As A Man Thinketh
Assessment by Peter Fella (Kenya)
1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?
We, as human beings are the creator and the determinate of our lives and our reality. And that “thought” is both the seed and the nourishment that shapes our lives. Luckily we as individual human beings have the power of choice to determine what thoughts (seeds and nourishment) to place in our minds. And as basic as it sounds it is the basic building block of our reality and situation. For as the seed is the beginning of a trees life, thought is the beginning of any reality we want.
2. What were the seven ideas which were personally most important to you and why? List these seven ideas followed by an explanation after each one as to why it was important to you. Use personal examples from your own life.
i. That there is Personal Choice.
Throughout life we go through and experience many frustrations, challenges and tribulations which we tend to feel helpless against. Most of the time, we are left with no idea on how to possibly deal with them. Over come with confusion both on what has happened to us, how should we be and what to do next. We are left rendered hopeless and feeling choice-less. But yet this is a fallacy of “thought”, a fallacy of our thinking. Truth be told, we do have choice and truth be “thought” we are in control, regardless of the situation.
Looking back at the various key moments in my life I can recall being in such situation. And looking back in reality it was my thinking that trapped me. So it creates a sense of ownership creating a sense of responsibility towards whatever happens in life.
ii. That Choice is not costly or expensive but can be easily attained.
Most solutions always seem to have an element of costs either being time or money, we were tend to think. But to chose to change your thoughts or your though process is a basic action that even from a physical-energy-consumption level it is insignificant. Some people feel that even that it would take a generation or two to rectify all the past misfortunes. That it
iii. That it is as simple and easy as making any decision.
The concept is not complicated. It does not require someone to be literate even a high school diploma. It is something that anyone can grasp from any age which even a 6 year old child can master. And that is what they
iv. That it is universal – it is not specific to a status, level of education, race, religious belief or non-belief or wealth
Someone thing which a believe a lot of people experience is the fallacy of thinking that once I get money, once I get that house I will be able to afford the gym and get healthy. Or once I get a job, car and money I can afford to get the girl of my dreams. Using a personal experience in my past like most people I fell in love with someone from a different country and even status from me. And it was a shared and mutual feeling. But in the end of it all I felt it was too much for me to handle that I did not have the finance to sustain that relationship and make the other person happy, so I took the easy root out and used all my excuses to justify my decision to end it. But looking back I was wrong in the principle of my thinking. I was looking at the smaller things and not addressing the bigger issues i.e. what is important in my life, what makes me happy, etc instead I was looking at I don’t have money.. yet, I am not man-enough for her, etc which are easy changeable circumstances as compared to happiness.
And I guess when looking at people who have money and thinking that they prosperity and beautiful girls were built for them and not for me – I had lost the big picture, instead of looking up and looked down. Now I have friends who started at the same level as I did, are now even bigger than those who I thought the world was meant for.
v. That it is all composing – that it can affect your happiness, life, prosperity, health etc
In today’s world we are overloaded with lots of quick-fast solutions that more or less leaves us with a mild feeling of happiness or in most times a feeling of pleasure. And each quick fix deals or handles a small part of our lives. One claims to deal with our health, when another can get you a better job, another can keep your marriage together so on and so on.
This very basic idea – “As a thinketh so in his heart it is so” shows that it does not matter the problem or challenge that a person might be facing. For as long as he is able enough to think through it and see where he would like to be, anything is possible.
vi. It’s a long lasting solution
As basic as the idea seems, with discipline and consistent application this solutions can have a long lasting effect. This idea is something which is lifeless or timeless. I remember reading about such an idea in meditation that everything started with our thoughts.
For me it inspires me to keep “dream-thinking”, since if “I can imagine it I can realize it”.
vii. It is Nature.
For me the book communicates to everyone’s’ that seems nature. It seems nature that by thinking we start the chain reaction from thought to action to behavior. That’s our thoughts are a mirror of our reality; since it is in our thoughts that we analyze our reality. Are our thoughts are our perceptions, and perception is reality.
For me it was during the bad times that my thoughts were negative. And it was during the happy times that my thoughts were happy. I think if anyone does the honest exercise of thinking of how their thinking was during those periods in their life they could see that they their thoughts matched their reality.
