Customer Reviews

As You Think (The Classic Wisdom Collection of New World Library)

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In 1904 a little book was written called As a Man Thinketh. This book is a rewriting of that classic by the grandson of the original author. It is not just a self-help book, a self-empowerment, but a truth that will grip your heart. Each of us has tracks that we play in our minds, things spoken over us in our youth, by parents, teachers, coaches and friends. We have believed these things and lived by them. This book reminds us that what we believe in our minds and hearts will live out in our flesh. It will help us understand that all we achieve or fail to achieve is first a perception in our minds.

The overburdened shelves of bookstores are so clogged with so-called "inspirational" and "self-help" books these days as to be pathetically laughable. Invariably, they promise quick and easy fixes, while ironically missing the point in their over-complexification of timeless and basic truths. Enter: "As You Think". This tiny, little book, barely 90 pages in length, offers more truth and solution in a single sitting than an entire aisle of pulpy, flavor-of-the-minute, self-help titles. It's message is really quite simple: We create our reality by our thoughts and feelings, and the more positive those thoughts and feelings are, the closer our experience of and connection to Creation. Truth is never difficult to understand. It's expressed everywhere around you in nature and in every single moment of your experience. All you need do is open your senses and pay attention. That's why the teachings of all of history's many avatars from Christ to Krishna to Buddha to Mohammed etc. are so easy to understand. Because the truth they speak is always self-evident. The difficulty only remains in whether we choose to accept such a simple proposition. As members of Western Civilization, we love to make things more difficult for ourselves than they really need to be. It's just the kind of thing to keep us busy and distracted from what we should be doing. And that's why I love "As You Think". It is nothing but honest and universal truths simply put, free from the concretized constraints of institutionalized religion, yet still brimming with spirituality. If you've ever wanted a wonderful little reminder of what it's all about and how things work, then try "As You Think". Slip it in your back pocket, read it in those moments when you know best, and see for yourself.

That quote is from Denis Waitley's "The New Dynamics of Winning" but it well captures the theme of this book. This book is about the power of one's own thoughts, the thoughts that we truly hold about what is possible, who we are, at the deepest level of our beings, to make themselves come true.
The book is divided into seven chapters, "Thought and Character", "The Effect of Thought on Circumstances", "The Effect of Thought on Healthy and the Body", "Thought and Purpose", "Thought as a Factor in Achievement", "Visions and Ideals" and "Serenity". In chapter 1, Allen writes, "(you) contain within yourself that transforming and regenerative agency by which you may make yourself what you will" (pg 25). One shapes one's own character by the controlled application of thought, will and action. In chapter 2, "...the outer conditions of your life will always be found to be harmoniously related to your inner state" (pg 32). People who love themselves, attract love from others; people who believe they can be sucessful end up causing their belief to come true and being sucessful. Skipping ahead to chapter 7, he writes that serenity is the effect of "see(ing) more and more clearly the internal relations of things by the action of cause and effect, we cease to fuss and fume and worry and grieve, and remain poised, steadfast, serene" (pg 85). When we come to realize that everything we want or fear has certain causes and that to a great extent we have control over those causes, we ceased to be frazzled by external circumstances because we sense a tremendous locus of power within our ownselves to shape our lives, to be the cause of those effects we desire and to stop being the cause of those effects that cause us suffering.
A great book that probably requires some unpacking by the reader given that it is so concise. Highly recommended.

James Allen's work titled As a Man Thinketh/As You Think is a "classic" in the truest sense of the word. Unfortunately, these days the word "classic" is an often overused descriptive used by marketers to elevate a piece of work for profit. However, in the case of Allen and his writings, it is quite a different story and a fitting word. It is no exaggeration to suggest that his writings are on par with such notables as the Buddah, Confucious, Laozi, Mohammed, and Jesus.

When looking at the state of the world, it is no wonder that Allen and his writings are a virtual unknown. Today it is in vogue to blames others, play the victim, and scream foul. Allen teaches personal responsibility for one's life, the laws of cause and effect, and how one can harness true personal power. He will teach the seeker that they are the master of their own fate. The root of all problems lies within the mind. There are no slaves in this world. There are only oppressors. Allen speaks directly to the reader. This is not for the faint of heart. If one is looking for excuses then look elsewhere.

Allen's work is more than a century old yet it needs to be heeded now more than ever. Anthony Robbins, Norman Peale and all the other "gurus" of the time move aside. Do not waste valuable time and money on these and others' self-help tapes, books and motivational seminars. If one is earnest in their desire to learn from Allen's works then cost should not be a factor. His work can be found in public libraries, bookstores and can even be viewed for free on certain web sites. Whether one is a Christian, a Jew, a Buddhist, a Muslim, an Atheist, rich, poor, black, white, yellow and/or brown, Allen's writings need to be heard and read.

