Give This Some Thought

For the past several posts I have been reviewing the process of creating a life you love and today is all about thinking, so I am sharing a long excerpt from the book The Magic of Believing by Claude M. Bristol.

You may ask why I am sharing this excerpt and the answer would be that I could have given this information in my own words but this is a book I have recommended before and if you have not already gotten the book you might decide to do so after you read this;

Your very life is your thinking-and the result of your thinking processes. Your flesh, bones, and muscles can be reduced to 70 percent water & a few chemicals of small value, but it is your mind & what you think that makes you what your are, The secret of success lies not outside, but within the thoughts of man.

Figuratively, thought makes giants out of pigmies, and often turns giants into pigmies. History is filed with accounts of how thought made weak men strong and strong men weak, & you see evidence of its working around you constantly.

You do not eat, wear clothes, run for a bus, drive your car, turn on a TV or read a newspaper-you don’t even raise you arm –without a preceding thought-impulse. While you may consider the motions you make as more of less automatic, perhaps caused by some physical reflexes, behind every single step you take in life, regardless of its direction, is that formidable and powerful force-thought

The very way you walk, the way you carry yourself, your talk, your manner of dress, all reflect your way of thinking. A slovenly carriage is an indication of slovenly thinking, whereas an alert upright carriage is the outward sign of inward strength & confidence. What you exhibit outwardly, you are inwardly. You are the product of your own thoughts. What you believe yourself to be, you are.

Thought is the original source of all wealth, all success, all material gain, all great discoveries & inventions, & of all achievement. Without it there would be no medicine, no great museums, no great plays or novels, no modern conveniences-in fact, there would be no advance over life in the most primitive ages.

Your thoughts-those that predominate-determine your character, your career, indeed, your everyday life. Thus it becomes easy to understand what is meant by the statement that “A man’s thoughts make or break him.” And when you realize that there can be no action or reaction, either good or bad, without the generating force of thought initiating it, then the Biblical saying “For whatever a man soweth, that also he shall reap” & Shakespeare’s words “There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so” become more intelligible.

Undoubtedly, we become what we envisage. There was a time that I would have laughed at people who talked about the magnetic force of thought, how thought correlates with its object, how it can affect people & inanimate things even at great distances, But I no longer laugh, not do others who know something of its power, for anyone who has any intelligence sooner or later comes to realize that thought can change the entire surface of the globe.

George Russell, the famous Irish editor & poet was once quoted as saying that we become what we  contemplate; & he certainly demonstrated it in his own life by becoming a great writer, lecturer, painter & poet. However, it mist be kept in mind that many of the thoughts we think are not all outs at all, at least not of our originating. We are molded by the thoughts of others; but what we hear in conversation, what we read in newspapers, magazines & books, what we hear in the  movies, on TV, & on the radio, even chance remarks from bystanders, And these thoughts bombard us constantly. Some of them, which harmonize with our own inmost thoughts & open the way to greater visions in our life, are helpful. But too often these thoughts are upsetting, weaken out self-confidence, and turn us away from out higher purposes, It is these outside thoughts that are the trouble makers, and later I shall explain how you can keep free of them.

 

So that’s it folks, I trust you will find it as valuable and insightful as I do. The go get the book because it is a great read and you know you want to know how to keep free of those trouble maker thoughts.