As a Man Thinketh - The Power of Right Thought
The book's basic message is the following: "You are what you think." If you think this sounds a lot like Buddha, you're right; Allen was obviously influenced by Buddhism.
In turn, Allen's book has influenced many contemporary writers, including Norman Vincent Peale, Earl Nightingale, Tony Robbins, and Wayne Dyer. It is now in the public domain in most countries.
The book begins with the following quote:
- "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."
photo credit: h.koppdelaneyForeword
"This little volume (the result of meditation and experience) is not intended as an exhaustive treatise on the much-written-upon subject of the power of thought. It is suggestive rather than explanatory, its object being to stimulate men and women to the discovery and perception of the truth that-
'They themselves are makers of themselves'
by virtue of the thoughts, which they choose and encourage; that mind is the master-weaver, both of . . . character and . . . circumstance . . ."
"You are what you think.
All that you are arises
from your thoughts.
With your thoughts
you make your world."
-- Buddha
As a Man Thinketh on Wikipedia
As a Man Thinketh is a literary essay of James Allen, published in 1902. The title is influenced by a verse in the Bible from the Book of Proverbs chapter 23 verse 7, ?As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.?
The full passage, taken from the King James Version, is as follows:
"Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats:
For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he:
Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.
The morsel which thou...
As A Man Thinketh on Amazon
As a Man Thinketh
Amazon Price: $5.94 (as of 12/24/2009) 
As A Woman Thinketh
Amazon Price: $5.95 (as of 12/24/2009)
Contents
- Foreword
- 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
Influence of Buddhism
As Tom Butler-Bowdon points out in "50 Self-Help Classics: 50 Inspirational Books To Transform Your Life", the influence of Buddhism on Allen's thought is obvious. This is so both in the emphasis he places on 'right thinking', and in his suggestion that the best path to success is calmness of mind.The message of the Buddha is traditionally known as the Four Noble Truths. The last of these four truths sets out eight steps to happiness-The Eightfold Path-and one of these steps is right thinking.
Although people who are calm, relaxed and purposeful make it seem as if this is their natural state, it is nearly always the result of a lot of self-control. As Allen explains: "A noble character . . . is not a thing of favor or chance, but is the natural result of continued effort in right thinking. . . "
That is, you have to be aware, on a continuous basis, of the thoughts that are going through your mind. Just as a person can make themselves physically strong through rigorous exercise, a person can strengthen their mind through careful and patient training.
photo credit: h.koppdelaney 50 Self-Help Classics: 50 Inspirational Books To Transform Your Life
50 Self-Help Classics: 50 Inspirational Books to Transform Your Life
Amazon Price: $13.57 (as of 12/24/2009)
Butler-Bowdon has selected, and then provided an introduction to, carefully selected personal development works which have had a profound impact on those who have read them.
James Allen
James Allen on Wikipedia
James Allen (28 November 1864 in Leicester, England ? 1912) was a philosophical writer of British nationality known for his inspirational books and poetry.
Chapter 1: Thought and Character
James Allen As A Man Thinketh
Visit: http://www.YourMindPowers.com/james-allen/ for your FREE copy of James Allen's, greatest work "As A Man Thinketh". James Allen never gained much fame or fortune...and rarely made enough money from his writings, to even cover his expenses.
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"Thoughts shape character, circumstances, and destiny."
Tend to the Garden of Your Thoughts
Allen argues that a person's character is the complete sum of all of their thoughts. Someone who has a noble character must have, on balance, more noble thoughts than loathsome ones.He then explains that each action springs from, or is the result of, a thought that person has entertained. He writes the following: "As the plant springs from, and could not be without, the seed, so every act of man springs from the hidden seed of thought . . . Act is the blossom of thought, and joy and suffering are its fruit."
Each thought you have is a seed that you're planting in the garden of your mind. This garden can be intelligently cultivated, or it can be allowed to run wild. If you want a particular type of plant or flower to grow there, then those are the seeds you need to sow and nourish: "nothing can come from corn but corn, nothing from nettles but nettles".
Every thought that you have blossoms into an action, that action creates a result, and that result brings you either joy or misery. Allen refers to thoughts as "thought-seeds". Angry, hateful, and bitter thoughts will produce pain, as surely as the wheel follows the ox pulling the cart. Happiness will follow those who have kindly, pure, noble thoughts, as surely as that person is followed by their shadow.
