melody in each, a series of words which express quietness and peace, as, for example (a) tranquillity (say it very deliberately and in a tranquil manner); (b) serenity; (c) quietness. Think of other such words and repeat them. 5. Make a mental list of times in your life when you have been conscious of God’s watchful care and recall how, when you were worried and anxious, He brought things out right and took care of you. Then recite aloud this line from an old hymn: ‘So long Thy power hath kept me, sure it STILL will lead me on.’ 6. Repeat the following, which has an amazing power to relax and quiet the mind: “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee.” (Isaiah xxvi.3.) Repeat this several times during...