- 以積極的思維取代消極的思維
- 思想創造現實
每個人都可以任由自己的思想天馬行空、自由馳騁，而那些建設性的思想會在他的性格、體魄和環境中留下健康積極的印跡。
- 保留那有建設性的思想
- 喬治·馬修·亞當斯的箴言
“學會判斷，不要讓那些不能給你帶來明顯益處的東西進入你的心靈世界。”這是喬治·馬修·亞當斯留給我們的一句話，其中的道理顯而易見。所有的人都必須培養一種富有建設性的心態。
- 要有豐富的想像力
想像力是思想中最有建設性的部分，一切成功的行為，都有想像力作為先導。想像力是光，它為我們照亮了一個全新的思想世界；想像力是偉大的建築師，它把我們渴望得到的事物塑造成希望中的現實；想像力是一件強有力的工具，所有探險家、發明家，都是借助這一工具，把夢想變為現實。
- 想像力會引發理想
如果把未來比作一件成衣，那麽想像力就是製作成衣的材料，心靈的作用則是把材料編織成衣裳，而我們的未來，就在這樣的過程中浮現出來。想像力的培養，會引發美好的理想。
- 偉大的思想創造偉大的事物
真正的成功皆由偉大的思想創造，物質世界中的事物就如同陶匠手中的泥，思想則是陶匠，將它塑造成形，而這塑造的工作不得不借助想像力的運用。為了培養想像力，我們必須做一些練習。
- 鍛煉我們的思想
我們的肌肉需要加強鍛煉，才能變得結實健美。精神的力量也需要鍛煉，否則無法變得強大。
- 切勿混淆想像力與白日夢
白日夢隻是一種揮霍精神財富的行為，它將導致精神上的疾患。切勿混淆想像力和幻想，也不要把想像力與白日夢讚同起來，它們之間有本質上的區別。
- 學會去想像，然後就會得到回報
藝術家會認為最為艱苦的勞作莫過於有建設性的想像，這是一種高強度的腦力勞動，但是它的回報也是最為豐厚的。企業家如果不在他的想象中構想整個發展計劃，他就無法建設一個擁有數十家分公司、數千名員工、上千萬資產的大公司。對於有想像力的人，生活將把一切最美好的事物都賜給他，使他夢想成真。
- 運用思想的力量
你隻要能有意識地運用思想的力量，與精神這個全能者保持步調一致，那麽你就能夠在通往成功的道路上大踏步前進。因為，精神是惟一的造物者，它無所不能、無所不知、無所不在。
- 做好接納這種力量的準備
一切力量都是由心而生，真正的力量總是來自於內心。為此，我們必須準備好去接納這種力量，這種接納也是需要經過訓練的，就像鍛煉身體一樣。要時刻把自己放置在一個能夠接收這種能量的位置上，以免錯過這種無所不在的能量。
- 改變我們內心的狀態
為了接納這種力量，我們就必須改變在我們心中占主導地位的精神狀態。如果我們整天都沉浸在怯懦、恐懼、憂慮等想法中，就很難為一時的衝動和快樂而改變，當然就不能指望那些積極、強大、創造性的想法能夠占據我們的心靈，就會錯過美好、強大、和諧的狀態。記住引力法則，它會準確無誤地按照你的性格、思維以及占主導地位的精神狀態，在生活中以同樣的狀態來回饋於你。
- 認識你內心的潛能
我們的內心蘊含著無盡的潛能，但隻有在你第一次認識它、使用它之後，它才變得對你清晰可見。然後才能擁有它，把它注入到你的意識中，讓它與你合而為一。
- 找到能量之源泉
自古以來，健康長壽一直都是人們孜孜不倦的追求，想盡各種辦法，但收效甚微。一旦你能夠掌控自己的潛能，就會發現自己變得耳聰目明，腿腳便捷，渾身洋溢著青春的活力；你的身上就會有源源不斷的能量湧出，仿佛得到了長生不考的靈丹妙藥。
- 不斷地獲取知識
知識的獲得帶來能力的增長，知識是宇宙的靈魂，它使我們的思想變得強大而富有能量，不斷地獲取知識，你將因此變得強大。
- 知識是人類思想的結晶
知識是人類思想的結晶和升華。如果我們的知識體係停止進步，思想不再提升，我們的能力就會停滯不前，甚至消退。
- 堅持你的理想
堅定不移的理想，是成功不可或缺的必要條件。在它的驅使下，你的精神能量將會投向一個明確的目標，與之融為一體。你將因此獲得充足的信心，驅除一切險阻。你將擁有積極進取的勇氣和能力，將富足與和諧吸引到你的身邊。堅持你的理想，即使麵對逆境，一旦環境轉變，你將聽到心底發出的召喚，你的堅持將得到豐厚的回報。
- 思想、想像力與理想
思想是實現理想所用的材料，而想像力就是理想的精神工作室。思想、想像力與理想結合起來，成功的階梯因些得以築造，一切偉大的事物得以誕生。
- 看到結果，也要看到原因
隻有很少的人懂得，他們所見的一切都隻是結果，在結果之前還有原因的存在。而絕大多數人都以為一切都隻是結果，卻不知道結果由原因決定。他們因為不知道這一點而顯得焦躁不安。
- 看穿表象，遙望未來
當我們的思想能夠看穿事物的表象，遙望未來，一切都與先前截然不同了，卑微的小事變得意義深遠，了然無趣的瑣事變得趣味無窮；一些我們曾經認為毫無用處的事情將成為生命中至關重要的存在。
本課重點
１、什麽是想象力？
——想像力是我們預想未來的照明燈，是我們新思想的導航者，所有的發明家、探索者都必須依賴於它。
２、運用想像力會有什麽結果？
——將使你的思想大展宏圖、開拓未來。
３、怎樣獲得想像力？
——想像力的成長離不開訓練。
４、如何區別想像力和白日夢？
——想像力是富有建設性的思維的一種，它會帶來建設性的行動，白日夢則是精神渙散的表現，它隻會導致迷茫和失落。
５、錯誤由什麽產生？
——無知導致錯誤。
６、學習知識會有什麽結果？
——提高我們思考的能力。
７、什麽會導致一個積極的將來？
——是理想，堅定不移的理想能夠帶來富有成效的行動，和隨之而來的成功。
８、敏銳地分析觀察會產生怎樣的效果？
——開發洞察力與想象力，增加知識與智慧。
９、這些將來帶來怎樣的結果？
——成功和和諧。
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Part Eight
In this Part you will find that you may freely choose what you think but the result of your thought is governed by an immutable law! Is not this a wonderful thought? Is it not wonderful to know that our lives are not subject to caprice or variability of any kind? That they are governed by law. This stability is our opportunity, because by complying with the law we can secure the desired effect with invariable precision.
It is the Law which makes the Universe one grand paean of Harmony. If it were not for law, the Universe would be a Chaos instead of a Cosmos.
