The First 50 Pages of over 400
A Compilation of the Best Teachings on The Creative Power of Thought
Compiled and Edited
by
David Allen
Acknowledgements
Benjamin Johnson, Charles Carroll Everett, Charles H. Wolf, Charles Wesley Kyle, Christian Larson, Dr. R. Swineburne Clymer, Edward Walker, Elinor S. Moody, Ella Adelia Fletcher, Emmet Fox, Ernest Holmes, Eugene Del Mar, F. E. Gariner, F. L. Rawson, Fenwicke L. Holmes, Frank B. Whitney, Frank L. Hammer, Frank Waller Allen, Franklin Fillmore Farrington, Genevieve Behrend, Glen Clark, Grace M. Brown, Harriette Augusta Curtiss, Helen Wilmans, Henry Frank, Henry Harrison Brown, Henry Thomas Hamblin, James Allen, Joseph Murphy, Kathleen M. H. Besly, Leander Edmund Whipple, Mary C. Ferriter, May E. Stevenson, Mildred Mann, Mrs Evelyn Lowes Wicker, Mrs. C. L. Baum, Neville Goddard, Nona L. Brooks, Orison Swett Marden, Prentice Mulford, Ralph Waldo Trine, Theron Q. Dumont, Wallace Wattles, William Walker Atkinson
My deepest and sincerest gratitude that these great minds left the world with such incredible knowledge.
Introduction
METAPHYSICIANS are frequently asked by students and patients, “What is thought?” This apparently simple question is now, as it has been through all the ages, the unanswered enigma. The ablest minds, the strongest individuals, the most religious men and women of the different stages of the world’s civilization and unfoldment, have grappled with the problem of thought, and tried in some way, through reasoning, thinking, inspiration, deduction, induction, and the various methods employed by man in striving to comprehend a proposition, to reach a satisfactory solution of this greatest of all questions; to satisfy, or in some way appease the longing of the individual (even though the explanation were not sufficient for the world in general) for a partial answer, at least, of “What is thought?”
From the earliest periods of human existence, successively down through the more and more enlightened stratas of human social and mental growth and formation, eddying through such brains as Aristotle, Plato, and the greatest philosophers of the Roman and Greek supremacy; swirling here and there in the current of human unfoldment and enlightenment; retarded for a time by the greatest minds of Germany and France, who tried to stem the tide of the ever-increasing momentum of that unanswered question which seemed to men, at all times and periods, to shield from the race the discovery of the Absolute, it has been transmitted to us. The adepts of ancient India have been struggling with this all-absorbing question for thousands of years, teaching their pupils that thought is the cause of all things.
Over some of the temples of Egypt, now in ruins or buried by the sands of centuries, have been found the inscription, “Know thyself,” which was considered the ultimate of all existence. Those fortunate enough to possess the means could, for an exorbitant sum, purchase a little book from the scribes, which merely contained the information that a knowledge of self, obtained through introspection, was all important for the future blessedness of the soul, and should be attained at any cost.
The above words written by Charles H. Wolf in 1918 seemed very fitting for an introduction to this compilation on The Creative Power of Thought. I thoroughly hope this book enlightens, inspires, illumines and blesses all with a brand new consciousness of this power that resides within us all, our thought, giving way to be free from the struggle and strife of life that so many are seeking. The truth does indeed set us free.
David Allen
Mind is the Master power that molds 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.
James Allen
There is no thought without form. Every work of man, building, machine or structure of any nature, first took form in his mind. Everything is a replica of a mental image. The earth, the plants, the birds, the animals and man are all projections of the mental concepts and formations held in the mind of God. All that is perceived by and conceived in the mind, is first formed in and of this immaterial substance. Man was made in the image of God; a replica of Him, which includes everything, potentially.
When man shall come to understand this truth he will, by the power of constructive thought, free his mind of doubt and fear, and become so at-one with the great powers of life that disease will vanish and the body become what it was intended to be, a perfect instrument for the expression of health and happiness and peace, and its every energy be devoted to usefulness.
Charles Wesley Kyle
The Universe is governed by Law . . one great Law. Its manifestations are multiform, but viewed from the Ultimate there is but one Law. We are familiar with some of its manifestations, but are almost totally ignorant of certain others. Still we are learning a little more every day . . the veil is being gradually lifted.
We speak learnedly of the Law of Gravitation, but ignore that equally wonderful manifestation, The Law of Attraction in the THOUGHT WORLD. We are familiar with that wonderful manifestation of Law which draws and holds together the atoms of which matter is composed . . we recognize the power of the law that attracts bodies to the earth, that holds the circling worlds in their places, but we close our eyes to the mighty law that draws to us the things we desire or fear, that makes or mars our lives.
When we come to see that Thought is a force . . a manifestation of energy . . having a magnet-like power of attraction, we will begin to understand the why and wherefore of many things that have heretofore seemed dark to us. There is no study that will so well repay the student for his time and trouble as the study of the workings of this mighty law of the world of Thought . . the Law of Attraction.
William Walker Atkinson
The metaphysician knows that “thoughts are things,” and at this point we wish to turn to Webster . . that practical materialist . . and confirm what we believe, teach and know to be the fact. The Unabridged Dictionary makes the following statement: “Thought is a creation of the mind, having a distinct existence from the mind that created it.” In other words, this great thinker recognizes that thought is not a passing shadow, to again be resolved into nothing as soon as created, but is a creation of the mind, “separate and apart” and entirely distinct from it; a thing, a tangible, comprehensible existing formation, capable of being used, utilized and disposed of as man sees fit. Man, therefore, is the dispenser of what he, in thought, creates. He is the creator or master of what he desires. He is his own source of supply and demand . . manufacturer, dealer and consumer. If thought is the fashioner of environment, and can man create whatsoever in thought he will, then the conclusion inevitably follows that man is the creator of his environment, or the ruler of his universe.
Knowing this, we also know that there are certain laws which must be complied with in the realm of thought. Students of mind know that the thought thus created is capable of being absorbed by the subconscious mind, and is then a part of the stored up resource of the mind which often acts unbidden. They have recognized, therefore, that it is of the utmost importance to keep the thoughts of the highest character . . thoughts which are constructive, upbuilding, uplifting and creative, instead of detrimental, vice inspiring, degenerating, and hence destructive. The habit of thinking rightly is therefore cultivated with all diligence, and when that is once established in the mind, the law of production keeps on producing constructive thoughts, and the subconscious is gradually cleansed of its darkness.
Taking thoughts as things, we at once come to the conclusion that there is a creative power behind them which is not so apparent to us. There is only the one Creative Power . . the All-pervading Mind . . God! It is, therefore, evident that right thinking is an inspiration, or direct communion with the Universal Mind of God, or, as it might be expressed, a desire in the soul of man to think rightly. This is the highest form of thought . . thinking God’s thoughts after him. This might be termed appropriating a part of the everywhere-present Mind, and utilizing and comprehending it . . making it manifest to ourselves. This is accomplished when we have stilled the subconscious or mortal thought, and have gained such control over ourselves that we can sit in the absolute silence and desire the One Great Mind to think with us, through us and for us.
