M&E Thoughts, Day 7

Morning and evening thoughts, 1908. By James Allen.

Seventh Morning

The will to evil and the will to good
Are both within thee, which wilt thou employ?
Thou knowest what is right and what is wrong,
Which wilt though love and foster? which destroy?
Thou art the chooser of thy thoughts and deeds;
Thou art the maker of thine inward state;
The power is thine to be what thou wilt be;
Thou buildest Truth and Love, or lies and hate.

Seventh Evening

The teaching of Jesus brings men back to the simple truth that righteousness, or right-doing, is entirely a matter of individual conduct, and not a mystical something apart from a man’s thoughts and deeds.
Calmness and patience can become habitual by first grasping, through effort, a calm and patient thought, and then continuously thinking it, and living in it, until “use becomes second nature,” and anger and impatience pass away for ever.

Discussion:

1. James Allen's writings were heavily influenced by Budhism but he wrote mainly for an American and British audience in the early 1900's.  He often writes in terms of Christianity, possibly as a way to connect better to the average reader of this time.  While his teachings may not go against anything in the Bible, they are far from traditional Christian beliefs.  Making a concsious decision to do "right" vs. "wrong" or love vs. hate is not so much about following rules as it is about being righteous and positive.  It is a universal principle relevent to just about any of the world's religions.
2. The key to this passage is to form good habits and training the mind to be positive and righteous.  The reason for this is that James Allen believed that the mind is a like a magnet.  In Allen's model, thoughts attract situations and influence the world around you.  Have you ever noticed how some people seem to attract certain situations even when the events were out of their control?  For example, one person might always find themselves in hard situation after hard situation.  Another might seem to always be lucky with everything always seemingly in their favor.  This is not by chance but rather it is to some degree a reflection of their states.

In 1908, James Allen published "Morning and Evening Thoughts" which consists of short inspirational writings to be read over a period of 31 days.  Due to the age, this text is considered public domain and can be copied and shared freely.  For each day in March, I will post his morning and evening thoughts along with my own commentary.  The intention is to mold my mind and spirit, focusing on positive thinking.  Please feel free to follow along with me now or later and post your own comments attached to each post.