This is the most awesome cassette. I had read the book. But this audio cassette is wonderful to listen to in the car during your commute, or in the house while cleaning etc. I listened to it every day for over a month and my life was transformed. I continue to listen to it from time time to keep me on the right track. Mr Allens voice is also soothing and powerful. The writing is poignant and beautiful. Enjoy. Your life can only get better and better.

In this edition of "As a Man Thinketh," Marc Allen (no relation to author James Allen), neuters the male overtones by replacing all references to "man" (which I always interpreted as "humanity," not a male or female) with the more sensitive third person and he/she variations. Somehow the statement "as a man thinketh, so is he," does not translate well to "as a person thinketh, so is she or he."

Marc Allen points out that in the Buddhist tradition, a book opens with a poem. If the reader can understand the poem, he or she has grasped the meaning of the book, and need not read the entire book. Here is James Allen's opening poem:

Mind is the master power that molds and makes,
And we are mind, and evermore we take
the tool of thought,and shaping what we will,
Bring forth a thousand joys, a thousand ills.
We think in secret,and it comes to pass--
Our world is but our looking glass.

Thoreau said something similar in a shorter version where he alludes to how the mind of man can create a heaven or hell for itself.

This is a recently published version of the classic volume "As a Man Thinketh" by James Allen. It has been skillfully edited and de-genderized by publisher/author Marc Allen in order to serve as an inspiration for both men and women in our modern times. Throughout the last century, countless individuals have been moved and inspired by this easy to read little primer on the secret of successful living.

The premise of this book is the spiritual wisdom from the Book of Proverbs:
"As you think in your heart, so you are."

In the course of the volume, James Allen clearly describes how clarity of mind, linked with good intentions, can transform our experience of life and release the creative spirit within us all. The ultimate outcome of embracing the simple philosophy of this book is: Serenity.

This tiny, surprisingly easy-to-read book by James Allen sets you on the edge of your state of being as if by surprise! Stirring, spirit to spirit talk that leaves your life story flashing before your eyes for your re-examination as you ponder its profound basic truths. Upon completing its reading, it left me speechless and in a state of awe (especially due to the fact it was written almost a hundred years ago) that it touched me very deeply at the fiber of my being.

After a month of daily listens to this disk, it has easily become one of the most important things I've ever experienced. It is drastically changing the way I approach each day, each person, each thought and it is profound. I'm becoming the patient, kind, inspired, positive person I've always wanted to be and it is an absolute joy.

So, yes, I recommend this book. I can't say enough about it.

I wrote a blog about this book on my website, [...]. It might be too much here as an Amazon review, but I'll give it a shot:

This book, written in 1904, took me from poverty to abundance. For about twenty years, I said it was the best book I've ever read (now it's number two; THE POWER OF NOW is number one). I put several phrases from the book, including the opening poem and the other poem in it, in big letters on my wall. These phrases, repeated hundreds of times, became imprinted in my mind, and to this day they spring to mind on occasion. They are powerful, life changing phrases -- the most powerful one, for me, is this:

You will become as great as your dominant aspiration....
If you cherish a vision, a lofty ideal in your heart,
you will realize it.

James Allen writes with a power and authority that affects some deep place within, and those two sentences of his have been life changing. That and the two poems -- they sum up everything I learned from AS YOU THINK. It opens with a short poem. There's a tradition in some Buddhist books where the wisdom of the book is contained in the title. If you understand the title, you don't need to read the book. Then there is a short opening poem; if you understand the poem, you don't need to read the book either, for it contains all the wisdom of the book. Here's the opening poem in AS YOU THINK:

Mind is the master power that molds and makes,
And we are Mind, and evermore we take
The tool of thought, and shaping what we will,
Bring forth a thousand joys, a thousand ills.
We think in secret, and it comes to pass --
Our world is but our looking glass.

Then, at the end of the second chapter, there is one more poem that also sums up and contains all the wisdom of the book:

You will be what you will to be;
Let failure find its false content
In that poor word environment,
But spirit scorns it, and is free.
It masters time, it conquers space,
It cows that boastful trickster Chance,
And bids the tyrant Circumstance
Uncrown, and take a servant's place.
The human Will, that force unseen,
The offspring of a deathless soul,
Can hew its way to any goal
Though walls of granite intervene.
Be not impatient in delay,
But wait as one who understands,
When spirit rises and commands,
The gods are ready to obey.

"Content" in the second line, of course means "contentment". And he uses "environment" in line three, and later "circumstance" very broadly -- he means everything in our world, inner and outer, that we can possibly use as an excuse, as a reason we can't "hew our way to any goal". Be not impatient in delay, he tells us, but wait and understand: When our spirit rises and dares to dream, and dares even to command ourselves to take the steps we can take toward that dream, then the whole universe rushes in to support us in realizing our dreams.

Here's what I learned from this great little book:

You are far greater, far more powerful, than you may think. You are part of a limitless field of creative possibilities.

As Eckhart Tolle puts it, in the frontispiece of THE POWER OF NOW:

"You are here to enable the divine purpose
of the Universe to unfold.
That is how important you are!"