The Way of Peace - 23 Self Help Classics

James Allen

The power of meditation leads one down the pathway to Divinity. Allen defines meditation as “intense dwelling in

thought on an idea or subject in order to understand it;

whatever you meditate on will become ingrained in you.” The act of meditation can physically transform thoughts into actions.

However, do not dwell on the negative, as worrying only escalates the problem. This is the secret to all growth in

spiritual life and knowledge, but it is more than sitting around and thinking. You have to make the effort to achieve your goal.

It is along the path we take to gain success that we form our identity and character to be able to handle the success once it arrives.

The Search for Truth

Meditation must take place in the morning as soon as you rise from sleep. Getting up early is mandatory in meditation because it requires self-discipline to get out of bed when your body wants to continue being lazy. Also, by meditating before the rest of nature rises, including the sun, our bodies are

enveloped in silence and peace before the hustle and bustle of

the day begins allowing a more deep and meaningful

meditation. In the morning our stomachs are still and empty, and our brains are void of the business of the day. During meditation, dwell on the positives you want to enter your life.

5 Great Meditations

1. Love 2. Pity 3. Joy

4. Impurity 5. Serenity

Masters: Self and Truth

“Self is the denial of truth.”

Humility is defined as being free of vanity, stubbornness and egocentrism. If you are in yourself, you think your opinions or religious beliefs are the truth and all others are wrong. Truth is defined as unselfish, holy and with an aspiring heart, a peace is fulfilled. The Truth shall make you free is written in the Bible.

If you seek the truth in your life let self die, with its lusts and desires, opinions, appetites, limited conceptions and prejudices.

The truth is a renunciation of inner sin, and all suffering is of self. Cultivate your heart and develop balance, stability and

influence, as you will need these to become more powerful in truth. Power is developed, and can be developed by anyone who makes the effort. A man who is governed by self, and not principles of truth, will do anything to succeed, be it good or bad. In an effort to defend themselves they are suspicious and paranoid, constantly scheming on how to protect their self.

Such a person would think of a financial loss, or a decrease in comfort or death as the worst possible fate. Whenever

someone who follows self senses a threat to their peace, brotherhood or universal love, they make war to fix the

problem because that person really believes in hate, strife and selfishness.

Someone that is true to principles of love, faith, hope, good will and honesty, will not desert their principles because they are powerful. Their work will endure here on earth and they will be influential and successful. Meditate on divine love to bring it into your life and your faults will be presented clearly in your mind so that you may change them to make you a

more peaceful spirit. This power gives you self-control and makes you successful in any situation. Break from custom and tradition, become unconventional and without opinion and walk alone following your inner light.

Divine versus Human Love

Divine love is different from human love of which we are familiar in that it is free from partiality; it is universal. People who are proud, ambitious and self-seeking will inevitably suffer from defeat, misfortune, or humiliation because they are

afflicted in their soul. Until they realize that they are striving for the wrong rewards and realize the truth, they will suffer.

Divine love does not leave heartaches and is marked by purity, charity, self-control, patience and a sweet disposition. To divine love, there is no such thing as evil; it does not exist. Allen

states that the Golden Age will occur when the rich quit despising the poor and vice versa. Instead of living in

competition and jealousy, people will sympathize on the cause of their situation allowing them to think with “perfect calmness and deep compassion.” The way of peace has been presented, but it is up to the individual to make the first step to change.

“He that hateth his brother is a murderer.”

Entering the Infinite

“As the smallest drop of water detached from the ocean contains all the qualities of the ocean, so man, detached in consciousness from the Infinite, contains within him its

likeness; and as the drop of water must, by the law of its nature, ultimately find its way back to the ocean and lose itself in its silent depths, so must man, by the unfailing law of his nature, at last return to his source, and lose himself in the great ocean of the I.”

This quote from the book describes in vivid imagery the infinite and the process of life. Allen states that all life forms are in a continuous circle, and that everything must return to from where it came, meaning death is inevitable. However, to make the circle complete, the truth must be ascertained during this journey or else the circle is incomplete. The Great Law of Love is defined as rest, peace and harmony, and can be

understood by anyone. The dogmas that are man-made in an effort to understand truth are completely useless. The truth is so complex and beyond anything we can imagine; we cannot simply recreate it. Truth is simply stated, but requires complete and total change of oneself. “Give up self, come unto me (away from all that defiles) and I will give you rest” through inward purity. First you must restrain your passions, and leave

excitement, passion and anything intellectual to “enter the

heart to find silence, calm, bliss and meditate there” to find the truth. You will obtain freedom and peace on your own through your individual effort. You are what you choose to be. This is

how you enter the infinite.

Is this Program for Me?

This program is meant for people who are looking for the meaning of peace and are seeking an inner peace that can only be found within themselves. Not to be taken lightly, “The Way of Peace” explains the reasons people search in vain in all the wrong areas of their lives to find something that is resting silently waiting and wanting to be discovered. As people read this book they should apply the ideals to their own perspective and then later meditate on what they have read and

interpreted as the way of peace.

Sum of it All

“The Way of Peace” is another book written by Allen in the genre of the New Thought Movement. Written to teach others about the process of discovering inner peace, strength, and harmony, the way of peace directs the reader back to

themselves. This book is more of a spiritual guide and anyone who reads this book will find more a more philosophical

perspective to finding happiness.

In document 23 Self Help Classics (Page 180-186)