Charles H. Wolf
Each individual life, after it has reached a certain age or degree of intelligence, lives in the midst of the surroundings or environments of its own creation; and this by reason of that wonderful power, the drawing power of mind, which is continually operating in every life, whether it is conscious of it or not.
We are all living, so to speak, in a vast ocean of thought. The very atmosphere about us is charged with the thought-forces that are being continually sent out. When the thought-forces leave the brain, they go out upon the atmosphere, the subtle conducting ether, much the same as sound-waves go out. It is by virtue of this law that thought transference is possible, and has become an established scientific fact, by virtue of which a person can so direct his thought-forces that a person at a distance, and in a receptive attitude, can get the thought much the same as sound, for example, is conducted through the agency of a connecting medium. Even though the thoughts as they leave a particular person, are not consciously directed, they go out; and all may be influenced by them in a greater or less degree, each one in proportion as he or she is more or less sensitively organized, or in proportion as he or she is negative, and so open to forces and influences from without.
The law operating here is one with that great law of the universe, . . that like attracts like, so that one continually attracts to himself forces and influences most akin to those of his own life. And his own life is determined by the thoughts and emotions he habitually entertains, for each is building his world from within. As within, so without; cause, effect.
Thought is the great builder in human life: it is the determining factor. Continually think thoughts that are good, and your life will show forth in goodness, and your body in health and beauty. Continually think evil and your life will show forth in evil, and your body in weakness and repulsiveness. Think thoughts of love, and you will love and will be loved. Think thoughts of hatred, and you will hate and will be hated. Each follows its kind.
Ralph Waldo Trine
What we think most about is constantly weaving itself into the fabric of our career, becoming a part of ourselves, increasing the power of our mental magnet to attract those things we most ardently desire. When the architect looks at the plan of his building he does not see the plan merely. That only suggests the building. It is the invisible building, the creation of his mind he sees. What he takes in from the plan with his eyes is not the reality at all. He sees in all its details the building of his mental vision. If he did not see it in this way, it would never become a reality. If he could see only the mechanical plans he would not be an architect at all.
The framework of your life structure is invisible. It is on the mental plane. You are laying the foundation for your future, fixing its limits by the expectations you are visualizing. You cannot do anything bigger than you plan to do. The mental plans always come first. Your future building will merely be carrying out in detail what you are visualizing today. The future is simply an extension of the present. You are right now by your thought habit, by your prevailing mental attitude, making your place in life. You are locating yourself, settling what you are to be. In other words, you are right now making your future, deciding what your position in the world shall be. And it will be broad, ever growing, ever expanding, or it will become narrower, more pinched and rutty, according to your mental plan, according to the vision you see.
The only world you will ever know anything about, the only world that is true for you at this moment, is the one you create mentally . . the world you are conscious of. The environment you fashion out of your thoughts, your beliefs, your ideals, your philosophy is the only one you will ever live in.
Orison Swett Marden
Withdraw and abstract your attention now from appearances of things and from sense evidence. Even though your senses deny what you pray for, affirm it as true in your heart. Bring your mind back from its wandering after the false Gods of fear and doubt (thought) to rest in the Omnipotence of the Spiritual Power within you. In the silence and quietude of your own mind, dwell on the fact that there is only One Power and One Presence.
This Power and Presence is now responding to your thought as guidance, strength, peace, and nourishment for the soul. Give all your mental attention to recognizing the absolute sovereignty of the Spiritual Power knowing that the God-Power has the answer, and is now showing you the way. Trust It; believe in It, and walk the earth in the Light your prayer is already answered.
Joseph Murphy
Thought is power; thought is creative; thought materializes to my desire in flesh and blood. As God materializes his thoughts, so will his son’s ideas take shape and form as worlds and plants take shape from the One Over-Soul. I have but to LET the God-in-me work as it works outside me, to carry out my will, and a world shall grow about me as under God’s direct thought this one grew for me.
Henry Harrison Brown
What you are inwardly, what you think inwardly, what you visualize inwardly, is what your future life will be. Your outward life is modeled on your inward life . . it is an exact replica of the life within. Therefore your subliminal mind is not only the source of inspiration and intuition, it is creative also. Your life is in your own hands, you can make it what you will. Your future is yours entirely, you can build it up with mathematical precision into any form you please. You are free to make or to mar, to build up or destroy. You can climb to the highest heights or descend to the lowest depths. You can be weak or strong, filthy or pure, miserable or happy, unsuccessful or successful, poverty stricken or prosperous, ill or healthy, hated or loved: It is all a matter of Thought-control and Scientific Thinking.
Henry Thomas Hamblin
The first law, which we must observe in the study of the Mind, is that of mutual response or the reciprocity of environment. Each of us is clothed with an invisible aura composed of the mental emanations that float from our habitual thoughts and daily actions. He only succeeds who works with or against this influence, as it affects him for good or ill. Just as the swimmer betimes floats at ease upon the surface of the water and safely trusts the current to carry him toward the shore, so one who buffets the waves of life’s sea may at times implicitly trust the current of some force that sweeps over him from the shores of other minds. If he has found them soothing, genial, exhilarating, he knows they are friendly and need not fear. But if by sudden contact their approach chills, unnerves, affrights and weakens, let him beware; the swifter he buffets the opposing waves and makes for the shore of personal safety the wiser he proves himself by discretion over valor.
Each mind is in some way attuned to every other. Either harmonious or inharmonious are the mutual chords. If they respond to peace, they are attuned to harmony and happiness. If to discord, they jangle out of tune, and their note resounds with warning and approaching hazard. Each may test this law for himself. He who chooses wisely walks safely.
Henry Frank
Thought is the coin of heaven. Money is its earthly symbol. Every moment must be invested, and our inner talking reveals whether we are spending or investing. Be more interested in what you are inwardly “saying now” than what you “have said” by choosing wisely what you think and what you feel now.
Any time we feel misunderstood, misused, neglected, suspicious, afraid, we are spending our thoughts and wasting our time. Whenever we assume the feeling of being what we want to be, we are investing. We cannot abandon the moment to negative inner talking and expect to retain command of life. Before us go the results of all that seemingly is behind. Not gone is the last moment . . but oncoming. My word shall not return unto Me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.
Neville Goddard
“I have found out that the real essentials of greatness in men are not written in books, nor can they be found in the schools, They are written into the inner consciousness of everyone who intensely searches for perfection in creative achievement and are understandable to such men only.”
“Successful men of all the ages have learned to multiply themselves by gathering thought energy into a high potential and using it in the direction of the purpose intended. Every successful man or great genius has three particular qualities in common.
The most conspicuous of these is that their minds grow more brilliant as they grow older, instead of less brilliant. Great men’s lives begin at forty, where the mediocre man’s life ends.
