As a Man Thinketh
Assessment by Richmond Kebwao (Kenya)
1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?
Just as a plant sprouts from a tiny seed, each action we perform is an outgrowth of our thoughts. From these actions, patterns emerge. In turn, these patterns come to constitute our character. Our character or personality begins with our thoughts. But why is this important?
Well, have you ever known someone who always seemed to give up on projects or relationships, and at the same time had a pretty pessimistic attitude? You guessed it: those two things; attitude and action are closely related. Underachievers tend to disappoint themselves because they think very little of themselves to begin with. Attitude problems often snowball and have severe consequences. Yet, there’s a very simple solution.
If our thoughts shape our character, it’s only logical that changing our thoughts will change our character, too. By changing the nature of their thoughts, pessimistic people might find that they have a bit more to smile about. Anyone who attempts to master his thoughts can do much more than eliminate negative character traits. By working on his thoughts the right way, an individual can even obtain what the author refers to as Divine Perfection. In other words, by weeding out bad or useless thoughts, a person can bring joy, strength, peace and wisdom to his life.
Those are some pretty attractive benefits! So why not start mastering your thoughts today? The alternative, after all, isn’t pretty. Unmanaged thoughts can make you into your biggest obstacle; negative attitudes literally have the power to destroy the things you cherish and love.
Ever failed miserably at something and blamed it on the weather, the unpleasant phone call you had with your mother that day or on some particularly nasty childhood experience? Blaming failure on external factors is something we’re all guilty of. It might make us feel better, but it only sets us back.
Our circumstances; that is, all those external factors that impact our lives – are closely linked to our character. But they aren’t linked in the way you might first assume. It’s all too easy to think that our experiences and our living conditions shape who we are. But the truth is: we shape our world just as much as it shapes us!
Some of us age gracefully, while some of us to put it lightly! Do not. Bad habits, lack of access to healthcare and unfortunate genes all play a role. But there’s one factor we often forget to consider: our attitude.
We’ve already seen what a powerful influence our thoughts have on both our character and the conditions we face. It should come as no surprise, then, that our thoughts impact our bodies, too. Unhappy thoughts have a slew of unfortunate side effects: a higher heart rate, poorer sleep, headaches, and yes, wrinkles from all that frowning!
In the second blink, we learned that external factors aren’t to blame for the way we are or the mistakes we make. This may seem like a great burden, however. Are we solely to blame for our failures?
This doesn’t seem like a very helpful attitude, so let’s change our perspective. If we think we’re being victimized, we’re bound to feel and act like victims, and continue being oppressed. Yet, if we don’t let ourselves feel like victims, it’s harder for others to make us their victims. Therefore, it’s crucial that we understand that our ability to free ourselves lies in our hands.
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. Thoughts shape reality
Your thoughts directly create your circumstances and character, meaning you are essentially what you think; your mind is like a garden that can be cultivated with positive thoughts or left to grow weeds.
ii. Personal responsibility
You are solely responsible for your thoughts and the resulting consequences in your life.
iii. Power of positive thinking
Cultivating positive thoughts leads to positive outcomes, while negative thoughts lead to negative outcomes.
iv. Character is formed by thought
Your character is a direct reflection of your dominant thoughts and beliefs.
v. Mindset matters
Your attitude and perspective towards life significantly impact your experiences.
vi. Vision and ideals are important
Setting clear goals and visualizing success can influence your actions and achievements.
vii. Self-control is key
To change your circumstances, you must first control your thoughts and manage your mind.
viii. The effect of thought on health
Negative thinking can negatively impact your physical well-being.
ix. Harmony between inner and outer
When your thoughts align with your desired reality, you experience greater happiness and fulfillment.
x. The importance of perseverance
Changing your thought patterns takes time and consistent effort.
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?
These ideas will help me understand that my brain is a powerhouse of anything I want to do, so I have to tame my thinking because it affects the outcome.
