THOUGHT AND CHARACTER
Important excerpts:
“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.”
“a noble... character... is the natural result of continued effort in right thinking... an ignoble and bestial character... is the result of... grovelling thoughts.”
“man is always the master [of his thoughts], even in his weaker... state; but in his weakness... he is the foolish master who misgoverns his ‘household’.”
“man can... watch... and alter his thoughts, tracing their effects upon himself, upon others, upon his life and circumstances.”
ClarificationYou can choose the kind of thoughts you have, because you are always the master (or manager) of your thoughts. it is sometimes the case that you mismanage your thoughts, but never that you fail to manage them at all.
You can learn to observe your thoughts, to take note of the effect they have upon you, your life and those around you. You can alter your thoughts and, by extension, improve yourself, your life and even the lives of those around you.
VocabularyIgnoble . inferior. Of low quality.
Bestial. animal-like, savage.
Importunity. Persistence.
EFFECT OF THOUGHT ON CIRCUMSTANCES Important excerpts:
“Thought and character are one, and as character can only manifest... itself through environment and circumstance... a person’s life will always be harmoniously related to his inner state.”
“man is buffeted by circumstances so long as he believes himself to be the creature of outside conditions, but when he realises that he is a creative power... he then becomes the rightful master of himself.”
“men do not attract that which they want, but that which they are.”“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. and as he adapts his mind to that regulating factor, he ceases to accuse others as the cause of his condition, and builds himself up in strong and noble thoughts; ceases to kick against circumstances, but begins to use them as aids to his more rapid progress, and as a means of discovering the hidden powers and possibilities within himself.”
ClarificationYour outer circumstances are a direct result of your thoughts. Bad thoughts ultimately lead to bad circumstances, good thoughts to good circumstances.
The constant, exhausting battle against circumstances is utterly pointless, if you yourself are the creator of those circumstances. You must first change yourself, and to do this you must change your thoughts.
allen accepts that it is not uncommon to come across good people in bad circumstances and bad people in good circumstances. he makes the argument that the good person may not be wholly good, and the bad person may not be wholly bad, and if we look deeper we will find that it is the good person’s bad thoughts that have created their situations, and likewise for the bad person.
Once we cease to blame circumstances and others for our situation, we can focus all that time and energy on understanding what it is about ourselves, which thoughts, brought us to this place, this situation. and then we can attempt to change those thoughts.
allen explains how thoughts crystallise into habits which solidify into circumstances. The table below summarises the examples given.
Thoughts Crystallise into Solidify intoBestial Drunkenness and sensuality
impure enervating and confusing habits
Fear, doubt and indecision
Weak, unmanly, irresolute habits
Distracted
and adverse
circumstances
Failure, indigence and slavish
dependence
Lazy
hateful,
condemnatory Uncleanliness and dishonesty
Pure habits of grace and kindliness
Temperance and control
Foulness and
beggary
energetic Cleanliness and industry
Pleasantness
Loving and unselfish self-forgetfulness for others
Protective and
preservative
circumstances
sure and abiding prosperity and true riches
Vocabulary Extirpated. To remove or destroy totally.
Viands. Food, particularly delicacies. in this sense, rich and unhealthy food.EFFECT OF THOUGHTS ON HEALTH AND THE BODY Important excerpts:
“The body is the servant of the mind... at the bidding of unlawful thoughts the body sinks rapidly into disease and decay; at the command of glad and beautiful thoughts it becomes clothed with youthfulness and beauty.”
“anxiety quickly demoralises the whole body, and lays it open to the entrance of disease.”“There is no physician like a cheerful thought for dissipating the ills of the body... To live continually in thoughts of ill will, cynicism, suspicion and envy, is to be confined to a self made prison-hole.”
ClarificationWe’ve all heard the expression (or used it, or had it used on ourselves), “You’ll make yourself ill.” Likewise, the expression to be “sick with worry.”
Though published in 1902, allen’s ideas concerning the effects on the human body of stress and anxiety are now all, by and large, recognised and documented as fact. it is well known that stress reduces the effectiveness of the immune system, inviting disease and illness. The placebo effect is also a generally accepted medical phenomena. medical studies have even indicated that it may be possible for people to bring about the onset of cancer through stress and anxiety (so-called ‘cancer personalities’).
THOUGHT AND PURPOSE
Important excerpts:
“With the majority, the bark of thought is allowed to drift upon the ocean of life. aimlessness is a vice, and such drifting must not continue for him who would steer clear of catastrophe and destruction.”
“They who have no central purpose in their life fall an easy prey to petty worries, fears, troubles, and self-pityings.”“he should make this purpose his supreme duty... not allowing his thoughts to wander away into ephemeral fancies, longings and imaginings.”
ClarificationThis practice of focussing will allow you to develop resolution and energy. This energy and sense of resolve will lead to accomplishment, which will alter for the better yourself, your life and your circumstances.
VocabularyTHE THOUGHT-FACTOR IN ACHIEVEMENT
Important excerpts:
“[a man’s] condition is... his own, and not another man’s. his suffering and his happiness are evolved from within. as he thinks, so he is; as he continues to think, so he remains.”
“he who has conquered weakness, and has put away all selfish thoughts, belongs neither to oppressor nor oppressed. he is free. a man can only rise, conquer, and achieve by lifting up his thoughts. he can only remain weak, and abject, and miserable by refusing to lift up his thoughts.”
ClarificationThere is much to debate in this chapter, particularly the apparent notion that oppressors exist simply because their is someone to oppress (a kind of codependency). Whilst this satisfies a certain logic, it is not a concept that will sit well with most people. someone who is militarily conquered and enslaved surely can’t be responsible for their circumstances.
it is not something we can go into here (the purpose of these notes is to elucidate and make more useful this text). however, there is certainly something to be said for the person in an extreme situation who refuses to perceive themselves as slave or victim. The sense that ones thoughts are ones own irrespective of external factors is persuasive and empowering.
Consider the great nelson mandela. had he simply given in to thoughts of defeat, despair and anger, would he have emerged from prison after 27 long years resolute, commanding and good humoured? Would unity and ‘truth and reconciliation’ have been foremost in his mind?
Vocabulary