I spent a lovely day at Friday Harbor with my husband for our 26th Anniversary. While there, we found a wonderful used book store...amazing variety and number of books! I could have spent the whole day there! I picked up this book that I had heard about and read it while we waited for ferry. It's a short read (obviously), but has some great insights! The basic premise of the author is that we are what we think, and that what we bring into our lives is the result of not only that which we think about, but that which we are. Lots of truth here. I don't take this to quite the extreme that he does. He seems to think that we cause all of our own suffering. While I think it is true that we cause a great deal...even most...of our own suffering, I still believe that there is opposition and suffering (natural events, choices of others) that we do not control...though we do have total control over how we choose to think about and deal with these things in our lives. This book is a gem! Full of words of truth and wisdom! Here are a few of my favorite quotes from his book...
"Circumstance does not make the man; it reveals him to himself." p. 24
"Men do not attract that which they want, but that which they are." p. 25
"A man does not get what he wishes and prays for, but what he justly earns. His wishes and prayers are only gratified and answered when they harmonize with his thoughts and actions." p. 25
"Men are anxious to improve their circumstances, but are unwilling to improve themselves; they therefore remain bound." p. 26
"Suffering is always the effect of wrong thought in some direction. It is an indication that the individual is out of harmony with himself, with the law of his being." p. 30
This is the passage that I didn't totally agree with. He seems to be saying that we always cause our own suffering...that we always bring it upon ourselves. This philosophy, however, leaves no room for that suffering which is brought on by others' wrong choices or by natural circumstances (like natural disasters). These things bring suffering that I don't think we control, though we have all power to control our thoughts and actions as to how we choose to look at and deal with such things. That suffering is always the effect of wrong thought in some direction is true I think...but that may sometimes stem from wrong thought and actions outside of ourselves.
"A man only begins to be a man when he ceases to whine and revile, and commences to search for the hidden justice which regulates his life. And as he adapts his mind to that regulating factor, he ceases to accuse others of being the cause of his condition, and builds himself up in strong and noble thoughts. He ceases to kick against circumstances, but begins to use them as aids to his more rapid progress, and as a means of discovering the hidden powers and possibilities within himself." p. 31
This brought to mind the scripture in the New Testament where Jesus appears to Saul and says to him..."Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks." (Acts 9:5 and Acts 26:6) When we understand the laws of nature, we can work with them...we cease to work against them. Likewise, when we understand the laws of nature's God, it is the same...we can then order our lives in such a way that we...being in harmony with God's laws...bring good things to ourselves instead of bad. I love the compassion of Jesus toward Saul in these verses. I think he says in effect, "poor Saul, when will you figure it out and stop doing the things that bring you unhappiness?" We do that to ourselves too. The better we understand and follow God's laws, the happier we are...his laws are designed to show us the way to happiness!
"...man has but to right himself to find that the universe is right. And during the process of putting himself right, he will find that as he alters his thoughts toward things, and other people, things and other people will alter toward him." p. 32
"Men imagine that thought can be kept secret, but it cannot; it rapidly crystallizes into habit, and habit solidifies into circumstance..." p. 32
"It is part of the cure, to wish to be cured. -Seneca" (chapter heading) p. 35
"A sour face does not come by chance; it is made by sour thoughts." p. 37
"To live continually in thoughts of ill will, cynicism, suspicion, and envy, is to be confined in a self-made prison cell. But to think well of all, to be cheerful with all, to patiently learn to find good in all--such unselfish thoughts are the very portals of heaven." p.37
"Until thought is linked with purpose there is no intelligent accomplishment." p.40
"They who have no central purpose in their life fall easy prey to petty worries, fears, troubles, and self pityings, all of which are indications of weakness. All of which lead, just as surely as deliberately planned sins (though by a different route) to failure, unhappiness, and loss..." p. 40
"A man should conceive of a legitimate purpose in his heart, and set out to accomplish it...he should steadily focus his thought forces upon the object which he has set before him." p. 40
"Those who are not prepared for the apprehension of a great purpose, should fix their thoughts upon the faultless performance of their duty, no matter how insignificant the task may appear. Only in this way can their thoughts be gathered and focused, and resolution and energy be developed. Being focused and developed, there is nothing which they may not accomplish." p. 41
"The weakest soul, knowing its own weakness, and believing the truth--that strength can only be developed by effort and practice--will, thus believing, at once begin to exert itself." p. 41
"As the physically weak man can make himself strong by careful and patient training, so the weak thinking man can make himself strong by exercising himself in right thinking." p. 41
"...think strongly, attempt fearlessly, and accomplish masterfully." p. 42
"Thoughts of doubt and fear never accomplish anything, and never can. They always lead to failure. Purpose, energy, power to do, and all strong thoughts cease when doubt and fear creep in." p. 42
"The will to do springs from the knowledge that we can do." p. 42
"He who has conquered doubt and fear has conquered failure." p. 42
"A man's weakness and strength, purity and impurity, are his own, and not another man's. They are brought about by himself, and not by another. They can only be altered by himself, never by another." p.46
"A strong man cannot help a weaker unless that weaker is willing to be helped, and even then the weak man must become strong himself." p. 46
"It has been usual for men to think and to say, 'Many men are slaves because one is an oppressor; let us hate the oppressor.' Now, however, there is an increasing tendency to reverse this judgment, and to say, 'One man is an oppressor because many are slaves; let us despise the slaves.' The truth is that oppressor and slave are cooperators in ignorance, and, while seeming to afflict each other, are in reality afflicting themselves. A perfect knowledge perceives the weakness of the oppressed and the misapplied power of the oppressor." p. 46
This passage gave me a lot to ponder on! It made me think about the story of the man in a concentration camp (the name of the book will come to me later...I hope...) who said that even in such circumstances he was free and saw freedom in how men then chose to act toward each other...such as giving away their last morsel of bread to another. The quote also came to mind from one of our founding fathers that "men are about as free as they deserve to be". When we cease to be slaves, no man can be master over us. This is a passage full of pondering possibilities!