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 the plant springs from, and could not be without, the seed, so every act of a man springs from the hidden seeds of thought, and could not have appeared without them.”
“Act is the blossom of thought; and joy and suffering are its fruits.”
“Man is made or unmade by himself.”
“Man is the master of thought, the molder of character, and the maker and shaper of condition, environment, and destiny.”
“Man’s mind may be likened to a garden, which may be intelligently cultivated or allowed to run wild; but whether cultivated or neglected, it must, and will, bring forth. If no useful seeds are put into it, then an abundance of useless weed-seeds will fall therein, and will continue to produce their kind.”
“Just as a gardener cultivates his plot, keeping it free from weeds, and growing the flowers and fruits which he requires, so may a man tend the garden of his mind, weeding out all the wrong, useless, and impure thoughts, and cultivating toward perfection the flowers and fruits of right, useful, and pure thoughts.”
“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.”
“Circumstance does not make the man; it reveals him to himself.”
“Men are anxious to improve their circumstances, but are unwilling to improve themselves; they therefore remain bound.”
“Good thoughts and actions can never produce bad results; bad thoughts and actions can never produce good results.”
“Law, not confusion, is the dominating principle in the universe; justice, not injustice, is the soul and substance of life; and righteousness, not corruption, is the molding and moving force in the spiritual government of the world.”
“The world is your kaleidoscope, and the varying combinations of colors, which at every succeeding moment it presents to you are the exquisitely adjusted pictures of your ever-moving thoughts.”
“A sour face does not come by chance; it is made by sour thoughts.”
“As the physically weak man can make himself strong by careful and patient training, so the man of weak thoughts can make them strong by exercising himself in right thinking.”
“Doubt and fear are the great enemies of knowledge, and he who encourages them, who does not slay them, thwarts himself at every step.”
“He who has conquered doubt and fear has conquered failure.”
“A strong man cannot help a weaker unless that weaker is willing to be helped, and even then the weak man must become strong of himself; he must, by his own efforts, develop the strength which he admires in another.”
“By the aid of self-control, resolution, purity, righteousness, and well-directed thought a man ascends; by the aid of animality, indolence, impurity, corruption, and confusion of thought a man descends.”
“He who would accomplish little must sacrifice little; he who would achieve much must sacrifice much; he who would attain highly must sacrifice greatly.”
“Many give way when success is assured, and rapidly fall back into failure.”
“Humanity cannot forget its dreamers; it cannot let their ideals fade and die; it lives in them; it knows them as the realities which it shall one day see and know.”
“To desire is to obtain; to aspire is to, achieve.”
“Calmness of mind is one of the beautiful jewels of wisdom.”
“The more tranquil a man becomes, the greater is his success, his influence, his power for good.”
“People will always prefer to deal with a man whose demeanor is strongly equable.”
“The strong, calm man is always loved and revered. He is like a shade-giving tree in a thirsty land, or a sheltering rock in a storm.”
“Only he whose thoughts are controlled and purified, makes the winds and the storms of the soul obey him.”
“Self-control is strength; Right Thought is mastery; Calmness is power.”
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?
The book is well elaborated.
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?
These is a powerful book and very much helpful.
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.
It’s well covered.
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? 9
C. How easy was it to understand? 10
D. Would you recommend it to others? 9
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 10
Jonathan Livingston Seagull
Assessment by Richmond Kebwao (Kenya)
1. What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey in the book?
Jonathan Livingston Seagull is a young gull who struggles to fit in with his Flock; where the other birds are only concerned with finding food, Jonathan loves flying for its own sake. His attempts to fly faster and higher than his fellow gulls make him suspect, and his own parents pressure him to conform. After a particularly disastrous dive, Jonathan nearly resigns himself to the life of an ordinary seagull, only to have an epiphany: by flying on only his wing tips, Jonathan is successfully able to reach a speed of over 200 miles per hour. He returns to the Flock excited and eager to share his knowledge, but to his dismay, the Flock instead declares him an Outcast for his exploits.