The genius remains an ever-flowing fountain of creative achievement until the very last breath he draws. The geniuses have learned how to gather thought energy together to use for transforming their conceptions into material forms.
The thinking of creative and successful men is never exerted in any direction other than that intended. That is why great men produce a prodigious amount of work, seemingly without effort and without fatigue.
The amount of work such men leave to posterity is amazing. When one considers such men of our times as Edison, Henry Ford or Theodore Roosevelt, one will find the three characteristics I have mentioned common to every one of them.”
Glen Clark
There is nothing unusual or mysterious in the idea of your pictured desire coming into material evidence. It is the working of a universal, natural Law. The world was projected by the self-contemplation of the Universal Mind, and this same action is taking place in its individualized branch which is the Mind of Man. Everything in the whole world, from the hat on your head to the boots on your feet, has its beginning in mind and comes into existence in exactly the same manner. All are projected thoughts, solidified.
Your personal advance in evolution depends on your right use of the power of visualizing, and your use of it depends on whether you recognize that you, yourself, are a particular center through and in which the Originating Spirit is finding ever new expression for potentialities already existing within Itself. This is evolution.
Genevieve Behrend
This room is not filled with air. It is filled with that thinking Substance and as you think into it and speak into it, it vibrates. As you cause it to vibrate, you bring it into form. No one else in the universe is responsible for my good or evil but myself, and instead of blaming fate for conditions, I should “treat” myself and analyze my consciousness. Then I shall discover that I have been thinking and speaking the thing which I have not desired in form. Every thought that goes from your brain is a vibration and brings its results negatively or positively. You cannot say one word without having it register in this universal thinking Substance which we call Mind.
Franklin Fillmore Farrington
Think how your life has been controlled either by your own thinking or by the suggestions that have been made upon your mind, either consciously or unconsciously. When you were a child you took your thought from your family. Your world was what you made it, but it was an unconscious acceptance of the thought and manners of your family. After a while you began to think independently and your world changed that much for you. You began to control consciously the conditions of your life.
As your understanding grew you thought more and more independently of your associates, therefore your life became that much different from theirs. Did you continue to accept the suggestions of your environment or did you begin to think independently? Either consciously or unconsciously you are now conditioning your life. I will now take conscious control of my life. I will think only the things I want to think. I will control whatever is to come into my life, by controlling my thought.
Fenwicke L. Holmes
Mind is the Electrical current or spark from the Divine Force or Creation which lodges in the soul, or is the creating Light or spark of the soul, and the religion of the Twentieth Century must be based on the common everyday thinking mind. The mind is the electrical center of the Soul. Every thought is a current of good or bad radiating from that center. It also draws to it every current in harmony with its own vibration, and makes or mars the destiny of man. It is through mind (thought) that the works of God are manifest. It is through mind that the invisible law and force predominates.
Mind creates and manifests daily every thought that is drawn into it, and he knows, who sees, reads with accuracy where the law is obeyed or broken.
F. E. Gariner and Dr. R. Swineburne Clymer
STATION L-O-V-E BROADCASTING
IF THERE is too much lurid music or static coming from your radio, just turn the dial. Presto! It is done! It is so easy to tune out the discord and to find harmony!
If there are too many discordant thoughts racing through your mind, learn the trick of tuning out discord. Harmony will take its place. Mental static can be tuned out easily when you know the secret of doing so. If there is static in the air, a simple adjustment of the machine will tune it out. If there are discordant thoughts in your mental life, just “turn the dial”
You may need to experiment for a while, just as the novice does in getting acquainted with his radio. While you are trying to make the adjustment you may get stations H-A-T-E, P-A-I-N, F-E-A-R, and some of the other stations that always have seemed to you to be on the air. But be patient! When you have tuned them out, you can get the station you want.
Possibly, you will have to listen very closely to get station L-O-V-E, but it is always broadcasting. Just bring your ear a little closer if at first it does not seem to come in clear and strong. Your inner ears will hear its voice at the very center of your being. At first, you may hear just a faint “L-O-V-E” but you will rejoice and will want to “set the dial” so that you can get L-O-V-E at any time.
Remember, L-O-V-E is a powerful station. You cannot get F-E-A-R or P-A-I-N if you have properly tuned in for L-O-V-E. There are those who keep the “dial” set at L-O-V-E all the time. L-O-V-E is always broadcasting for them. They in turn become broadcasters for L-O-V-E.
Now, L-O-V-E is on a chain and often one may pick up L-I-F-E, P-L-E-N-T-Y, or J-O-Y when L-O-V-E is broadcasting. It seems as if Station L-O-V-E knows just what its listeners want and need, and then broadcasts the right program at the right time. Only one thing is necessary: to keep the dial set for L-O-V-E; then one will get the right program.
You must have an aerial that pierces the very heights of heaven in order to get this station. To get the music of the spheres, your aerial must reach high into heaven, below into heaven, and to all sides into heaven. Your aerial must have countless little points extending into heaven, heaven everywhere. Some folks lack a good aerial and L-O-V-E for them does not have much force. Their aerial extends in the wrong direction.
Some folks let their receiving sets become fouled. They do not keep their contacts clean. L-O-V-E keeps broadcasting, nevertheless, and comes in as strong as possible over the instrument provided.
Sometimes, a set next door may be tuned in on N-0-I-S-E, but station N-O-I-S-E soon ceases when L-O-V-E is broadcasting. There may be a roomful of sets variously tuned in to P-A-I-N, loudly voicing its program; to E-A-S-E, shouting its false message; to L-A-C-K, trying hard to make itself heard. When L-O-V-E is broadcasting these other stations just quit in despair. They seem to say: “There is L-O-V-E on the wire. H-E-A-L-T-H, J-O-Y, and P-L-E-N-T-Y are linked up with it tonight, so we might as well sign off. It is too powerful a station for us. Its wave length is too much for us.”
This little story about station L-O-V-E has a big lesson in it for all of us. It shows us how easily we can tune out noise, pain, fear, hate, and lack. We just turn the dial; reverse the thought. We discover that when pain and lack and fear would make themselves heard we need only to “turn the dial.” We find that we can tune out “jazzy” noises and static by the simple process of reversing the thought. We find that when we are mentally attuned to love, no discordant thoughts can find place in us. We no longer vibrate to hate and fear when we are attuned to love.
If we go into a room where disease and fear are being voiced, where propaganda adverse to love is afloat, the situation soon changes if we broadcast love. We find that pain and disease, hate and fear, cannot be broadcast when we are broadcasting love. We find that health and joy and plenty radiate from us when we are attuned to love.
When we hear long and vivid tales of the power of adversity and evil, what a privilege it is just to say silently within ourselves “Station L-O-V-E broadcasting”! When hate makes its appearance we have only to say silently to it, “L-O-V-E.” Hate and fear cannot exist in the field where Love exists.
