James Allen Quotes About Self Improvement

All These Things Added (1903), Part II, “The Heavenly Life,” chapter “Perfect Freedom,” printed page 139 / Wikisource scan leaf 145. “Freedom resides in individual self-conquest” appears in Allen’s contrast between outward agitation and the inward emancipation he associates with mastery of passion, error and ignorance; this remains his spiritual-moral conception of freedom, not a modern political definition.

All These Things Added (1903), Part II, “The Heavenly Life,” chapter “Perfect Freedom,” printed page 138 / Wikisource scan leaf 144. “By self-enlightenment is Perfect Freedom found” opens Allen’s argument that inward self-knowledge and self-mastery are prerequisites for the freedom he describes. The explicitly religious and moral framework is retained rather than converted into modern political, clinical or psychological guidance.

As a Man Thinketh; Allen uses circumstance as a mirror for character and habitual thought.

As a Man Thinketh, chapter “Effect of Thought on Circumstances.”

As a Man Thinketh, “Effect of Thought on Circumstances.”

As a Man Thinketh, chapter “Effect of Thought on Circumstances”; the sentence introduces Allen’s claim that self-examination can change a person’s relation to circumstances.

As a Man Thinketh, end of “Visions and Ideals”; Allen summarizes the chapter by linking dominant ideals with the life a person builds.

Out from the Heart, opening section; Allen develops the metaphor of life unfolding from the hidden conditions of the heart and mind.

Out from the Heart; the sentence introduces Allen’s argument that ruling the mind changes one’s relation to conduct and experience.

Out from the Heart; Allen lists contrasting mental conditions while arguing that the inner life strongly shapes experience.

The Way of Peace, “The Realization of Perfect Peace,” Project Gutenberg #10740. Allen places this sentence in a religious exhortation about surrendering selfish desires and entering what he calls an inward resting-place; it is period spiritual teaching, not a claim that distress is always voluntarily chosen.