The Wisdom of James Allen II
– 3 Classic Works from the author of As a Man Thinketh, including: Light on
Life’s Difficulties, Above Life’s Turmoil, & The Life
Triumphant
ISBN:
1-889606-07-3
Price:
$10.95
Pages:
336
Description:
James
Allen, a 19th century English writer, is best known as the author of the
best-selling, inspirational classic, As a Man Thinketh. For over a
hundred years, this timeless work has motivated readers to lead more successful,
effective, and peaceful lives. James Allen is also the author of over twenty
other books, that are lesser known but equally powerful. The Wisdom of James
Allen II is the second book in the Laurel Creek James Allen Wisdom series.
It combines 3 of his classic works in one volume and includes: Light of
Life’s Difficulties, Above Life’s Turmoil, and The Life
Triumphant.
James Allen was an advocate
of ethics in all the areas of our lives. His goal was to reveal universal
spiritual principles to the masses in order to relieve people of their
suffering, empower the individual, and thus uplift humanity. Allen=s works focus on teaching
individual responsibility, finding the cause of personal problems within our own
selves, and revealing how each of us can harness our inner power to master our
own destinies. The wisdom contained in his works provides a valuable guide for
life.
Table of
Contents:
BOOK 1: Light on Life’s Difficulties
The
Light the Leads to Perfect Peace
Light on Facts and Hypotheses
Light on the Law of Cause & Effect in Human
Life
Light on Values—Spiritual and Material
Light on the Sense of Proportion
Light on Adherence to Principle
Light on the Sacrifice of the Self
Light on the Management of the Mind
Light on Self Control: The Door of Heaven
Light on Acts & Their Consequences
Light on the Way of Wisdom
Light on Disposition
Light on Individual Liberty
Light on the Blessing & Dignity of Work
Light on Good Manners & Refinement
Light on Diversities of Creeds
Light on Law & Miracle
Light on War & Peace
Light on the Brotherhood of Man
Light on Life’s Sorrows
Light on Life’s Changes
Light on the Truth of Transitoriness
The Light that Never Goes Out
BOOK 2: Above Life’s Turmoil
True
Happiness
The Immortal Man
The Overcoming of Self
The Uses of Temptation
The Man of Integrity
Discrimination
Belief: The Basis of Action
The Belief that Saves
Thought & Action
Your Mental Attitude
Sowing & Reaping
The Reign of Law
The Supreme Justice
The Use of Reason
Self-Discipline
Resolution
The Glorious Conquest
Contentment in Activity
The Temple of Brotherhood
Pleasant Pastures of Peace
BOOK 3: The Life
Triumphant
Faith
& Courage
Manliness, Womanliness, & Sincerity
Energy & Power
Self-Control & Happiness
Simplicity & Freedom
Right Thinking & Repose
Calmness & Resource
Insight & Nobility
Man the Master
Knowledge & Victory
BOOK 1: Light on Life’s
Difficulties (Excerpt):
War
springs from inward strife… When the inward spiritual harmony is destroyed by
division and conflict, it will manifest itself outwardly in the form of war.
Without this inward conflict war could not be, nor can war cease until the
inward harmony is restored.
War consists of aggression and resistance, and after the fight has
commenced both combatants are like aggressors and resisters. Thus the effort to
put an end to war by aggressive means produces war.
“I have set myself stubbornly against the war spirit,” said a man a short
time ago. He did not know that he was, by that attitude of mind, practicing and
fostering the war spirit.
To fight against war is to produce war. It is impossible to fight for
peace, because all fighting is the annihilation of peace. To think of putting an
end to war by denouncing and fighting it is the same as if one should try to
quench fire by throwing straw upon it.
He, therefore, who is truly a person of peace, does not resist war, but
practices peace. He, therefore, who takes sides and practices attack and defense
is responsible for war, for he is always at war in his mind. He cannot know the
nature of peace, for he has not arrived at peace in his own
heart.
The true man of peace is he who has put away from his mind the spirit of
quarreling and party strife, who neither attacks others nor defends himself, and
whose heart is at peace with all. Such a man has already laid in his heart the
foundations of the empire of peace; he is a peacemaker, for he is at peace with
the whole world and practices the spirit of peace under all
circumstances.
Very beautiful is the spirit of peace, and it says, “Come and rest.”
Bickerings, quarreling, party divisions—these must be forever abandoned by him
who would establish peace.
War will continue so long as men will allow themselves, individually, to
be dominated by passion, and only when men have quelled the inward tumult will
the outer horror pass away.
Self is the great enemy, the producer of all strife, and the maker of
many sorrows. He, therefore who will bring about peace on earth, let him
overcome egotism, let him subdue his passions, let him conquer
himself.
We cannot alter external things, nor shape other people to our liking,
nor mold the world to our wishes. But we can alter internal things¾our desires, passions,
thoughts¾we can shape our liking to
other people, and we can mold the inner world of our own mind in accordance with
wisdom, and so reconcile it to the outer world of men and
things.
The turmoil of the world we cannot avoid, but the disturbances of the
mind we can overcome. The duties and difficulties of life claim our attention,
but we can rise above all anxiety concerning them. Surrounded by noise, we can
yet have a quiet mind; involved in responsibilities, the heart can be at rest;
in the midst of strife, we can know abiding peace.
BOOK
3: The Life Triumphant (Excerpts)
Excerpt
#1:
By mastery of self, a distinct form of consciousness is evolved which
some would call divine…. This divine consciousness concerns itself with humanity
and the universe, with eternal verities, with righteousness, wisdom, and truth,
and not with pleasures, protection, and preservation of the personality. Not
that personal pleasure is destroyed, but that is no longer craved and sought, it
no longer takes a foremost place. It is purified, and it is received as the
effect of right thought and action, and is no longer an end in
itself.
In divine consciousness there is neither sin nor sorrow. Even the sense
of sin has passed away, and with the true order and purpose of life revealed, no
cause is found for lamentation. Jesus called this state of consciousness “The
Kingdom of Heaven;” Buddha named it “Nirvana;” Lao-Tze’s term for it was “Tao;”
Emerson refers to it as “The Over-Soul;” and Dr. Bucke calls it “Cosmic
Consciousness.”
Excerpt #2:
The
universe is a cosmos, not a chaos, and the bad do not prosper. It is true there is much evil in the
world, otherwise there would be no necessity for moral aims, but there is also
much misery in the world, and the evil and misery are related as cause and
effect. It is equally true that there is much good in the world, and much
abiding gladness, and the good and gladness are related as cause and
effect.
He who has acquired that faith in the power and supremacy of good, which
no apparent injustice, no amount of suffering, and no catastrophe can shake,
will pass through all emergencies, all trials and difficulties, with a sublime
courage that defies the demons of doubt and despair. He may not succeed in all
his plans. He may encounter much
failure. But when he fails, it will
be that he may frame nobler purposes and ascend to higher achievements. He will
only fail in order to reach a success greater than that of which he first
dreamed. His life will not, cannot, be a failure. Some of its details will fail,
but this will be but the breaking of weak links in the chain of character and
events, in order that the whole may be made more strong and
complete.