If our aerial extends to heaven, if our thought pierces to heights of spiritual consciousness, we can always be assured that we are tuned in properly to have love broadcast in our lives. If our aerial extends in every direction, if we are universal in our conception of life, then love dawns upon us more clearly. If our contact with Spirit is not fouled by adverse beliefs we can always receive the broadcastings of love from the station L-O-V-E, eternal in the heavens. We need not fear that L-O-V-E will sign off, when we realize that the spirit of love within and about us is eternally at work broadcasting love and its blessings for us.
Realizing the power of love, we can neutralize the power of hate and of fear. These are “tuned out” of our lives when we broadcast love. They simply do not exist in the realm in which we live that realm wherein only the voice of heaven, the voice of Truth, is heard and felt.
God is love. We are creations of His love and He lives as love at the very center of our being. He continues to broadcast His love in and through us. He never ceases to love us and to cause us to turn from pain, disease, sin, fear, hate, and lack. He would have us turn from the noise and nothingness of all these. He would have us tune in to Him at all times.
Frank B. Whitney
“The things that are seen are not made of the things that do appear.” The only possible operation of intelligence is Thought, or “The Word.” So all things were made by the Word, and “Without the Word was not anything made that hath been made.” How simple the process of creation when we understand it. The Spirit speaks . . and since there is nothing but the Spirit and it is All-Power, it has only to speak and it is done; “The Word was with God and the Word was God.”
From the Word, then, comes forth all that appears. Each life, human or divine, each manifestation is a different kind of word coming into expression. The great fact to dwell upon is that Spirit needs nothing to help It; It is self-conscious and has all power and all ability to do whatever It wishes to accomplish. It operates simply by speaking.
It is hard to get a clear concept of this great Ceaseless Cause, this something from which all things come; at times we get into a maze of confusion when we attempt to realize what the Spirit means. It is then that we should think of It as the great reason behind everything. Being all-knowledge It must know Itself, and must know everything It creates; so It knows us and It knows everyone. Since It is All-Presence we can contact anywhere and will never have to go to some particular spot to find It. As It is All-Knowing and operates through the power of the Word, It knows everything we think. Just how It creates we cannot know and need not attempt to understand, for whatever this process of creation is, we find it is always an inner thought process.
Ernest Holmes
When humanity learns to think orderly, that means to have high thoughts, and recognize the love principle, power and ability to become what is desirable, then there will not be so much sickness, as humanity will draw to itself the finer magnetism belonging to such thoughts, and the mind will be peaceful, and that will make the body strong and healthy.
The sooner we find out that it is our thoughts which make our lives unhappy, the sooner we shall change them and make it as habitual to think high as it is to think low.
When we can see practically that it is not so much what we do as what we think, then we shall have courage and individuality, and it will become manifest through our being, and we will find success in everything we undertake.
We shall see that we cannot limit God, or the power of thought, which is his expression, but it is in all things, and by suggesting our every action consciously, we apply the higher power in the matter with which we deal, and we will know the outcome of our every effort.
May E. Stevenson
There is but one basic power in the world, that of thought. Taking it in its broadest definition, it includes that which is conscious and unconscious (subconscious and super-conscious), intellectual, emotional, and intuitional; embracing physical form, which is its outward show or activity, mental consciousness, and spiritual realization.
Thought is the one instrument of the Soul and mind of man. In his power of choice, in his ability to think what and as he pleases, man has at his command, and subject to his direction and control, the one universal power. In the realization of his Oneness with the Infinite he knows that he possesses this power and can wield it.
Eugene Del Mar
Your destiny depends entirely upon your own mental conduct. It is the thoughts that you allow yourself to dwell upon all day long that make your mentality what it is, and your circumstances are made by your mentality.
You may think that you know this already, but if you do not act upon it, it is certain that you do not really know it. As a matter of fact, most people would be amazed to discover how much negative thinking they do indulge in, in the course of a day. Thought is so swift, and habit is so strong that, unless you are very careful, you will constantly transgress. Even your conversation may be much more negative than you suspect.
In other words, you cannot involve your thought in any subject without bringing the natural consequences upon yourself. You can call this involving yourself in the karma of that situation, if you like, but whatever you choose to call it, the fact will remain. To interfere mentally in any situation involves you in the consequences just as much as would a physical interference. Of course, where it is your duty to concern yourself in any matter, you must do so . . constructively and spiritually . . and then the consequences to you can only be good.
Emmett Fox
Each and every person is surrounded by a thought atmosphere, extending some distance from him, in which is reproduced the general character of his mental states, and which atmosphere may be, and is, felt by others with whom he comes in contact. The degree of strength of the thought atmosphere depends upon the degree of strength of the mental states. The degree of receptivity of others to this thought atmosphere depends upon the particular temperamental receptivity of the other persons.
This thought atmosphere is composed of subtle vibrations of the ether, just as real and actual as the vibrations which are known to us as electricity, magnetism, heat and light.
Edward Walker/William Walker Atkinson
When we understand the laws of thought and think accordingly, we have begun what may properly be termed scientific thinking; that is, we have begun designed thinking; thinking with a purpose in view; thinking in accordance with exact scientific system; and thinking for results.
When we think in this manner we think according to those laws of thought that are required in order to produce the results we have in view; therefore all the forces of mind will be directed to produce those very results. In this connection we should remember that every mental process produces its own results in the human system; therefore we can secure any result desired when we place in action the necessary mental process.
Christian Larson
One of the things which greatly hinders us from demonstrating a greater degree of prosperity we may call race thought or race consciousness. This is the result of all that the race has thought or believed. We are immersed in it, and those who are receptive to it are controlled by it. All thought seeks expression along the lines of least resistance. When we become negative or fearful we attract that kind of thought and condition.
We must be sure of ourselves; we must be positive; we must not be aggressive, but absolutely sure and poised within. Negative people are always picking up negative conditions; they get into trouble easily: Persons who are positive draw positive things; they are always successful. Few people realize that the law of thought is the great reality; that thoughts produce things. When we come to understand this power of thought, we will carefully watch our thinking to see that no thought enters that we should not want made into a thing.
We can guard our minds by knowing that no negative thought can enter; we can daily practice by saying that no race thought of limitation can enter the mind; that Spirit forms itself around us and protects us from all fear and from all limitation. Let us clothe ourselves in the great realization that all power is ours and that nothing else can enter; let us fill the atmosphere of our homes, and places of business with streams of positive thought. Other people will feel this and will like to be near us and enter into the things that we enter into. In this way we shall be continually drawing only the best.
Ernest Holmes
Heaven and hell are not future states awaiting us at death. We make our own hell and our own heaven by the way in which we think; and we have to wake up as fast as we can and get out of hell, the hell of the wrong thoughts that attack us, into heaven, a perfect state of consciousness, the world of perfect thoughts, perfect ideas, the real world that is here round us, if we could only see it.
“Love . . .. builds a heaven in hell’s despair” (W. Blake).
The only way to escape the suffering which is always the result of sin is to stop sinning; and the only way to do this is to stop entertaining wrong thoughts.
