Chapter 17
More About Thought
I give place here to some further consideration of thought. You will never become great until your own thoughts make you great, and therefore it is of the first importance that you should THINK. You will never do great things in the
I will now give more attention to thought. You will never become great until your own thoughts make you great. So it is essential that you THINK. You will never do great things in the
external world until you think great things in the internal world; and you will never think great things until you think about truth; about the verities. To think great things you must be absolutely sincere; and to be sincere you must know that your intentions are right. Insincere or false thinking is never great, however logical and brilliant it may be.
outside world until you think great thoughts in your inner world. And you will never think great thoughts until you think about truth, about fundamental truths. To think great thoughts, you must be completely sincere. And to be sincere, you must know your intentions are right. Insincere or false thinking is never great, no matter how logical or brilliant it may be.
The first and most important step is to seek the truth about human relations; to know what you ought to be to other men, and what they ought to be to you. This brings you back to the search for a right viewpoint. You should study organic and social evolution. Read Darwin and Walter Thomas Mills, and when you read, THINK; think the whole matter over until you see the world of things and men in the right way. THINK about what God is doing until you can SEE what he is doing.
The first and most important step is to seek the truth about human relationships. Learn how you should treat others and how they should treat you. This brings you back to finding the right point of view. You should study biological and social evolution. Read Darwin and Walter Thomas Mills, and when you read, THINK. Think the whole matter through until you see the world of things and people in the right way. THINK about what God is doing until you can SEE what he is doing.
Your next step is to think yourself into the right personal attitude. Your viewpoint tells you what the right attitude is, and obedience to the soul puts you into it. It is only by making a complete consecration of yourself to the highest that is within you that you can attain to sincere thinking. So long as you know you are selfish in your aims, or dishonest or crooked in any way in your intentions or practices, your thinking will be false and your thoughts will have no power. THINK about the way you are doing things; about all your intentions, purposes, and practices, until you know that they are right.
Your next step is to think your way into the right personal attitude. Your viewpoint shows you the right attitude, and following your soul brings you into that attitude. Only by devoting yourself completely to the highest within you can you think sincerely. As long as you know your goals are selfish, your thinking will be false and your thoughts will lack power. The same is true as long as you know your intentions or actions are dishonest or crooked in any way. THINK about how you do things. Examine all your intentions, purposes, and actions until you know they are right.
The fact of his own complete unity with God is one that no person can grasp without deep and sustained thinking. Any one can accept the proposition in a superficial way, but to feel and realize a vital comprehension of it is another matter. It is easy to think of going outside of yourself to meet God, but it is not so easy to think of going inside yourself to meet God. But God is there, and in the holy of holies of your own soul you may meet him face to face. It is a tremendous thing, this fact that all you need is already within you; that you do not have to consider how to get the power to do what you want to do or to make yourself what you want to be. You have only to consider how to use the power you have in the right way. And there is nothing to do but to begin. Use your perception of truth; you can see some truth to-day; live fully up to that and you will see more truth to-morrow.
No one can fully grasp their complete unity with God without deep and sustained thought. Anyone can accept the idea on the surface. But truly feeling and understanding that unity is another matter. It is easy to think of going outside yourself to meet God. But it is not so easy to think of going within yourself to meet God. Yet God is there, and in your soul’s most sacred place you may meet him face to face. It is an extraordinary fact that everything you need is already within you. You do not have to think about how to gain the power to do what you want to do. Nor do you have to find the power to become what you want to be. You only have to think about how to use the power you already have in the right way. And there is nothing to do but begin. Use your ability to recognize truth. You can see some truth today. Live fully by that truth, and you will see more truth tomorrow.
To rid yourself of the old false ideas you will have to think a great deal about the value of men—the greatness and worth of a human soul. You must cease from looking at human mistakes and look at successes; cease from seeing faults and see virtues. You can no longer look upon men and women as lost and ruined beings who are descending into hell; you must come to regard them as shining souls who are ascending toward heaven. It will require some exercise of will power to do this, but this is the legitimate use of the will—to decide what you will think about and how you will think. The function of the will is to direct thought. Think about the good side of men; the lovely, attractive part, and exert your will in refusing to think of anything else in connection with them.