3. How will these ideas or lessons help you in a practical way, both in your daily personal life and in helping you to create a better world? If so, how?
Firstly it has brought back the old concepts that we tend to grow up with and seem easy to believe when one is young without experiencing the various complexities of life and what it can offer you. So, there is that sense of connecting with that inner child and that youthful freedom; Freedom of choice.
So its acts as a reminder that anything is possible. Now that you survived your teens while others have and are battling with the next stage of life that those youth ideas of life and what life can be are still very real and attainable. That it is just a matter of regaining focus and putting your thoughts back on the right railroad track.
Concerning the world, the concept of the book brings about feelings of excitement. That anything is possible. Because if I can think of my beautiful positive reality and through my thoughts along start a journey to achieving of course with hard work and consistency than anyone can. And if we could all have positive thoughts to the world and our surrounds than we could all actualize THAT world.
4. Quotes: Are there any statements which the author made that particularly got your attention? If so, please quote them and comment as to why they were important to you.
“As a man thinketh in his heart so is he,”
“He that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened”
“The soul attracts that which it secretly harbors; that which it loves, and also that which it fears; it reaches the height of its cherished aspirations; it falls to the level of its unchastened desires,–and circumstances are the means by which the soul receives its own.”
“Men do not attract that which they want, but that which they are.”
“To desire is to obtain; to aspire is to, achieve”
“The Vision that you glorify in your mind, the Ideal that you enthrone in your heart–this you will build your life by, this you will become.”
5. Is there anything in the book that you do not understand or are unclear about, or are there ideas which you disagree with and, if so, why?
No.
6. Did the book contain exercises for the reader to complete? If so, did you complete all of the exercises and did you find them helpful?
No
7. Was there anything you read in the book that you would like to comment on that was not covered in the previous questions? If so, please comment.
That there
Please rate the following questions on a scale from 1 to 10. Ten is good and one is poor.
A. How interesting was it to read? 10
B. How helpful were the contents? 10
C. How easy was it to understand? 10
D. Would you recommend it to others? 10
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 10
Jonathan Livingston Seagull
Assessment by Peter Fella (Kenya)
1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?
That until we realise that “… a seagull is an unlimited idea of freedom, an image of the Great Gull, and your whole body, from wingtip to wingtip, is nothing more than your thought itself.” Then we will never realize what we are able to do or achieve. For we lock ourselves in own limitations as an individual and as a human but not as a being. And until we can free ourselves from the limitations that we have chained onto ourselves we will never really be able to understand what we are capable of doing.
2. What were the seven ideas which were personally most important to you and why? List these seven ideas followed by an explanation after each one as to why it was important to you. Use personal examples from your own life.
i. Being what you want to be and what you are, regardless.
For me this is a very important part of the story and the concept is introduced right from the beginning of the book. For me it entails a sense of freedom of oneself with oneself. As in being able to do and be anything one would like to be and be free and happy about it.
For me, being bi-racial and having grown up dealing with basic identify issues that maybe most young people in my community did not have to deal with, I have come to learn that it is important to be who you are and who you want to be, regardless. Regardless of what is considered a norm, stereotypical, traditional and so on. Since, in the end it is you who has to live, your daily life with life that you have chosen. It doesn’t matter if you started off as a “seagull” you can still be whatever you want to end up as. You can define what you are and who you are.
ii. Living your passion, regardless.
This is one of the most beautiful ideas for me. The main character in the book clearly had a strong burning passion. Throughout the book it was this burning passion that kept him going and kept him strong through most of the difficult times. To be self-driven guided by your dreams is something that I wish for everyone. In the story Jonathan had a passion that kept him alive and going. It was so strong that it was contagious and spread to others who did not have any.
Looking back at my life I can recall that when I was doing the things that I was most passionate about nothing seemed to hurt and everything seemed possible. I believe it is important for everyone to have a passion to pursue whether full-time or part-time. It brings relevance to ones life and gives them positive energy.
iii. Reaching your full potential, regardless.
Throughout the story from the very beginning all the way till the end. Jonathan kept going further and further, trying and testing till became reach his ultimate. And I am sure if the author had gone further he would have shown us how Jonathan went even further. And for me, to reach ones potential is the greatest achievement in life; To realise oneself.