"He who has conquered weakness, and has put away all selfish thoughts, belongs neither to oppressor nor oppressed. He is free." p. 47
"Not having commenced manfully to control his thoughts, he is not in a position to control affairs and to adopt serious responsibilities." p. 47
"There can be no progress, no achievement, without sacrifice." p. 47
"Spiritual achievements are the consummation of holy aspirations. He who lives constantly in the conception of noble and lofty thoughts, who dwells upon all that is pure and unselfish, will, as surely as the sun reaches its zenith and the moon is full, become wise and noble in character, and rise into a position of influence and blessedness." p. 48
"He who would accomplish little need sacrifice little, but he who would achieve must sacrifice much." p. 49
"A wise man will make more opportunities than he finds." -Francis Bacon (chapter heading) p. 51
"He who cherishes a beautiful vision, a lofty ideal in his heart, will one day realize it." p. 52
"Cherish your visions; cherish your ideals; cherish the music that stirs in your heart, the beauty that forms in your mind, the loveliness that drapes your purest thoughts. Out of them will grow all delightful conditions, all heavenly environment." p. 52
"The greatest achievements were at first and for a time dreams." p. 53
"You cannot travel within and stand still without." p. 53
"And you, too, will realize the vision (not the idle wish) of your heart, be it base or beautiful, or a mixture of the two, for you will always gravitate toward that which you most love." p. 54
This truth is stated in scripture in this way; "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." (Matthew 6:16)
"You will become as small as your controlling desire; as great as your dominant aspiration." p. 55
"...the strength of the effort is the measure of the result." p. 57
Second law of Thermodynamics...energy can neither be created nor destroyed, it can only change its form. (Thanks hubby for helping me with that one!)
"The vision that you glorify in your mind, the ideal that you enthrone in your heart--this you will build your life by, this you will become."
This made me think of a time that a neighbor came by my home. She had been living next door for a time and her son used to play with my sons. We invited them to come and dye Easter eggs with us. She hadn't been in my home a lot, and she seemed to really like and pay attention to the pictures I have on my walls of Jesus and of things that are uplifting to me. As we chatted, she was commenting on our lifestyle and home and made a comment about "the life you have built for yourself". It was the first time I had looked at my life that way...that it is something I build. This idea has grown in my heart over the years...and thus my little quote about the Salt Lake temple taking 40 years to build and its comparison to the life I am trying to build.
"Nothing can bring you peace but yourself. -Ralph Waldo Emerson (chapter heading) p. 59
"Calmness of mind one of the beautiful jewels of wisdom. It is the result of long and patient effort in self-control." p. 59
"...as he develops a right understanding, and sees more and more clearly the internal relations of things by the action of cause and effect, he ceases to fuss and fume and worry and grieve, and remains poised, steadfast, and serene." p. 59
He ceases to "kick against the pricks"!
"The happy man, having learned how to govern himself, knows how to adapt himself to others; and they in turn, revere his spiritual strength, and feel that they can learn of him and rely upon him. The more tranquil a man becomes, the greater is his success, his influence, his power for good." p. 60
"How insignificant money-seeking looks in comparison with a happy life--a life that dwells in the ocean of truth, beneath the waves, beyond the reach of tempests, in the eternal calm!" p. 60
No comments:
Post a Comment