F. L. Rawson
We make our own heaven and our own hell through the conscious or unconscious use of the Law. We do it by the thoughts we think and the attitude we assume. For the Great Law receives our mental impression and brings out into form the ideas of our mind. We are not, therefore, the creatures of some chance environment or circumstances. There is something in us that attracts us to them and them to us. If it were not so we would move out of them. Do not complain about the world you live in. It is a reflection of your own thought.
Do not blame others. Seek the cause in your own thinking. Ask, “What is it that brought me here? What was my thought of failure that produced this?” Then decide on the environment and circumstance you desire and mentally see yourself in your new surroundings. Then you are on the road to attainment, and your changes will begin to take place naturally from within. Your good does not come from without.
The sooner you learn that you cannot expect someone else to hand it to you the better off you will be. You cannot change the unpleasant to the pleasant by a mere change of place. We are all surrounded by the atmosphere that most corresponds to our mental mood. So soon as we change our mood, we shall find ourselves in better conditions. Every person and every place is surrounded by an impalpable atmosphere which people feel even when they don’t know what it is that affects them.
Before the writer had learned these great truths, he spent a night with a physician in whose house many operations were performed for appendicitis. The atmosphere was so strong of this fear that he caught the contagion of thought, and later was operated on to have the thought cut out.
Unless our mind is very positive, we become susceptible to the atmospheres about us. We must be careful not to attract ourselves to negative mental atmospheres, and should we find ourselves at any time open to negative influence, we must assume at once a positive attitude and declare ourselves superior to it. Disease often comes by some impression from without which we harbor; after a while the thought develops like the seed and grows from within. It can never become a disease for us until we accept it, either consciously or by tacit agreement to the race suggestion, and allow it to grow from within.
Fenwicke L. Holmes
The battle cry of freedom has rung down through the ages and people are always looking for a liberator to free them. The people will never be free until they free themselves through the exercise of thought and their God-given prerogative to reason for themselves. Those who deny men this right are their enemies and exploiters. Why fear to think? Who can prevent it? Bodies can be liquidated, free speech suppressed, but no power on earth can invade the kingdom of mind. The most powerful army cannot take possession of a single idea. The most cruel autocrat cannot destroy a solitary thought. No despot can hinder a man from thinking anything under the sun he chooses, or prevent him from sending these thoughts to others all over the world.
And through the power of thought people can free themselves, for by uniting mentally they can effect any change they desire, accomplish any plan or project for the benefit of mankind. Thoughts are the tools man uses to bring invisible things into visible form.
Frank L. Hammer
A human being is the greatest magnet in ‘the Universe, and from the brain radiates a force which you can send where you please, as soon as you really understand you have such a force at your command. By generating this thought force in love, and realizing that in every other man is this same power, this same love principle, you establish a magnetic chain between you, thus giving him what you have for him and receiving in like manner.
You have within yourself, then, magnetism sufficient to draw to yourself all that you need from out the Universe . . all that you desire, and all that you demand, but there must be no unbelief; simply have perfect faith that your requirements will be fulfilled. Truth is infinite and can never be exhausted. What a glorious realization it is that we are coming into the Consciousness of our oneness not only with each other but with Universal Truth.
Grace M. Brown
A friend a thousand miles away is rooted in your consciousness through your fixed ideas of him. To think of him and represent him to yourself inwardly in the state you desire him to be, confident that this subjective image is as true as it were already objectified, awakens in him a corresponding state which he must objectify. The results will be as obvious as the cause was hidden. The subject will express the awakened state within him and remain unaware of the true cause of his action. Your illusion of free will is but ignorance of the causes which make you act. Prayers depend upon your attitude of mind for their success and not upon the attitude of the subject.
The subject has no power to resist your controlled subjective ideas of him unless the state affirmed by you to be true of him is a state he is incapable of wishing as true of another. In that case it returns to you, the sender, and will realize itself in you. Provided the idea is acceptable, success depends entirely on the operator not upon the subject who, like compass needles on their pivots, are quite indifferent as to what direction you choose to give them. If your fixed idea is not subjectively accepted by the one toward whom it is directed, it rebounds to you from whom it came. “Who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good? I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.” “There shall no evil happen to the just.” Nothing befalls us that is not of the nature of ourselves.
A person who directs a malicious thought to another will be injured by its rebound if he fails to get subconscious acceptance of the other. “As ye sow, so shall ye reap.” Furthermore, what you can wish and believe of another can be wished and believed of you, and you have no power to reject it if the one who desires it for you accepts it as true of you. The only power to reject a subjective word is to be incapable of wishing a similar state of another, to give presupposes the ability to receive. The possibility to impress an idea upon another mind presupposes the ability of that mind to receive that impression. Fools exploit the world; the wise transfigure it. It is the highest wisdom to know that in the living universe there is no destiny other than that created out of imagination of man. There is no influence outside of the mind of man.
“Whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever are of good report; if there be any virtue and if there be any praise, think on these things.” Never accept as true of others what you would not want to be true of you. To awaken a state within another it must first be awake within you. The state you would transmit to another can only be transmitted if it is believed by you. Therefore to give is to receive. You cannot give what you do not have and you have only what you believe. So to believe a state as true of another not only awakens that state within the other but it makes it alive within you. You are what you believe.
“Give and ye shall receive, full measure, pressed down and running over.” Giving is simply believing, for what you truly believe of others you will awaken within them. The vibratory state transmitted by your belief persists until it awakens its corresponding vibration in him of whom it is believed. But before it can be transmitted it must first be awake within the transmitter. Whatever is awake within your consciousness, you are. Whether the belief pertains to self or another does not matter, for the believer is defined by the sum total of his beliefs or subconscious assumptions.
“As a man thinketh in his heart” . . in the deep subconscious of himself . . “so is he.”
Disregard appearances and subjectively affirm as true that which you wish to be true. This awakens in you the tone of the state affirmed which in turn realizes itself in you and in the one of whom it is affirmed. Give and ye shall receive. Beliefs invariably awaken what they affirm. The world is a mirror wherein everyone sees himself reflected. The objective world reflects the beliefs of the subjective mind.
Neville Goddard
The other great obstacle to health and success is hate. There can be no health or success in life for the one who hates. He who hates emits a force which rebounds back upon himself. Hate injures the one who hates far more than the one hated. Hate poisons the blood of the one who hates and tears down his nervous system. Hate is negative and destructive, love is positive and upbuilding. Hate affects adversely all the vital processes. It destroys health, wrecks happiness and turns the life into an inferno of trouble.
Have you ever noticed the lives of those who indulge in hate? They are a continual round of trouble. Before they finish one brawl they find themselves engaged in another. They are at loggerheads with nearly everybody, and misfortunes seem to dog their footsteps. Misfortunes and troubles are attracted to them as a direct result of their hate. Through indulging in negative thoughts and emotions, negative conditions are produced and attracted.
