THOUGHT AND CHARACTER

                              THOUGHT AND CHARACTER

I came across a book by James Allen published in 2003, at first, I was put off by the title “As a man thinketh, so is he”. Then I realized that he was merely using an aphorism (a pithy observation which contains a general truth) and that the issues that he explored were relevant to all humans.

An important factor that he expounds is that we are a product of our thoughts. Not just the thoughts that come as a result of serious consideration, but also those that are spontaneous acts.

Consider this poem that he wrote:

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.

He continues to say that a noble character is not because we a favoured, or just by chance, but is the natural result of continued effort in right thinking.

The opposite is also true. We become what we focus our minds on. In essence, we are shaping ourselves by the things we fill our minds with, what we feed into our minds, what we watch on TV, what we read, what we think about, or contemplate.

The author states that we are always the master, even in our weakest states. We have more power and control than we give ourselves credit for. We are not helpless individuals in the whims of life, our part is to reflect on our own conditions. We then can direct our energies and intellect to be aware of our thoughts and their effect on our lives, positive or negative. With this knowledge and understanding we gain wisdom and power. We are not powerless products of our lives and thinking. We have the power, with the help of God, to reflect on our lives, our feelings, our actions, our words and the power to direct these into a more accurate, more positive, view of who we really are. Who we were created to be.

Some wise words from the bible….. “ Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” PHILIPIANS 4:8