One of my greatest inspirations has been James Allen, a simple man who wrote the small book “As a Man Thinketh.” From this humble author, the book has gone on to influence millions of lives for more than a century after his death, leaving a continuous ripple effect for good in the world.
His day in Ilfracombe, England began with a predawn walk up to the Cairn, where he would meditate for an hour on the hillside overlooking his home and the sea. After his morning meditation, he would return to the house and spend the morning writing. His afternoons were devoted to gardening and his evenings were spent in conversation with his wife Lily and others who were interested in his work.
Allen's work combines incisive Christian insights with the Buddhist truth that precided Christianity and Mohammadanism: "All that we are is the result of our thoughts." Allen's Biblical quote is "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he."
the outer conditions of a person's life will always be found to be harmoniously related to his inner state. This does not mean that a man's circumstances at any given time are an indication of his entire character, but that those circumstances are so intimately connected with some vital thought element within him that, for the time being, they are indispensable to his development."
Allen's works impel us to think- even when we would rather be doing something else. He describes how how thought leads to action showing us how to turn our dreams into realities. His philosophy has brought success and happiness to millions around the world. Later writers such as Norman Vincent Peale (The Power of Positive Thinking) and Joshua Liebman (Peace of Mind) would build upon his legacy to create followings of millions.
"We become spiritually rich when we discover the adventure within; when we are conscious of the oneness of all life; when we know the power of meditation; when we experience kinship with nature." ~ Allen
Allen's message is one of hope even in the midst of confusion: "Yes, humanity surges with uncontrolled passion, is tumultuous with ungoverned grief, is blown about by anxiety and doubt. Only the wise man, only he whose thoughts are controlled and purified, makes the winds and the storms of the soul obey him."
Thus Allen transmits two essential truths:
1. Today we are where our thoughts have taken us;
2. We are the architects - for better or worse - of our futures.
The works of James Allen are eminently practical. He never wrote theories, or for the sake of writing, or to simply to get some cash. According to his Lily, Allen "wrote when he had a message, and it became a message only when he had lived it in his own life, and knew that it was good. " Allen created a spiritual practice, utlized it peace and happiness and then shared his insights into these highest truths after they had been proven by practice.
James Allen strove to live the ideal life described by Russia¹s great novelist and mystic Count Leo Tolstoy - the life of voluntary poverty, manual labor and ascetic self-discipline. Like Tolstoy, Allen sought to improve himself, be happy, and master all of the virtues. His search for felicity for man on earth was typically Tolstoyan.
“The dreamers are the saviors of the
world. As the visible world is sustained
by the invisible, so humanity, through
all its trials and mistakes and suffering
is nourished by beautiful visions of
solitary dreamers.
Humanity cannot forget its dreamers;
it cannot let their ideals fade and die.
It lives in them; it know them as the
realities that it will one day see and know.
Composer, sculptor, painter, poet, prophet, sage, these are the makers of the after-world, the architects of heaven.
The world is beautiful because they have lived; without them, humanity would perish.”
-James Allen, 1904
Zen and Ink Journals represents hundreds of hours of writing over the past decade, sometimes from a train in remote China or a coffee shop in Kyoto, a hammock in Costa Rica or a simple cabin on a mountain in Boquete, Panama.
Zen and Ink Journals is a simple offering of words in the hope of inspiring others to a simpler, more mindful way of life in these chaotic times. I invite you join me each month on the journey for a glimpse of the larger world, reflections on living more simply and quietly amidst the chaos of our modern world.
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Zen and Ink was born over a decade ago out of my own personal journey to find peace and tranquility amidst the ever-increasing chaos of our modern world. In the last ten years, the pace of our modern world has only accelerated and we have moved further out of sync with nature and the rhythm of our souls. Zen and Ink offers a quiet space for anyone along their journey seeking more balance and Zen in their daily lives.
Zen and Ink provides an oasis for those who are drawn to a slower and simpler way of life; to provide a portal for awakening, tools and resources that many will find useful in their own quest to find the Zen which is already there and always within and around each of us.