That is why people who hate are not always in trouble through other people’s hatred, but they attract to themselves troubles and disasters which seem to have no connection with hate, but which are in reality a direct result of that condition of mind. Therefore, dear reader, if you have hatred, malice or resentment in your mind or life, pluck it out and cast it away, because you can never be successful, never be happy until you have done so.
The best way to cast out hate is to hold your mind continually in the attitude of good will to all men. If hate is to you a real difficulty, if you blaze with resentment whenever you think of a certain person who has deeply wronged you, if there wells up within you a fierce desire to get even with the object of your hatred, or at least to wish him harm, remember this, that you can never make any progress in mind and thought control you can never be successful and happy until you have forgiven your enemy.
Henry Thomas Hamblin
Until now, he has sought and used Power outside himself. Now, through his Greatest Discovery, Thought is Power! Love is Power! Life is Power! He realizes that the soul is only a CENTER OF POWER IN POWER. He has within himself all Power. Thus Man has, whenever he will take it, Dominion over all other manifestations of Power. Man has just awakened to a knowledge of his place in Unity. He is entering his “kingdom.” Where Law heretofore ruled him, he will now, as Conscious Law, rule Law, and thus BE Law. O, the grandeur, beauty, glory, and the Almightiness of this Discovery! Lift up your heads, ye eternal gates and the king of glory shall come in! Who is this king of glory? The Lord strong and mighty! But that Lord is Man, coming to consciousness of his Power.
Among the possibilities that lie within the Power of Thought are those already mentioned and others hinted at, in the excerpts that introduce this essay. Knowledge is but the recognition of Power. Classified knowledge is Science. Science applied is Art. There is as yet no Science of Thought, and but very little knowledge of it. The Art of Thinking is almost unknown. It is the glory of the new century that it starts with the glimmerings of the Light which will yet illumine all mankind.
Henry Harrison Brown
We make our own lives and create our own atmosphere. The spoken word, which is the thought expressed, is the creative power. If we really desire to live the true life, we must guard our words carefully and send them to create right conditions. It is both foolish and harmful to give expression to depressive thoughts, just as it is to refer to disease or fear because these unfortunate expressions create like conditions.
Kathleen M. H. Besly
The greatest thing in all the world is wisdom. If a man possessed wisdom, he would not need wealth, health, or peace of mind; he would have the know-how of accomplishment. Wisdom is greater than a healing because if you had wisdom, you would not need a healing. You have wisdom when you are aware of the Presence and Power of God (consciousness) within you, and your capacity to contact and release limitless treasures into your experience and conditions of life. You possess wisdom when you know that thoughts are things, that what you feel you attract, that what you contemplate you become, that what you imagine and feel you create
Joseph Murphy
If but two people were to meet at regular intervals and talk of health, strength and vigor of body and mind, at the same time opening their minds to receive of the Supreme the best idea as to the ways and means for securing these blessings, they would attract to them a thought current of such idea.
If these two people or more kept up these conversations on these subjects at a regular time and place, and found pleasure in such communings, and they were not forced or stilted; if they could carry them on without controversy, and enter into them without preconceived idea, and not allow any shade of tattle or tale-bearing, or censure of others to drift into their talk, they would be astonished at the year’s end at the beneficial results to mind and body.
Because in so doing and coming together with a silent demand of the Supreme to get the best idea, they would attract to them a current of Life-giving force. Let two so commence rather than more. For even two persons in the proper agreement and accord to bring the desired results are not easy to find. The desire for such meetings must be spontaneous, and any other motive will bar out the highest thought current for good.
Prentice Mulford
Every thought produces an image, and the image is the “substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Whenever you say “I AM,” no matter what thought follows the words, you are transforming thought into suggestion and the subconscious mind obediently transmutes it into form. Thought, backed by feeling, forms an image in the objective mind and when that image is passed into the subjective mind and there sanctioned and sealed, the two minds have agreed, and “When two shall agree on earth as touching anything it shall be done to them in heaven.”
When the two minds have agreed, under the immutable law the universal will carry out that agreement. The law is not mocked and it will not let you plant a thought of one kind and reap fruit of another. If, however, thought is sent out without feeling, it merely joins itself to cosmic energy at its own rate of vibration. In order to create, thought must be strong with feeling. As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.
Mary C. Ferriter
John tells us, “In the beginning was the Word.”
What is the Word? The Word is the idea, the thought. ‘In the beginning was the Idea, and the Idea was with God and the Idea was God.’ The Idea, being God’s was the Perfect Thought, and so manifested its perfection. If the idea had been imperfect, it would have manifested an imperfect projection; like attracts like.
Whatever you think with conviction, whatever you really believe in with conviction, that you will demonstrate or experience in your life. There is no doubt of that. For instance, if you want to raise roses in your garden, and you plant carnation seeds, you are not going to get roses. You will get carnations. If you want carrots and plant lettuce seeds, you will not get carrots, but lettuce. And so it is on every plane of life. Like attracts like.
The key to freedom lies in your hands. Could there be a greater gift? I don’t know of any. Yet how seldom we discover it, and even less seldom use it! One way of examining your own thoughts . . forerunners of the conditions you are bringing into your life . . is to realize that you can think only two types of thoughts; positive, constructive thoughts, or fearful, negative thoughts. Everything else stems from that. You know, some people are constantly afraid; they are suspicious, jealous, worried, critical. These are all fear thoughts.
So the thing you will learn to do is to get over to the positive side . . the constructive side of life, and stay there. It requires training. Not any more than it would to study a new language or to learn to play a musical instrument. But it does need training and practice. Always remember the type of thoughts you have been thinking not only manifest in your life as the sort of thing that happens to you, but they manifest in your personality and your physical body as well.
Mildred Mann
Thought is the eternal movement; the divine action everywhere. It is God moving upon the face of the waters; God thinking; and as God thinks, this activity goes forth continuously. Thought is the commonest power we have and it is given to all alike. It is a steady and continuous flow through us, and just as the woodland stream bestows its beneficence equally on all the forms of vegetation along its banks, so Thought passing through us, offers to all alike the power which will come from its recognition and use. Thought thus becomes a great individual power; something that cannot be taken away from us nor received from any other individual. It flows continuously and cannot be held, bound or limited; it is as universal as God, which is its source; as subtle and intangible as sunshine, yet just as real.
Thought is one of the divine spiritual forces which we have power to use as we will. Other forces of like nature are love, faith and strength. Let us consider strength for a moment in an effort to illustrate Thought and implant a right idea concerning it. Strength is universal. It is that great omnipotent force which upholds everything in the universe and which is within us whether we are conscious of it or not. As we come into consciousness of strength we find that it is a perfectly impersonal force. Having no personality of its own, it cannot direct its own use. It is for us to use in any way we desire. It is as freely at our service as is the air we breathe. We are constantly using or misusing strength. We may use it to bless or to destroy; we may exert it to lift a little child that has fallen or to strike an injurious blow. Used in love, strength blesses both giver and receiver, but when put to any base or selfish use its results are negative to all concerned.
