Foreword
This
little
volume
(the
result
of
meditation
and
experience)
is
not
intended
as
an
exhaustive
treatise
on
the
much-written
upon
subject
of
the
power
of
thought.
It
is
suggestive
rather
than
explanatory,
its
object
being
to
stimulate
men
and
women
to
the
discovery
and
perception
of
the
truth
that
"They
themselves
are
makers
of
themselves"
by
virtue
of
the
thoughts
which
they
choose
and
encourage;
that
mind
is
the
master
weaver,
both
of
the
inner
garment
of
character
and
the
outer
garment
of
circumstance,
and
that,
as
they
may
have
hitherto
woven
in
ignorance
and
pain
they
may
now
weave
in
enlightenment
and
happiness.
James
Allen
Ifracombe,
England
I.
Thought
and
Character
The
aphorism,
"As
a
man
thinketh
in
his
heart
so
is
he,"
not
only
embraces
the
whole
of
a
man's
being,
but
is
so
comprehensive
as
to
reach
out
to
every
condition
and
circumstance
of
his
life.
A
man
is
literally
what
he
thinks,
his
character
being
the
complete
sum
of
all
his
thoughts.
As
the
plant
springs
from,
and
could
not
be
without,
the
seed,
so
every
act
of
a
man
springs
from
the
hidden
seeds
of
thought,
and
could
not
have
appeared
without
them.
This
applies
equally
to
those
acts
called
"spontaneous"
and
"unpremeditated"
as
to
those
which
are
deliberately
executed.
Act
is
the
blossom
of
thought,
and
joy
and
uffering
are
its
fruits;
thus
does
a
man
garner
in
the
sweet
and
bitter
fruitage
of
his
own
husbandry.
Thought
in
the
mind
hath
made
us.
What
we
are
By
thought
we
wrought
and
built.
If
a
man's
mind
Hath
evil
thought,
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.
Man
is
a
growth
by
law,
and
not
a
creation
by
artifice,
and
cause
and
effect
is
as
absolute
and
undeviating
in
the
hidden
realm
of
thought
as
in
the
world
of
visible
and
material
things.
A
noble
and
Godlike
character
is
not
a
thing
of
favor
or
chance,
but
is
the
natural
result
of
continued
effort
in
right
thinking,
the
effect
of
ong-cherished
association
with
Godlike
thoughts.
An
ignoble
and
bestial
character,
by
the
same
process,
is
the
result
of
the
continued
harboring
of
groveling
thoughts.
Man
is
made
or
unmade
by
himself;
in
the
armory
of
thought
he
forges
the
weapons
by
which
he
destroys
himself.
He
also
fashions
the
tools
with
which
he
builds
for
himself
heavenly
mansions
of
joy
and
strength
And
peace.
By
the
right
choice
and
true
application
of
thought,
man
ascends
to
the
Divine
Perfection;
by
the
abuse
wrong
application
of
thought,
scends
below
the
level
of
the
beast.
Between
these
two
extremes
are
all
the
grades
of
character,
and
man
is
their
maker
and
master.
Of
all
the
beautiful
truths
pertaining
to
the
soul
which
have
been
restored
and
brought
to
light
in
this
age,
none
is
more
gladdening
or
fruitful
of
divine
promise
and
confidence
than
this
-
that
man
is
the
master
of
thought,
the
molder
of
character,
and
maker
and
shaper
of
condition,
environment,
and
destiny.
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
which
he
may
make
himself
what
he
wills.
Man
is
always
the
master,
even
in
his
weakest
and
most
abandoned
state;
in
his
weakness
and
degradation
he
is
the
foolish
master
who
misgoverns
his
"household."
When
he
begins
to
reflect
upon
his
condition,
and
to
search
diligently
for
the
Law
upon
which
his
being
is
established,
he
then
becomes
the
wise
aster,
directing
his
energies
with
intelligence,
and
fashioning
his
thoughts
to
fruitful
issues.
Such
is
the
conscious
master,
and
man
can
only
thus
become
by
discovering
within
himself
the
laws
of
thought;
which
discovery
is
totally
a
matter
of
application,
self-analysis,
and
experience.
Only
by
much
searching
and
mining
are
gold
an
diamonds
obtained,
and
man
can
find
every
truth
connected
with
his
being
if
he
will
dig
deep
into
the
mine
of
his
soul.
And
that
he
is
the
maker
of
his
character,
the
molder
of
his
life,
and
the
builder
of
his
destiny,
he
may
unerringly
prove:
if
he
will
watch,
control,
and
alter
his
thoughts,
tracing
their
effects
upon
himself,
upon
others,
and
upon
his
life
and
circumstances;
if
he
will
link
cause
and
effect
by
patient
practice
and
investigation,
utilizing
his
every
experience,
even
to
the
most
trivial,
as
a
means
of
obtaining
that
knowledge
of
himself.
In
this
direction,
as
in
no
other,
is
the
law
absolute
that
"He
that
seeketh
findeth;
and
to
him
that
knocketh
it
shall
be
opened";
for
only
by
| 
