One of the great mysteries of mankind is that of the human mind and the relationship between its conscious and subconscious elements.  Most of us are well aware of how important conscious decisions are to our lives, since we can see the result of our decisions in a tangible manner.  What remains a great mystery is the effect of our subconscious mind in shaping our thoughts and actions.

One of the great insights made by James Allen in his famous book “As A Man Thinketh” is the fact that thought and character are inextricably linked to one another.  This principal is also reflected in the ‘Law of Attraction,” which outlines how the subject and character of your thoughts attract what you think about toward you.  The thing that remains a mystery to most people is how this effect manifests.

It is important to begin by explaining that the subconscious mind is much less linear than that of conscious decisions.  The subconscious mind works by framing the context in which we perceive situations *before* the conscious mind makes decisions.  The importance of this relationship lies in the fact that consciously acting against your impulses for a prolonged period of time requires a tremendous degree of willpower that is extremely difficult to build and maintain.  The way that we can influence our subconscious mind is by focusing our thoughts on the things we want to achieve.  In a way, our minds are a fertile garden that will grow whatever seeds we choose to plant.  If we are not careful to plant the right seeds, cultivate the soil, and tend the weeds it will result in a tangled nest of thorns & thistles.

The importance of this principal comes from the way that our mind processes and frames each individual situation.  What some people see as a crisis, others see as an opportunity.  The difference comes from the way that our mind has been trained to work.  And in what appears to be a strange twist of destiny, the objects of our concentration will appear to be drawn toward us.  This is not due to some mystical force of the ether . . . it is simply the result of removing the biases that ordinarily impede our vision.  Opportunity is not mystically drawn toward you through occult meditation.  Opportunity is discovered when you train your mind to recognize it.  It is discovered when you remove the mental barriers that have previously stopped your achievement.

Ultimately, the mind of each person truly is a garden.  For those who take the effort to tend the garden of their mind with focused effort, the result will be beautiful achievements and wondrous enlightenment.  For those who leave the garden of their mind to chance, it will undoubtedly be dominated by the weeds of doubt, despair, disappointment, and desolation.  Are you tending the seeds of your future achievement, or are the weeds of disappointment controlling the tenor of your circumstances.

 

When life becomes difficult, it can become very easy to believe that we are the victims of circumstance.  It is comforting to blame the economy, or whichever political party happens to be in power.  (Ironically, the political party in power typically blames the people that were in power beforehand as a way to try and absolve themselves of responsibility)

However, as individuals there is only a narrow scope of things that we can really control.  I do not have the ability to directly influence the political system since my one vote is easily dissipated.  Thus, the only area of my life that I can ‘really’ influence is what I choose to do and how I choose to react to my environment.

The importance of this insight lies in the fact that many people do not actively choose how they will act . . . instead, they react to their environment emotionally.  Therefore, in a very real way their environment shapes them instead of them shaping their environment.  Conversely, if we wish to exercise influence over our circumstances it requires that each action be a conscious choice.  James Allen described this phenomenon in his book: “As A Man Thinketh.”

The composition of the human mind is such that the thoughts we hold in our mind will manifest themselves in action by means of influencing our perceptions.  When our minds are fixed on blame and failure, then all that we will see is failure.  This focus on failure will naturally result in actions that take us in the direction of our thoughts.  When we consciously fix our minds on thoughts of improvement and achievement, we will remain open to opportunities.  Once we become open to opportunity, they seem to live everywhere that we look.

In the end, it is our thoughts that determine what we perceive.  This perception influences our actions and slowly molds the composition of our character.  Thus, it is figuratively and literally true that we are who we choose to be.