To free yourself from old, false ideas, you will have to think deeply about the value of people. Think about the greatness and worth of a human soul. You must stop focusing on people’s mistakes and look at their successes. Stop seeing their faults and see their virtues. You can no longer see men and women as lost and ruined beings descending into hell. You must come to see them as shining souls rising toward heaven. Changing your outlook will take some willpower. But this is the proper use of your will: deciding what to think about and how to think. The purpose of your will is to direct your thoughts. Think about the good in people, the lovely and attractive parts of their character. Use your will to refuse to think about anything else when you think of them.
I know of no one who has attained to so much on this one point as Eugene V. Debs, twice the Socialist candidate for president of the United States. Mr. Debs reverences humanity. No appeal for help is ever made to him in vain. No one receives from him an unkind or censorious word. You cannot come into his presence without being made sensible of his deep and kindly personal interest in you. No one, whether millionaire, grimy workingman, or toil worn woman, meets him without receiving the radiant warmth of a brotherly affection that is sincere and true. No ragged child speaks to him on the street without receiving instant and tender recognition. Debs loves men. This has made him the leading figure in a great movement, the beloved hero of a million hearts, and will give him a deathless name. It is a great thing to love men so and it is only achieved by thought. Nothing can make you great but thought.
I know of no one who has achieved as much in this one area as Eugene V. Debs. He was twice the Socialist candidate for president of the United States. Mr. Debs deeply respects humanity. No one ever asks him for help in vain. He never speaks an unkind or judgmental word to anyone. You cannot be around him without feeling his deep, kind, personal interest in you. Everyone who meets him feels the warmth of his sincere and genuine brotherly affection. This is true whether they are a millionaire, a grimy worker, or a woman worn out by work. Every ragged child who speaks to him on the street receives immediate, tender attention. Debs loves people. His love has made him the leading figure in a great movement and the beloved hero of a million hearts. It will also give him a name that never dies. Loving people so deeply is a great thing, and such love is achieved only through thought. Nothing but thought can make you great.
“We may divide thinkers into those who think for themselves and those who think through others. The latter are the rule and the former the exception. The first are original thinkers in a double sense, and egotists in the noblest meaning of the word.” —Schopenhauer. “The key to every man is his thought. Sturdy and defiant though he look he has a helm which he obeys, which is the idea after which all his facts are classified. He can only be reformed by showing him a new idea which commands his own.” —Emerson. “All truly wise thoughts have been thought already thousands of times; but to make them really ours we must think them over again honestly till they take root in our personal expression.” —Goethe. “All that a man is outwardly is but the expression and completion of his inward thought. To work effectively he must think clearly. To act nobly he must think nobly.” —Channing. “Great men are they who see that spirituality is stronger than any material force; that thoughts rule the world.” —Emerson. “Some people study all their lives, and at their death they have learned everything except to think.” —Domergue. “It is the habitual thought that frames itself into our life. It affects us even more than our intimate social relations do. Our confidential friends have not so much to do in shaping our lives as the thoughts have which we harbor.” —J. W. Teal. “When God lets loose a great thinker on this planet, then all things are at risk. There is not a piece of science but its flank may be turned to-morrow; nor any literary reputation or the so-called eternal names of fame that may not be refused and condemned.” —Emerson.
“We can divide thinkers into those who think for themselves and those who think through others. Those who think through others are the rule. Those who think for themselves are the exception. Independent thinkers are original in two senses, and they are egotists in the noblest sense of the word.” (Schopenhauer) “The key to every person is their thinking. However strong and defiant someone looks, they follow a guiding idea. They organize all their facts around that idea. You can change them only by showing them a new idea that overrides their own.” (Emerson) “All truly wise thoughts have already been thought thousands of times. But to make those thoughts truly ours, we must honestly think them through again until they take root in how we express ourselves.” (Goethe) “Everything a person is on the outside expresses and completes their inner thoughts. To work effectively, they must think clearly. To act nobly, they must think nobly.” (Channing) “Great people see that spirituality is stronger than any material force, and that thoughts rule the world.” (Emerson) “Some people study all their lives. When they die, they have learned everything except how to think.” (Domergue) “Our habitual thoughts shape our lives. Those thoughts affect us even more than our close relationships do. Our closest friends do less to shape our lives than the thoughts we hold in our minds.” (J. W. Teal) “When God sets a great thinker loose on this planet, everything is at risk. No part of science is safe from being overturned tomorrow. No literary reputation, or supposedly eternal name in history, is safe from being rejected and condemned.” (Emerson)
Think! Think!! THINK!!!
Think! Think!! THINK!!!