He adds that each one of us needs to tend to the garden of our minds:
- "Just as a gardener cultivates his plot of land and keeps it free from weeds while growing the flowers and fruits he desires, so should you tend to the garden of your mind, weeding out all wrong, useless, and undesirable thoughts while cultivating to perfection the flowers and fruit of right and useful, pure thoughts."
photo credit: Fr Antunes Here Are the Last Five Posts On My Blog
Fetching RSS feed... please stand by"A man cannot directly choose his circumstances, but he can choose his thoughts, and so indirectly, yet surely, shape his circumstances."
Effect of Thought on Circumstances
Allen explains that the outer conditions of a person's life are always in harmony with their inner state. He adds that the fact that circumstances grow out of thought is evident to anyone who has practiced being mindful of their thoughts for some length of time. This person will be able to witness their circumstances changing in exact ratio to the change in their mental condition.As stated before: "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 its own fruitage of opportunity and circumstance. Good thoughts bear good fruit, bad thoughts bad fruit." A person reaps their own harvest.
Allen adds that a person does not attract what they want, but what they are. A person's wishes are only gratified when they harmonize with their thoughts and actions. Here are two illustrations provided by Allen:
- "Here is a man who is wretchedly poor. He is extremely anxious that his surroundings and home comforts should be improved, yet all the time he shirks his work, and considers he is justified in trying to deceive his employer on the ground of the insufficiency of his wages. Such a man does not understand the simplest rudiments of those principles which are the basis of true prosperity, and is not only totally unfitted to rise out of his wretchedness, but is actually attracting to himself a still deeper wretchedness by dwelling in, and acting out, indolent, deceptive, and unmanly thoughts."
- "Here is an employer of labour who adopts crooked measures to avoid paying the regulation wage, and, in the hope of making larger profits, reduces the wages of his workpeople. Such a man is altogether unfitted for prosperity, and when he finds himself bankrupt, both as regards reputation and riches, he blames circumstances, not knowing that he is the sole author of his condition."
Allen is a big proponent of individual responsibility, explaining that people should stop complaining and blaming others and circumstances; instead, they should search for "the hidden justice" which regulates their life.
photo credit: h.koppdelaney Thought Crystallizes
"Men imagine that thought can be kept secret, but it cannot; it rapidly crystallizes into habit, and habit solidifies into circumstance . . . thoughts of courage, self-reliance, and decision crystallize into manly habits, which solidify into circumstances of success, plenty, and freedom."
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As I wrote in my blog posts "Happiness Tips From the Dalai Lama" and "The Buddhist Approach to Happiness", in Buddhism, causality is accepted as natural law.The Dalai Lama explains that if there are certain types of events that you do not desire, then the best way of safeguarding against those events taking place is to make sure that the causal conditions that normally give rise to those events don't arise. Similarly, if there's an event that you would like to take place, then you should seek the causes and conditions that give rise to that event.
This same principle of causality can be applied to your mental states. If you desire happiness, you should identify those factors which lead to happiness and those factors which lead to suffering. Having done this, you can gradually eliminate those factors which lead to suffering from your life and cultivate those which lead to happiness.
That is, one achieves happiness through learning which mental states to cultivate and which to eliminate, and then making a sustained effort to implement this knowledge.
Allen has the following to say about the principle of causality:
- "That he is the maker of his character, the molder 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."
photo credit: Sjaaks The Art of Happiness
The Art of Happiness, 10th Anniversary Edition: A Handbook for Living
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he book "The Art of Happiness - A Handbook for Life" was written by psychiatrist Howard C. Cutler based on a series of interviews held with the Dalai Lama during the Dalai Lama's visit to Arizona and in his home in India, augmented by some of the Dalai Lama's public talks.
The Dalai Lama believes that the very purpose of our existence is to seek happiness, and the book contains many of the methods recommended by the Dalai Lama to cultivate happiness.
Five Articles You'll Enjoy
- As a Man Thinketh - The Power of Right Thought
- The book's basic message is the following: "You are what you think." If you think this sounds a lot like Buddha, you're right; Allen was obviously influenced by Buddhism.
