詹姆斯·艾倫/James Allen
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 reac h out to every condition and circumstance of his life.A man is literall y what he thinks,his character being the complete sum of all his though ts.
As the plant springs from,and could not be without the seed,so eve ry 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 suffering are its fruits;thus does a man garner in the sweet and bitter fruitage of his own husba ndry.
"Thought in the mind has made us,what we are by thought was wrough t and built.If a man's mind hath evil thoughts,pain comes on him as comes the wheel the ox behind...If one endures in purity of thought,jo y follows him as his own shadow--sure."
Man is a growth by law,and not a creation by artifice,and cause an d effect is as absolute and undeviating in the hidden realm of thought a s in the world of visible and material things.A noble and Godlike chara cter is not a thing of favour or chance,but is the natural result of co ntinued effort in right thinking,the effect of long-cherished associati on 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 wit h 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 and wrong application of thought,he descends 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 r estored and brought to light in this age,none is more gladdening or fru itful of divine promise and confidence than this-that man is the master of thought,the molder of character,and the maker and shaper of conditi on,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 hims elf that transforming and regenerative agency by which he may make himse lf what he wills.
Man is always the master,even in his weaker and most abandoned stat e;but in his weakness and degradation he is the foolish master who misg overns 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 master,directing his energies with intellig ence,and fashioning his thoughts to fruitful issues.Such is the consci ous master,and man can only thus become by discovering within himself t he laws of thought;which discovery is totally a matter of application,self analysis,and experience.
Only by much searching and mining,are gold and diamonds obtained,a nd man can find every truth connected with his being,if he will dig dee p 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 unerringl y prove,if he will watch,control,and alter his thoughts,tracing thei r effects upon himself,upon others,and upon his life and circumstances,linking cause and effect by patient practice and investigation,and ut ilizing his every experience,even to the most trivial,everyday occurre nce,as a means of obtaining that knowledge of himself which is understa nding,wisdom,power.In this direction,as in no other,is the law abs olute that "He that seeks finds;and to him that knocks it shall be ope ned";for only by patience,practice,and ceaseless importunity can a m an enter the door of the temple of knowledge.
諺語說：“一個用心思考的人，才是真正的自我。”它不但闡述了一個人生存的全部意義，也涵蓋了他一生中觸及的所有條件和環境。換言之，一個人因思想而生存，他的性格就是他全部思維的總和。
如同植物從種子裏萌發一樣，植物的存在離不開種子；人也是相同的道理，內心潛在的思想種子促使人產生每一個行為，行為依賴思想而存在。這一點不僅適用於那些主觀行為，同時也能解釋那些“下意識的”和“無意識的”行為。
思想孕育了行為的花朵，並結出了歡樂和痛苦的果實；由此可知，一個人通過自己的培育，才能收獲甜蜜與苦澀的果實。
“頭腦中的思想造就了我們，並促使我們去勞動和建設。假如一個人心懷邪念，那麽痛苦就會隨之而來，如同老牛身後不離不棄的車輪一般……如果一個人心地純潔高尚，那麽快樂也必將如影隨形地追隨著他。”
人類的成長是依照規律，而不是技巧。同現實世界一樣，在無形的思維領域裏，因與果也是絕對的、毫無偏差的。恩賜或機遇並不能賦予高貴、聖潔的品格，而必須經曆不斷的正確思考、持久不懈的期待神聖思想的自然過程；長期懷有卑劣思想的人，經曆類似的過程後，就會形成低賤、殘忍的性格。
人是由自己創造或毀滅的。在思想的軍械庫裏，他製造了毀滅自我的武器，也塑造了另一種工具。這種工具可以為他帶來天堂般的家園，那裏滿是歡樂、力量與和平。憑借正確的選擇和誠實的思考，人就會向著神聖的完美境界前進；可胡亂的選擇和錯誤的思考，會使人淪落到禽獸不如。在兩者之間，充實著不同層次的品格，而人既是創造者又是主宰者。
在與那些重新照亮這個時代的靈魂相關的一切美好事實中，比其他一切更令人興奮、更能使人充滿期待與信心的就是——人是思想的主人，是性格的塑造者，同時造就了形勢、環境和命運。
人擁有力量、智慧和愛，能夠自我主宰思想，並擁有掌控各種境遇的權利，其自身還可以轉變和重塑，因此他能夠成為自己所意願的任何形象。
人是永恒的主宰者，就算在最虛弱、最孤獨的時候也不例外；可這個時候，他會成為一個愚蠢的主人，不能合理地管理“家業”。然而，當他開始反省自己的處境，並堅持搜尋他賴以生存的法則時，他就會成為一個聰明的主宰者，用智慧來支配自己的精力，使自己的思想變得更加活躍、向上。這麽做才是聰明的主人，並且隻有在找到自身思想的法則後，人才能成為這樣的主人；這種發現正是通過實踐、自我分析和經驗的累積而得到的。
唯有通過大量的探尋和挖掘，才能得到金子和鑽石。假如一個人向自己靈魂之礦的深處挖掘，那麽他就能了解到與自己的存在息息相關的所有真理。他會知道自己是性格的創造者，生命的締造者，也是自己命運的建造者。如果他想去觀察、控製、轉變自己的思想，追尋自己的思想對自己、對他人以及對自己的生活和環境的影響，並耐心地實踐和研究，把因與果結合起來，為了獲得理解、智慧和權力等學問，運用自己的每一次經曆——即使是最不足稱道的、日常小事，這樣他就能得到證實。隻有在這個方向的指引下前進，而非其他，才能獲得絕對的真理——“敢於探尋的人才會有所發現，勇於叩響真理大門的人才能進入”。因為唯有通過耐心、實踐和不懈的追求，一個人才能走進真理聖殿的大門。
1.As the plant springs____,and could not be without the seed,so____act of a man springs from the hidden seeds of thought,and____not have appeared without them.This applies equally to____a cts called "spontaneous" and "unpremeditated"____to those,whic h are deliberately executed.
2.As a being of____,intelligence,and love,and the lord of his____thoughts,man holds the key to every situation,and contain s____himself that transforming and regenerative agency by which he____make himself what he wills.
1.換言之，一個人因思想而生存，他的性格就是他全部思維的總和。
2.人類的成長是依照規律，而不是技巧。
3.唯有通過大量的探尋和挖掘，才能得到金子和鑽石。