Here, then, is the secret of the origin of both good and evil, this is all the good and evil there ever was or ever will be.
Let me illustrate. Thought results in action, if your thought is constructive and harmonious, the result will be good; if your thought is destructive or inharmonious, the result will be evil.
There is therefore but one law, one principle, on cause, one Source of Power, and good and evil are simply words which have been coined to indicate the result of our action, or our compliance or non-compliance with this law.
The importance of this is well illustrated in the lives of Emerson and Carlyle. Emerson loved the good and his life was a symphony of peace and harmony, Carlyle hated the bad, and his life was a record of perpetual discord and inharmony.
Here we have two grand men, each intent upon achieving the same ideal, but one makes use of constructive thought and is therefore in harmony with Natural Law, the other makes use of destructive thought and therefore brings upon himself discord of every kind and character.
It is evident therefore that we are to hate nothing, not even the "bad," because hatred is destructive, and we shall soon find that by entertaining destructive thought we are sowing the "wind" and in turn shall reap the "whirlwind."
PART EIGHT
1. Thought contains a vital principle, because it is the creative principle of the Universe and by its nature will combine with other similar thoughts.
2. As the one purpose of life is growth, all principles underlying existence must contribute to give it effect. Thought, therefore, takes form and the law of growth eventually brings it into manifestation.
3. You may freely choose what you think, but the result of your thought is governed by an immutable law. Any line of thought persisted in cannot fail to produce its result in the character, health and circumstances of the individual. Methods whereby we can substitute habits of constructive thinking for those which we have found produce only undesirable effects are therefore of primary importance.
4. We all know that this is by no means easy. Mental habits are difficult to control, but it can be done and the way to do it is to begin at once to substitute constructive thought for destructive thought. Form the habit of analyzing every thought. If it is necessary, if its manifestation in the objective will be a benefit, not only to yourself, but to all whom it may affect in any way, keep it; treasure it; it is of value; it is in tune with the Infinite; it will grow and develop and produce fruit an hundred fold. On the other hand, it will be well for you to keep this quotation from George Matthews Adams, in mind, "Learn to keep the door shut, keep out of your mind, out of your office, and out of your world, every element that seeks admittance with no definite helpful end in view."