- Lessons from "The Science of Getting Rich" (Part 1)
- Wally Wattles explains in his book "The Science of Getting Rich" that the monistic theory of the universe, the theory that All-is-One and that this one substance manifests itself as the seemingly different elements of the material world, is of Hindu origin. In addition, it is the foundation of the philosophies of Descartes, Spinoza, Leibnitz, Schopenhauer, Hegel, and Emerson.
- Lessons from "The Science of Getting Rich" (Part 2)
- Throughout the book, Wattles refers to the "formless substance" in many different terms, such as: original substance; formless stuff; the universe; God; the Divine; the supreme power; the one living substance; creative energy; thinking stuff; and so on.
- Lessons from "The Science of Getting Rich" (Part 3)
- Wattles emphatically states in "The Science of Getting Rich" that in order to do things "in a certain way" you must get rid of the thought of competition. In the fifth chapter of his book he explains that the way to get what you want is to create it, not to take it away from someone else.
- Lessons from "The Science of Getting Rich" (Part 4)
- Wattles explains that in order to get rich you must think and act in "a certain way". In addition, by thinking and acting in "a certain way" you will get rich with mathematical certainty.
Henepola Gunaratana
Henepola Gunaratana-a Sri Lankan Buddhist monk-explains in his book "Eight Mindful Steps to Happiness" that once we understand that everything we think, say, or do is a cause, which will inevitably lead to some effect, we will naturally want to think, say, and do things which will lead to positive results.
At the same time, we will avoid having thoughts, saying things, and doing things that will lead to negative results.
Eight Mindful Steps to Happiness
Eight Mindful Steps to Happiness: Walking the Buddha's Path
Amazon Price: $11.53 (as of 12/24/2009)
The message of the Buddha is traditionally known as the Four Noble Truths. The last of these four truths sets out eight steps to happiness, which are:
- Skillful Understanding
- Skillful Thinking
- Skillful Speech
- Skillful Action
- Skillful Livelihood
- Skillful Effort
- Skillful Mindfulness
- Skillful Concentration
Examples of "Right Thought"
- A professional golf player will focus on the flag at the hole--completely tuning out the water hazard to the left and the wooded rough to the right--and envision her swing, the flight of the ball, and the outcome of a well executed shot.
- A man trying to get in shape will envision participating in weekend 5K runs with his daughter, watching his young son grow up and graduate from college, and going on a Hawaii vacation with his wife.
- Below, in the red box, is an example of "right thought" provided by Allen in "As a Man Thinketh".
"Here is a youth . . . confined long hours in an unhealthy workshop; unschooled . . . But he dreams of better things . . . of refinement, of grace and beauty. He . . . mentally builds up an ideal condition of life . . . unrest urges him to action, and he utilizes all his spare time and means . . . to the development of his latent powers and resources. Very soon . . . the workshop . . . has become so out of harmony with his mentality that it falls out of his life as a garment is cast aside."
More Quotes From "As A Man Thinketh"
"A man should conceive of a legitimate purpose in his heart, and set out to accomplish it. He should make this purpose the centralizing point of his thoughts."
"Having conceived of his purpose, a man should mentally mark out a straight pathway to its achievement, looking neither to the right nor the left. Doubts and fears should be rigorously excluded; they are disintegrating elements which break up the straight line of effort, rendering it crooked, ineffectual, useless."
"The oak sleeps in the acorn; the bird waits in the egg. . . Dreams are the seedlings of realities."
Wayne Dyer - The Effects of Thoughts on Reality
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You can read "As A Man Thinketh", for free, here.
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Everyone is welcome to leave a comment, including non-squidoo members.
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Reply
- JaguarJulie JaguarJulie Oct 28, 2009 @ 7:27 am
- Ah, it is a lifelong pursuit for man -- the pursuit of happiness.
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Reply
- Heather426 Heather426 Oct 7, 2009 @ 2:50 pm
- Love the book, love the lens!
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Reply
- Michey Michey Oct 3, 2009 @ 9:52 pm
- Yes, excellent lens, the influence of Buddhism is powerful and I like Dalai Lama philosophy as well
"the purpose of life is to be happy"
Regards
Michey
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- stargazer00 stargazer00 Sep 26, 2009 @ 9:45 am
- I read As a Man Thinketh years ago but did not know James Allen was heavily influenced by Buddhism.
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- puzzlemaker puzzlemaker Sep 25, 2009 @ 8:23 pm
- I think there is value in this statement, "a person's character is the complete sum of all of their thoughts". I've found this true most always.
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