Synopsis: “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.” So says the book of Proverbs (23:7) and so says James Allen. In this very short read, Allen argues that, regardless of the circumstances we have been dealt, we are the masters of our own destiny. The goal, however, is not a place or the acquisition of some external good, but an interior state of joy and peace. By taking control over our own thoughts, instead of simply uncritically letting our minds run, we have the power to form our own character, and thus our happiness. With metacognition and a still mind becoming even more rare traits in today’s age, Allen’s analysis of Hebrew wisdom may be even more valuable now than it was during its first publishing in 1902.
Overview: The book is broken up into seven short chapters. Each chapter kind of repeats Allen’s main point, just in a slightly different way, especially focusing in its implications in a new area. I’ll take a brief look five of them.
Thought and Character: In his first chapter, Allen argues that our character is the direct result of what we choose to think. For Allen, just as the external world is one of strict cause and effect (Allen didn’t live through quantum theory:)), so is the interior world.
Action is the blossom of thought, and joy and suffering are its fruits; thus do we garner in the sweet and bitter harvest of our own plantings. We are what we think we are. If our mind has evil thoughts, we will suffer pain; if our thoughts are pure, joy will follow. Human growth is a natural phenomenon and not a creation by artifice. Cause and effect is as absolute and undeviating in the hidden realm of thought as it is in the world of visible and material things. A noble and God-like character is not a thing of favor or chance but is the natural result of continuous effort and right thinking…we are made or unmade by ourselves…By the right choice and true application of thought, we ascend to the Divine Perfection; by the abuse and wrong application of thought, we descend below the level of the beast.
It is only by our ongoing active choice that we can form our own personality. By rejecting “wrong” or negative thoughts and accepting moral and positive thoughts, we can obtain right understanding and a Divine Character.
Effect of Thought on Circumstances: In Chapter II, Allen looks to draw a connection between our thoughts and our circumstances. It’s not only that we can control our thoughts regardless of the circumstance (and therefore achieve peace in all situations), it’s that our thoughts are the seed that sprouts an actual change in the circumstance itself. Allen gives the examples of drunkenness and crime:
One does not come to drunkenness or crime by the tyranny of fate or circumstance but by the pathway of groveling thoughts and base desires. Nor does a pure-minded person fall suddenly into crime by stress of any mere external force; the criminal thought had long been secretly fostered in the heart and the hour of opportunity revealed its gathered power.
The author even goes as far as saying that suffering is “always the effect of wrong thought in some direction.” We don’t attract what we want, we attract who we are. Therefore the circumstances we find ourselves in are, in the end, a result of our own choices, for better or worse.
Effect of Thought on Health and Body: Negative thoughts have a poor effect on your health. But you already knew that…
Thought and Purpose: In this chapter Allen discusses the idea that thought needs to be linked with a purpose to be of any value. Any purpose is good enough to focus thought and make it productive. Say the purpose is to get a job you want. If all of your mental resources, all of your thoughts, are designed toward achieving that goal, at a bare minimum you will have a healthier mind and a more pleasant state of being than having no goal, and clearly you will have a better chance of attaining that goal. Of course there are more noble purposes to focus all of one’s thoughts on, but that is somewhat besides the point. It is the total focusing of the mind on some task that Allen is concerned with…
Until thought is linked with purpose, there is no intelligent accomplishment. With the majority, the ship of thought is allowed to “drift” upon the ocean of life. Aimlessness is a vice, and such drifting must not continue for those 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-pitying, all of which are indications of weakness, which lead just as surely as deliberately planned sins to failure, unhappiness, and loss.
Serenity: The methods differ, but both Allen’s sustained control of thoughts and Seinfeld’s Serenity Now method have the same goal, a calm mind.
Calmness of mind is one of the beautiful jewels of wisdom. It is the result of long and patient effort in self-control. Its presence is an indication of ripened experience, and of a more than ordinary knowledge of the laws and operations of thought.
Maybe it’s a cliche, but it’s all about inner peace.
Personal Takeways: Although I find some of Allen’s reasoning to be a stretch (is every negative circumstance we find ourselves in really a result of our own negative thoughts? How about the Holocaust, or being born with HIV?), I do find several of his thoughts helpful. First, although it is incredibly difficult, through sustained effort we can control our thoughts. I’d say 99% of most people’s day is spent “drifting on the ocean of thought,” but it is possible to identify negative thought patterns and choose not to think them. But it is an incredible challenge. Second, I found his chapter on Thought and Purpose to be particularly enlightening. If we are just drifting through life, with no real all-consuming purpose, it does seem that we are more ready to fall into fears, petty concerns, and anxiety. The question is, What should our all-consuming purpose be and how do we continuously focus our thoughts on it?
Overall, there are a lot of interesting thoughts in this book…more “self-helpy”/”psychology-y” than “spiritual-y”, but clearly there is overlap. Because we should want to form our characters in moral/Godly ways…right? The types of thoughts that James Allen presents can help us do that…
Final Thoughts: Worth the $5 you pay to get it. You will recognize this kind of thought in a lot of modern self-help authors. Even if the only result is that you develop a little more meta-cognition (thinking about your own thinking), it’s worth the read. For another positive review check out this dude Tom Butler Bowdon…