From this illustration the analogy between Thought and strength should be apparent. Thought is an impersonal force, neither good nor bad, though it may be put to base uses. Through it we may send out a divine idea of love and harmony and thus bless our world; or a negative conception which will produce discord. It is like electricity, which of itself is merely a force; and cannot elect the use to which it shall be put, but is ready for various purposes; and when not in use it continues to flow ready for use when wanted. Thought is the vital force actuating the universe and sustaining the race in its life journey. It is not generated within, nor can it be held there any more than sunshine could be held and accumulated. So the expression, “holding a thought” is in reality a misnomer.
The better view is that Thought is a force that flows through us continuously, and as we meditate on any subject, our beliefs or ideas are carried out by the stream of Thought into the universe. Thus, while we do not create Thought, we have the power to color it with the positive or negative qualities of our own understanding, utilizing it for good or base purposes. A simple illustration will make the idea clearer. Just as light, passing through the beautiful stained glass windows of a great cathedral assumes various colors, so Thought passing through us is colored by our state of mentality. We see, then, how essential it is that our thought be joyous, happy and free, unclouded by any delusion or false belief; for if we are gloomy and depressed. Thought passing through us will take on that quality.
Whence comes Thought? Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and as Thought is a good and perfect gift we know that it has its origin in Divine Mind and that it permeates the universe. We have many evidences of the universality of Thought and of the power of the individual to color it with his mentality. Take for example, the many instances of telepathic and psychic experience. We “feel” the unannounced presence of a person; we instinctively become aware of the likes and dislikes of individuals; we suddenly get a thought from someone without the intervention of spoken or written words; two friends in close accord will often speak of the same thing at the same time; and letters of friends pass in the mails because the thought of one person for the other inspired each to write at the same time. Thus instances could be multiplied without end.
Thought thus becomes a universal language through which we may all understand each other when spoken words would be unintelligible. If this force were universally recognized and used we would live in a constant state of love, harmony and peace; knowing that we send to, and receive from each other, either consciously or unconsciously, a continuous message of Thought which is colored by the degree of consciousness.
Without Thought we can do nothing; with it all power in heaven and earth is ours. We, then, may be moved to ask, If the Divine Mind is always thinking, if the activity is perfect and the result perfect, whence come inharmony, sickness, sin and negative conditions generally? The answer is, through the misuse of Thought.
Man sometimes applies this force to ignoble ends; instead of using it in love and cooperation, to the ends of peace, harmony, health and happiness, he misuses it with the result that negative conditions appear. It is necessary to emphasize what has been stated before, viz., that Thought in itself is a perfect force, impersonal, but susceptible to the coloring influence of individual consciousness. Not knowing the power of this divine force, we have considered ourselves wholly as matter, born of earth, subject to sin, sickness and death; and because we have believed this and have used Thought in this way, we have become subject to the belief with its resulting negative conditions. The truth is that the substance of the body is Spirit, indestructible, immortal and perfect, and in unity with all that eternally is. To know this perfectly would be to lose all conception of negative conditions.
Thought is a free force, illimitable and inexhaustible. We may use it consciously as much and as often as we will. Through it we And our unity with our Source; through it we come into direct communication with the universal, with the Infinite. It raises us out of the material and personal to a fuller conception of the spiritual and divine, and establishes the truth of what we really are.
We have seen, now, that the individual is master of the force we call Thought. This brings us to a consideration of what is called mental atmosphere. We have all recognized this subtle and intangible condition in our friends and acquaintances. The presence of one person is a blessing, while the advent of another brings in the utmost confusion and discord. Now the mental atmosphere of individuals is a direct result of their use of Thought.
If a man color his Thought with positive ideas of love, joy, cheerfulness, peace, courage, confidence and power, his mental atmosphere will show those qualities and people will feel them when in his presence. On the other hand, if he color Thought with sadness, gloom, faith in evil, fear, weakness, worry, sin and other negative beliefs, he will project them into his mental atmosphere and they will be apparent to all his associates. In the same way, the atmosphere of a home or of a gathering of people is instinctively felt, and represents the state of consciousness in that home or gathering. Plainly, then, the point to be observed is, to keep the consciousness so harmonious that Thought passing through us and out into the universe will produce a mental atmosphere of unity and harmony with the Infinite and with all creation.
Mrs. C. L. Baum
When you assert yourself, assert the spiritual “I,” the God image in you, not the physical “I,” the flesh of you. This would be mere egotism, and it is not asserting your egotism that will benefit you. This will only hurt you. But asserting the reality, the divinity of yourself will do everything for you. Your divine or real self is your potential self, your creative self, and when you assert the reality of your being, not the outward or bodily personality, you are simply asserting divinity, you are asserting omnipotence, omniscience, and you are asserting a power that can do things.
If we could only realize the creative power of affirmation, of assuming that we are the real embodiment of the thing we long to be or to attain, not that we possess all the qualities of good, but that we are these qualities, . . with the constant affirming, “I myself am a part of the great creative, sustaining principle of the universe, because my real, divine self and my Father are one” . . what happiness it would bring to earth’s children! Affirmation is a living, vital force. The Bible owes much of its strength to this force. It is a book of affirmations, of strong, positive statements. But for this fact it would long ago have lost its power.
There is no parleying, no arguing, no attempt by the sacred writers to prove the truth of what they say. They merely assert, affirm dogmatically that certain things happened, and that certain other things would happen. Had they attempted to prove the authenticity of what they wrote, endeavored to convince the reader that they were honest men making genuine statements, they would have aroused doubts. But there is no appeal to sympathy, no appeal to the readers’ credulity, no appeal for confirmation, no posing for effect, only unrelenting positiveness, persistent affirmations. They simply state facts and affirm principles. Every line breathes dominance, superiority and confidence. In this lies their tremendous power. There is no sentimental imploring even in the Lord’s Prayer. It demands. It is “give us,” “lead us not,” forgive us,” etc.
In your talks with yourself, be like the Biblical writers. Don’t wobble, or “think,” or “hope.” Say stoutly, “I AM,” “I Can,” “I Will,” “It is.” Constantly, everlastingly affirm that you will become what your ambitions indicate as fitting and possible. Do not say, “I shall be a success sometime”; say “I AM a success now. Success is my birthright.” Do not say that you are going to be happy in the future, say to yourself, “I was intended for happiness, made for it, and I AM happy now.” Say with Walt Whitman, “‘I, myself, am good fortune.’” Assert your actual possession of the things you need; of the qualities you long to have. Force your mind toward your goal; hold it there steadily, persistently, for this is the mental state that creates. This is what causes the word to be made flesh. The negative mind, which doubts, wavers, fears, creates nothing. It cannot send forth a positive, confident assertion.
We are constantly letting loose mighty thought forces, emotion forces, word forces which are forever multiplying and expressing themselves in the universal energy, which are forever fashioning our conditions. We are rich or poor, healthy or unhealthy, successful or unsuccessful, happy or unhappy, noble or ignoble, according to our use of our thought and word forces. The outer registration in the flesh, in all material circumstances and things, corresponds with the inner thought and the decisive positive word.
