Thought And Character - James Allen

Introduction

A man is literally what he thinks. His character is the complete sum of all his thoughts. Just as a plant springs from and could not exist without the seed, so every act of a man springs from the hidden seeds of thought and could not have appeared without them. This concept applies equally to those acts considered spontaneous and unpremeditated as to those that are deliberately executed. Each act is the blossom of thought, and joy and suffering are its fruits. Thus does a man reap the sweet and bitter fruitage of his own husbandry.

Thought in the mind shapes us; by thought, we are wrought and built. If a man's mind harbors evil thoughts, pain follows him as inexorably as the wheel follows the ox that pulls it. Conversely, if one maintains purity of thought, joy follows him as closely as his own shadow.

Man is a growth governed by law, not an artifice created out of nothing. Cause and effect are as absolute and undeviating in the hidden realm of thought as they are in the physical world.