I believe that just like everyone else I am alive to reach my potential. In all the key points in my life I learned something. And at each point I elevated my thinking to a higher platform. And for me this is important as I would like to continue reaching higher and higher. And here I said “regardless” because I find this to be a very important goal in life. And we should never compromise on this goal.
iv. Never giving up, regardless.
For me the main element in the book is about never giving up regardless. Regardless of negative thoughts, rules, family going against your dreams, being kicked out by your community so on and so on. It is a mindset which I believe everyone needs to develop sometime in life. Sometimes, we forgot what is means to hold on to those things that we value in life and start to find things to fear and at this point life becomes pointless.
From my person experience, when entered the working world for the basic reason of getting paid I and one of my major frustrations I was having was to start comprising on the things that I valued the most. And it almost made me give up on the small things that I believed in, just to find out later that I did not have to give up on them. So to read this element in the book I found it inspiring.
v. Learning as much as you can.
This is something which has been recognised to be a crucial element to a happy prosperous life; continuous learning. I remember finishing university and joining the work force and the one thing that really got to me was how the working environment is not a learning environment. But in the end I saw it as a learning experience where I was used to a learning support environment I had to create my own learning environment and network.
For me when we stop learning we stop living. In the book the character is on a continuous learning curve; from being a student to being a teacher, showing his growth at the different stages of his learning.
vi. Sharing what you have with those whose ask for it.
After gaining knowledge the next step in learning is to learn how to hand over that learning or knowledge to another person so that he/she can hand it over to another person and so on and so on. Without the message having been skewed or changed along the way.
From my personal experience after spending so much time researching, consulting and gaining as much information and experience as possible to the point where it no longer becomes useful to me I have found the next stage of my learning is to learn how to share 1) the knowledge and 2) the passion for gaining such knowledge. And as a human society for me this has been a crucial point, that we can spend a life gaining all that we can gain and hand it over to the next generation for them to learn from and add.
vii. Knowing when to leave.
I have seen when people tend to hang on too long to something that they should have let go off. And I have been guilty of this for various things. I guess it is natural to get comfortable where you are and want to stay doing what you are doing. But then there comes a time when you efforts do not give as much returns to you and to the people you are impacting anymore. In the end you end up being more frustrated and imbalance comes into play that affects all related parties. We have seen it all around the world from companies to institutions. Where, individuals refuse to let go of the empires that they have built over time. Just to see in the end their forceful removal.
I have personally been involved in organizations which I have found hard to leave. Or getting used to the comfort found myself unable to leave. And just like a parent has to let go of a child and we have learnt to learn to let things go so that we can move on to the next bigger and better experience.
3. How will these ideas or lessons help you in a practical way, both in your daily personal life and in helping you to create a better world? If so, how?
For me the story is a reminder of an early stage in my life. Where, nothing matter but my dreams, and my passion kept me going wherever I went. It kept me sane in times which seemed like pure insanity. It kept me stable when there was nothing stable about my situation. And it kept me focused on what I wanted to achieve in life. So now having been reminded and being reconnected to these values I find it easier to relive them again.
So for me this story is a reminder or a rekindle of that young person who did not fear the world or all that could be achieved.
4. Quotes: Are there any statements which the author made that particularly got your attention? If so, please quote them and comment as to why they were important to you.
“To begin with … you’ve got to understand that a seagull is an unlimited idea of freedom, an image of the Great Gull, and your whole body, from wingtip to wingtip, is nothing more than your thought itself.”
“I’m ready” he said at last.
5. Is there anything in the book that you do not understand or are unclear about, or are there ideas which you disagree with and, if so, why?
No
6. Did the book contain exercises for the reader to complete? If so, did you complete all of the exercises and did you find them helpful?
No
7. Was there anything you read in the book that you would like to comment on that was not covered in the previous questions? If so, please comment.
No
Please rate the following questions on a scale from 1 to 10. Ten is good and one is poor.
A. How interesting was it to read? 10
B. How helpful were the contents? 10
C. How easy was it to understand? 10
D. Would you recommend it to others? 10
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 10