Let the spirit of you, the real self, constantly affirm the “I AM,” and the power you have through the All-Power. Make your affirmations quietly, but with great confidence and positiveness. Say “I AM united with Him. I AM able to do what He wills me to do. It is my duty to obey the inner urge of my being, that divine ambition to measure up to my highest possibilities, which ever bids me up and on. I will never again allow anything to interfere with the free and full exercise of my physical, mental and spiritual faculties. I will unfold all the possibilities that the Creator has in-folded in the ego, the I of me. There is no lost day in God’s calendar, no allowance for waste, and henceforth I will make the most of the stuff that has been given me. I will play the part of a son of Omnipotence.”
But remember it is the life, the driving power of the spirit that gives the word its power. If you don’t mean what you say, if you don’t live the meaning into your words, they are mere idle breath.
The same word, for instance, means a very different thing when spoken by people of different types of character. The same words spoken by one person will heal diseases, while spoken by another they will have no influence whatever upon the patient.
The difference in results is due to the difference in the life, in the character, of the speakers. Some healers are unsuccessful, even when they are letter perfect in the intellectual understanding of the healing principle, simply because they lack the spiritual side, simply because their life does not match their teachings.
In fact, it is the life, the spiritual life that does the healing through the words which the intellect suggests. Just as faith without good works is of no avail without the spirit, without the life behind them, words are cold and ineffectual.
Orison Swett Marden
Thought is the force underlying all. And what do we mean by this? Simply this: Your every act . . every conscious act . . is preceded by a thought. Your dominating thoughts determine your dominating actions. The acts repeated crystallize themselves into the habit. The aggregate of your habits is your character. Whatever, then, you would have your acts, you must look well to the character of the thought you entertain. Whatever act you would not do, . . habit you would not acquire you must look well to it that you do not entertain the type of thought that will give birth to this act, this habit . It is a simple psychological law that any type of thought, if entertained for a sufficient length of time, will, by and by, reach the motor tracks of the brain, and finally burst forth into action. Murder can be and many times is committed in this way, the same as all undesirable things are done. On the other hand, the greatest powers are grown, the most God-like characteristics are engendered, the most heroic acts are performed in the same way.
The thing clearly to understand is this: That the thought is always parent to the act. Now, we have it entirely in our own hands to determine exactly what thoughts we entertain. In the realm of our own minds we have absolute control, or we should have, and if at any time we have not, then there is a method by which we can gain control, and in the realm of the mind become thorough masters.
Here let us refer to that law of the mind which is the same as is the law in connection with the reflex nerve system of the body, the law which says that whenever one does a certain thing in a certain way it is easier to do the same thing in the same way the next time, and still easier the next, and the next, and the next, until in time it comes to pass that no effort is required, or no effort worth speaking of; but on the contrary, to do the opposite would require the effort. The mind carries with it the power that perpetuates its own type of thought, the same as the body carries with it through the reflex nerve system the power which perpetuates and makes continually easier its own particular acts. Thus a simple effort to control one’s thoughts, a simple setting about it, even if at first failure is the result, and even if for a time failure seems to be about the only result, will in time, sooner or later, bring him to the point of easy, full, and complete control.
Each one, then, can grow the power of determining, controlling his thought, the power of determining what types of thought he shall and what types he shall not entertain. For let us never part in mind with this fact, that every earnest effort along any line makes the end aimed at just a little easier for each succeeding effort, even if, as has been said, apparent failure is the result of the earlier efforts. This is a case where even failure is success, for the failure is not in the effort, and every earnest effort adds an increment of power that will eventually accomplish the end aimed at.
Ralph Waldo Trine
Man is the keeper of his heart; the watcher of his mind; the solitary sentinel of his citadel of life. As such, he can be diligent or negligent. He can keep his heart more and more carefully; he can more strenuously watch and purify his mind; and he can guard himself against the thinking of unrighteous thoughts: this is the way of enlightenment and bliss. On the other hand, he can live loosely and carelessly, neglecting the supreme task of rightly ordering his life: this is the way of self-delusion and suffering.
Let a man realize that life in its totality proceeds from the mind, and lo, the way of blessedness is opened up to him! For he will then discover that he possesses the power to rule his mind, and to fashion it in accordance with his Ideal. So will be elect to strongly and steadfastly walk those pathways of thought and action which are altogether excellent; to him life will become beautiful and sacred; and, sooner or later, he will put to flight all evil, confusion and suffering; for it is impossible for a man to fall short of liberation, enlightenment, and peace, who guards with unwearying diligence the gateway of his heart.
James Allen
Thought is the only power which can produce tangible riches from the formless substance. The stuff from which all things are made is a substance which thinks, and a thought of form in this substance produces the form. Original substance moves according to its thoughts; every form and process you see in nature is the visible expression of a thought in original substance.
As the formless stuff thinks of a form, it takes that form; as it thinks of a motion, it makes that motion. That is the way all things were created. We live in a thought world, which is part of a thought universe. The thought of a moving universe extended throughout formless substance, and the thinking stuff . . moving according to that thought . . took the form of systems of planets, and maintains that form. Thinking substance takes the form of its thought, and moves according to the thought.
Wallace Wattles
That great writer on the power of the mind – Prentice Mulford, has summed up much of his philosophy in the statement: “Thoughts are Things.” In these words he gave expression to a mighty truth, which, if fully apprehended by mankind, would revolutionize the world. Thought is not only a dynamic force, it is a real thing, just as is any other material object. Thought is merely a finer form of matter, or grosser form of spirit . . you may call it either with equal correctness. Matter is but a grosser form of mind, mind but a finer form of matter. There is but one substance in nature, but that substance has many forms, ranging from the most material (so-called) forms, to the highest form . . Spirit.
When we think, we send out vibrations of a fine ethereal substance, which is as real as the finer vapors or gasses, the liquids, the solids. We do not see thought . . neither do we see the finer vapors or gasses. We cannot smell or taste thought . . neither do we smell or taste the pure air. We can feel it however, as many can testify . . which is more than we can say of the powerful magnetic vibrations of a mighty magnet, which, whilst exerting a force sufficient to attract toward it a piece of steel weighing a hundred pounds, is absolutely without effect upon us. Its vibrations may pass through our bodies and exert its force on the steel, while we may be unaware of its existence. Light and heat send out vibrations of a lower intensity than those of thought, but the principle is the same. The evidence of the five senses is not absolutely necessary to establish the existence of a material substance or force.
William Walker Atkinson
Mental development is built on the same idea. If you would be a great thinker, a wonderful producer, an example of what thought can do, you must also be prepared to pay the price by exercising your mental faculties vigorously and systematically, limiting your diet of careless thinking and doing without some things so that you may have others. From every experience in life something can be learned that will be of benefit. What might seem disaster may be turned into positive victory, but to see this is to be able to look from within . . out; not from without . . in, as one usually does.
Benjamin Johnson
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