5. If your thought has been critical or destructive, and has resulted in any condition of discord or inharmony in your environment, it may be necessary for you to cultivate a mental attitude which will be conducive to constructive thought.
6. The imagination will be found to be a great assistance in this direction; the cultivation of the imagination leads to the development of the ideal out of which your future will emerge.
7. The imagination gathers up the material by which the Mind weaves the fabric in which your future is to be clothed.
8. Imagination is the light by which we can penetrate new worlds of thought and experience.
9. Imagination is the mighty instrument by which every discoverer, every inventor, opened the way from precedent to experience. Precedent said, "It cannot be done;" experience said, "It is done."
10. Imagination is a plastic power, molding the things of sense into new forms and ideals.
11. Imagination is the constructive form of thought which must precede every constructive form of action.
12. A builder cannot build a structure of any kind until he has first received the plans from the architect, and the architect must get them from his imagination.
13. The Captain of Industry cannot build a giant corporation which may coordinate hundreds of smaller corporations and thousands of employees, and utilize millions of dollars of capital until he has first created the entire work in his imagination. Objects in the material world are as clay in the potter's hand; it is in the Master Mind that the real things are created, and it is by the use of the imagination that the work is done. In order to cultivate the imagination it must be exercised. Exercise is necessary to cultivate mental muscle as well as physical muscle. It must be supplied with nourishment or it cannot grow.
14. Do not confuse Imagination with Fancy, or that form of daydreaming in which some people like to indulge. Daydreaming is a form of mental dissipation which may lead to mental disaster.
15. Constructive imagination means mental labor, by some considered to be the hardest kind of labor, but, if so, it yields the greatest returns, for all the great things in life have come to men and women who had the capacity to think, to imagine, and to make their dreams come true.
16. When you have become thoroughly conscious of the fact that Mind is the only creative principle, that it is Omnipotent, Omniscient and Omnipresent, and that you can consciously come into harmony with this Omnipotence through your power of thought, you will have taken a long step in the right direction.
17. The next step is to place yourself in position to receive this power. As it is Omnipresent, it must be within you. We know that this is so because we know that all power is from within, but it must be developed, unfolded, cultivated; in order to do this we must be receptive, and this receptivity is acquired just as physical strength is gained, by exercise.
18. The law of attraction will certainly and unerringly bring to you the conditions, environment, and experiences in life, corresponding with your habitual, characteristic, predominant mental attitude. Not what you think once in a while when you are in church, or have just read a good book, BUT your predominant mental attitude is what counts.
19. You can not entertain weak, harmful, negative thoughts ten hours a day and expect to bring about beautiful, strong and harmonious conditions by ten minutes of strong, positive, creative thought.
20. Real power comes from within. All power that anybody can possibly use is within man, only waiting to be brought into visibility by his first recognizing it, and then affirming it as his, working it into his consciousness until he becomes one with it.
21. People say that they desire abundant life, and so they do, but so many interpret this to mean that if they will exercise their muscles or breathe scientifically, eat certain foods in certain ways, drink so many glasses of water every day of just a certain temperature, keep out of drafts, they will attain the abundant life they seek. The result of such methods is but indifferent. However, when man awakens to the truth, and affirms his oneness with all Life, he finds that he takes on the clear eye, the elastic step, the vigor of youth; he finds that he has discovered the source of all power.
22. All mistakes are but the mistakes of ignorance. Knowledge gaining and consequent power is what determines growth and evolution. The recognition and demonstration of knowledge is what constitutes power, and this power is spiritual power, and this spiritual power is the power which lies at the heart of all things; it is the soul of the universe.
23. This knowledge is the result of man's ability to think; thought is therefore the germ of man's conscious evolution. When man ceases to advance in his thoughts and ideals, his forces immediately begin to disintegrate and his countenance gradually registers these changing conditions.
24. Successful men make it their business to hold ideals of the conditions which they wish to realize. They constantly hold in mind the next step necessary to the ideal for which they are striving. Thoughts are the materials with which they build, and the imagination is their mental workshop. Mind is the ever-moving force with which they secure the persons and circumstance necessary to build their success structure, and imagination is the matrix in which all great things are fashioned.
25. If you have been faithful to your ideal, you will hear the call when circumstances are ready to materialize your plans and results will correspond in the exact ratio of your fidelity to your ideal. The ideal steadily held is what pre-determines and attracts the necessary conditions for its fulfillment.
