A Review of "As a Man Thinketh"
Posted: Monday, August 03, 2009
by Donovan Baldwin
No Diet 4 Me
Before there was Napoleon Hill, Zig Ziglar, Ernest Dimnet, or Dale Carnegie, there was James Allen.
A British author of the early 20th century, James Allen is best known for his works of inspiration and philosophy, and for his poetry.
One particular work of his, "As a Man Thinketh", recently caught my eye.
The title, taken from the biblical passage from the Book of Proverbs, "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he", sets the entire tone of this work.
At the very outset, Allen quotes,
"Mind is the Master power that moulds and makes,
And Man is Mind, and evermore he takes
The tool of Thought, and, shaping what he wills,
Brings forth a thousand joys, a thousand ills:--
He thinks in secret, and it comes to pass:
Environment is but his looking-glass."
In other words, the thoughts that we carry in our hearts and minds have the power to make and mold us as well as control the perception we carry of the world around us.
Allen is not the only author to have such beliefs back in the "good old days".
Abbe Ernest Dimnet, in his fantastic book, "The Art of Thinking", Napoleon Hill in, "Think and Grow Rich", and Dale Carnegie, as a major theme in all his works, espouse much the same idea.
Interestingly, these writers working from their own studies of mankind, their personal experiences and observations arrived at what science in the 21st century is showing us to be a measurable fact. How we think; the images with which we program our minds, the actions we choose to perform DO have the power to exert terrific influence, not only on our own lives but on the lives and realities of those around us.
The titles of the chapters in "As a Man Thinketh", give a fairly clear image of the direction of James Allen's thoughts:
THOUGHT AND CHARACTER
EFFECT OF THOUGHT ON CIRCUMSTANCES
EFFECT OF THOUGHT ON HEALTH AND THE BODY
THOUGHT AND PURPOSE
THE THOUGHT-FACTOR IN ACHIEVEMENT
VISIONS AND IDEALS
SERENITY
The overall tone of the work can be summed up in a sentence a few paragraphs into Chapter 1, Thought and Character:
"Man is made or unmade by himself; in the armory 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."
And again in the final paragraph of that chapter:
"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; and that he is the maker of his character, the moulder of his life, and the builder of his destiny, he may unerringly prove, 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 to the most trivial, everyday occurrence, as a means of obtaining that knowledge of himself which is Understanding, Wisdom, Power."
Although a bit much to trudge through for many readers due to what some would consider an archaic attitude coupled with the period's manner of expression, "As a Man Thinketh" by James Allen is a good little work to add to one's personal library of self-help books.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Donovan Baldwin is a freelance writer and successful Internet entrepreneur currently living in Stone Mountain, GA with his wife and 15-year-old dog who really rules the household. He is retired from the U. S. Army after 21 years of service, and is a University of West Florida alumnus, BA, Accounting, 1973. He provides articles and other website content for his own sites and those of others. His blog on Home and Internet Business can be found at http://donovanbaldwin.blogspot.com , and the complete work, "As a Man Thinketh" can be read at http://xtramoney4me.net/as_a_man_thinketh .
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