James Allen in his book, “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. The outer world of circumstance shapes itself to the inner world of thought, and both pleasant and unpleasant external conditions are factors, which make for the ultimate good of the individual. As the reaper of his own harvest, man learns both by suffering and bliss.” P. 17
As a Man Thinketh is available online at gutenberg.org under the Harvard Classics.
NOTE: Has someone ever said something to you that struck a raw nerve? It’s happened to me many times. I can recall those times where I let that one comment dictate how I felt for the entire day. I neglected all the good that surrounded me. I neglected all the treasures and benefits in front of me waiting for me to pick them up. I now know that I can replace my negative thoughts with more positive thoughts. I now know that i do not have to let another’s negative comments affect the rest of my day. It’s not the person’s fault who made the comment. It’s my fault for letting my thoughts grab hold of it. We are the masters of our fate.
Fears visit everyone. Some people give into their fears and their fears dominate their lives. They allow their fears to become their master. When fears become our master, happiness cannot penetrate the barriers erected by them. One way to become the master of our fears is take action against them. Salmon swim upstream to spawn. In the same way, what an irrational fears tells us what to do, we do the opposite. We swim upstream against the fear’s rushing waters. We soon learn the rushing waters become a trickle. We mastered the fear. The barriers preventing happiness disappear. Life is once again good.
James Allen in his book, “As a Man Thinketh, says, “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.” P. 12
As a Man Thinketh is available online at gutenberg.org under the Harvard Classics.
NOTE: it takes heaps of courage to recognize that we are in charge of our thoughts and our actions. When we recognize we are in charge of our thoughts we empower ourselves to move forward in a direction of hope knowing that where we are going everything will work out. We know that we have the power within us to overcome the challenges we will face. We know we can discard any thoughts that discourage us or make us question our ability. Discard all thoughts that do not lead you forward. Embrace all thoughts that empower you.
Thoreau writes in “Walking,” “But the walking of which I speak has nothing in it akin to taking exercise . . . as the swinging of dumb-bells or chairs; but is itself the enterprise and adventure of the day. If you would get exercise, think of a man’s swinging dumb-bells or his health, when those springs are bubbling up in far-off pastures unsought by him! Moreover, you must walk like a camel, which is said to be the only beast which ruminates when walking. When a traveler asked Wordsworth’s servant to show him her master’s study, she answered, “Here is his library, but his study is out of doors.” P. 738
Walking is available online and gutenberg.org under the Harvard Classics.
NOTE: Ruminating along our walk is almost counter cultural. How can we measure how fast we’re walking if we stop to smell a flower or watch a bird feed its young? I recall walking with a friend in a natural setting. All my friend could talk about was work, work, and more work. My friend did not see the array of wild flowers. Nor did my friend see the Mexican blue bird that flew in front of us. And, my friend missed seeing the two deer that were watching us. My friend didn’t relax. I think my friend would have felt much better if my friend took time to ruminate on our walk and enjoyed everything that the walk offered to us.
