Title

As a Man Thinketh
By

James Allen

Bird Publisher, 2013

 “As a Man Thinketh” by James Allen

About this eBook

“As a Man Thinketh” By James Allen

© 1902 by James Allen

© 2013 by Bird Publisher

ISBN 978-961-279-582-5 (pdf)

ISBN 978-961-279-583-2 (mobi)
ISBN 978-961-279-584-9 (ePub)

Bird Publisher
DP d.o.o.
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SI - 1234 Mengeš
Slovenia
Europe
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.bird-publisher.com

Published: December 2013 by Bird Publisher

Available electronically at: www.bird-publisher.com

Copyright and license

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 “As a Man Thinketh” by James Allen

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.

Contents
Title 2
About this eBook 3
Copyright and license 3

Mind is the Master power … 4

Contents 4

Foreword 5
AS A MAN THINKETH 5
1. Thought and Character 5
2. Effect of Thought on Circumstances 6
3. Effect of Thought on Health and the Body 11
4. Thought and Purpose 12
5. The Thought-Factor in Achievement 13
6. Visions and Ideals 15
7. Serenity 17

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 “As a Man Thinketh” by James Allen

Foreword

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 the inner garment of character and the outer garment of circumstance, and
that, as they may have hitherto woven in ignorance and pain they may now weave in
enlightenment and happiness.

James Allen

AS A MAN THINKETH
1. Thought and Character

The aphorism, "As a man thinketh in his heart so is he," not only embraces the whole of a
man's being, but is so comprehensive as to reach out to every condition and circumstance of
his life. A man is literally what he thinks, his character being the complete sum of all his
thoughts.

As the plant springs from, and could not be without, the seed, so every act of a man
springs from the hidden seeds of thought, and could not have appeared without them. This
applies equally to those acts called "spontaneous" and "unpremeditated" as to those, which are
deliberately executed.

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.

"Thought in the mind hath made us, What we are

By thought was wrought and built. If a man's mind
Hath evil thoughts, pain comes on him as comes
The wheel the ox behind ....
… If one endure
In purity of thought, joy follows him
As his own shadow - sure."

Man is a growth by law, and not a creation by artifice, and cause and effect is as absolute
and undeviating in the hidden realm of thought as in the world of visible and material things.
A noble and Godlike character is not a thing of favour or chance, but is the natural result of
continued effort in right thinking, the effect of long-cherished association with Godlike
thoughts. An ignoble and bestial character, by the same process, is the result of the continued
harbouring of grovelling thoughts.

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 “As a Man Thinketh” by James Allen

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. By the right choice and true application of
thought, man ascends to the Divine Perfection; by the abuse and wrong application of
thought, he descends below the level of the beast. Between these two extremes are all the
grades of character, and man is their maker and master.

Of all the beautiful truths pertaining to the soul which have been restored and brought to
light in this age, none is more gladdening or fruitful of divine promise and confidence than
this - that man is the master of thought, the moulder of character, and the maker and shaper of
condition, environment, and destiny.

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.

Man is always the master, even in his weaker and most abandoned state; but in his
weakness and degradation he is the foolish master who misgoverns his "household." When he
begins to reflect upon his condition, and to 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. Such is the conscious master, and man can only thus
become by discovering within himself the laws of thought; which discovery is totally a matter
of application, self analysis, and experience.

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. In this direction, as in no other, is the law absolute that "He
that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened;" for only by patience,
practice, and ceaseless importunity can a man enter the Door of the Temple of Knowledge.

2. Effect of Thought on Circumstances

Man`s mind may 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.

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. By pursuing this process, a man sooner or later discovers
that he is the master-gardener of his soul, the director of his life. He also reveals, within
himself, the laws of thought, and understands, with ever-increasing accuracy, how the

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