26. It is thus that you may weave a garment of spirit and power into the web of your entire existence; it is thus that you may lead a charmed life and be forever protected from all harm; it is thus that you may become a positive force whereby conditions of opulence and harmony may be attracted to you.
27. This is the leaven which is gradually permeating the general consciousness and is largely responsible for the conditions of unrest which are everywhere evident.
28. In the last Part you created a mental image, you brought it from the invisible into the visible; this week I want you to take an object and follow it back to its origination, see of what it really consists. If you do this you will develop imagination, insight, perception, and sagacity. These come not by the superficial observation of the multitude, but by a keen analytical observation which sees below the surface.
29. It is the few who know that the things which they see are only effects, and understand the causes by which these effects were brought into existence.
30. Take the same position as heretofore and visualize a Battleship; see the grim monster floating on the surface of the water; there appears to be no life anywhere about; all is silence; you know that by far the largest part of the vessel is under water; out of sight; you know that the ship is as large and as heavy as a twenty-story skyscraper; you know that there are hundreds of men ready to spring to their appointed task instantly; you know that every department is in charge of able, trained, skilled officials who have proven themselves competent to take charge of this marvelous piece of mechanism; you know that although it lies apparently oblivious to everything else, it has eyes which see everything for miles around, and nothing is permitted to escape its watchful vision; you know that while it appears quiet, submissive and innocent, it is prepared to hurl a steel projectile weighing thousands of pounds at an enemy many miles away; this and much more you can bring to mind with comparatively no effort whatever. But how did the battleship come to be where it is; how did it come into existence in the first place? All of this you want to know if you are a careful observer.
31. Follow the great steel plates through the foundries, see the thousands of men employed in their production; go still further back, and see the ore as it comes from the mine, see it loaded on barges or cars, see it melted and properly treated; go back still further and see the architect and engineers who planned the vessel; let the thought carry you back still further in order to determine why they planned the vessel; you will see that you are now so far back that the vessel is something intangible, it no longer exists, it is now only a thought existing in the brain of the architect; but from where did the order come to plan the vessel? Probably from the Secretary of Defense; but probably this vessel was planned long before the war was thought of, and that Congress had to pass a bill appropriating the money; possibly there was opposition, and speeches for or against the bill. Whom do these Congressmen represent? They represent you and me, so that our line of thought begins with the Battleship and ends with ourselves, and we find in the last analysis that our own thought is responsible for this and many other things, of which we seldom think, and a little further reflection will develop the most important fact of all and that is, if someone had not discovered the law by which this tremendous mass of steel and iron could be made to float upon the water, instead of immediately going to the bottom, the battleship could not have come into existence at all.
32. This law is that, "the specific gravity of any substance is the weight of any volume of it, compared with an equal volume of water." The discovery of this law revolutionized every kind of ocean travel, commerce and warfare, and made the existence of the battleship, aircraft carriers, and cruise ships possible.
33. You will find exercises of this kind invaluable. When the thought has been trained to look below the surface everything takes on a different appearance, the insignificant becomes significant, the uninteresting interesting; the things which we supposed to be of no importance are seen to be the only really vital things in existence.
Look To This Day For it is Life, the very Life of Life. In Its brief course lie all the Verities and Realities of your existence; The Bliss of Growth; The Glory of Action; The Splendor of Beauty; For Yesterday is but a Dream, And tomorrow is only a Vision: But Today well lived makes every Yesterday a Dream of Happiness, and Every Tomorrow a Vision of Hope. Look well, therefore, to This Day!
From the Sanskrit
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Study Questions with Answers
71. What is the imagination?
A form of constructive thought. The light by which we penetrate new worlds of thought and experience. The mighty instrument by which every inventor or discoverer opened the way from precedent to experience.
72. What is the result of imagination?
The cultivation of the imagination leads to the development of the ideal out of which your future will emerge.
73. How may it be cultivated?
By exercise; it must be supplied with nourishment or it cannot live.
74. How does imagination differ from daydreaming?
Day dreaming is a form of mental dissipation, while imagination is a form of constructive thought which must precede every constructive action.
75. What are mistakes?
The result of ignorance.
76. What is knowledge?
The result of man's ability to think.
77. What is the power with which successful men build?
Mind is the very moving force with which they secure the persons and circumstances necessary to complete their plans.
78. What pre-determines the result?
The ideal held steadily in mind attracts the necessary conditions for its fulfillment.
79. What is the result of a keen analytical observation?
The development of imagination, insight, perception and sagacity.
80. To what do these lead?
Opulence and harmony.