Jonathan grows old alone, never ceasing in his efforts to teach himself more about flying. One night, he encounters a pair of luminous seagulls who tell him they have come to take him to his true Flock, which he is now ready to meet. Jonathan accompanies them up into the sky and to an entirely new realm he initially believes to be heaven. Over time, he learns that it is in fact simply a different plane of existence in which he can continue to learn and grow. To that end, he begins studying with an old gull named Chiang, who teaches him that true heaven and true perfection consist of an awareness of oneself as infinite. With Chiang’s help, Jonathan learns to travel instantaneously through space and time. However, before Chiang leaves for another world, he reminds Jonathan to “keep working” on the most important form of flight: love. Jonathan ultimately concludes that in order to do so, he must use the skills Chiang taught him to return to Earth and share his knowledge with his former Flock.
Back on Earth, Jonathan takes on several students who have been made Outcasts by the Flock, teaching them not only to fly more skillfully, but also to understand their true spiritual nature. The students struggle to understand the latter, and Jonathan ultimately decides that they must all return to the Flock and resume their lessons there. Jonathan and his students show off their skills, and slowly, members of the Flock begin to take notice and join in. When one gull with a bad wing manages to fly after speaking to Jonathan, rumors begin to spread that he is divine.
One day, while Jonathan’s most advanced student, Fletcher Lynd Seagull, is working with a group of newcomers, he is forced to swerve into a cliff. However, rather than dying, Fletcher manages to jump to a different plane of consciousness, and with Jonathan’s help, he is then able to return to Earth. The stunned Flock concludes that Jonathan brought Fletcher back from the dead and must be a devil, so they try to kill him. However, Jonathan and Fletcher are able to jump to a safe distance at the last minute. Here, Jonathan explains that it’s important to try to see and nurture the best in the Flock despite their actions. He then leaves to teach seagulls in other worlds, putting Fletcher in charge of preserving his legacy on Earth.
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. Individualism vs. Collectivism
Seagull is an independent gull who would rather practice aerodynamic flight techniques than forage for food in the wake of the fishing boats that chug up and down the shoreline of the Flock’s home. Jonathan’s staunch individualism initially seems in direct opposition to the collectivism of the Flock
ii. Innovation vs. Tradition
Jonathan Livingston Seagull is, at its core, a story of how innovation, progress, and self-discovery all require what can often be a painful or difficult break with tradition. Longing to free himself from his Flock’s rigid, boring routines, and convinced that there is more to life than just hunting for food, Jonathan practices increasingly difficult and dangerous flight maneuvers, edging away from not only the Flock’s comfort zone, but also from his own
iii. Self-Determination Through Mind, Body, and Spirit
Jonathan Livingston Seagull is an ode to self-determination through transcendence of the body and discovery of the limitless nature of the mind and the spirit. Jonathan longs to be in control of his own life and govern himself independently of his hegemonic, small-minded Flock. His experiments in airborne acrobatics begin as a way to distinguish himself from the rest of the group and explore the possibilities of his small life
iv. The Misinterpretation of Doctrine
The fourth and final section of the book flashes forward nearly two hundred years after Jonathan’s disappearance from the face of the earth and supposed ascendance to heaven. In the centuries that have passed, Jonathan’s teachings of introspection, self-determination, and the pursuit of one’s individual truth have been misinterpreted, warped, and picked apart like so much chum
v. You should never be afraid to learn, you never know what more you’ll discover.
Open your mind, be curious; stay curious. Ask questions.
Although Jonathan was awesome, he wasn’t immune to self-doubt and sad moments. Even the best of the best have anxious moments but still move forward.
He sought to teach others and share what he knew even when others were against him and he was considered an outcast by his very own ‘gull community. He showed forgiveness, and with forgiveness, we let off massive weights of hatred from us that may not let us move forward.
vi. If you want to succeed, to do something you find impossible or difficult, the trick is to know that you have already arrived or achieved it.
Have a limitless mindest and be teachable. Learn to love and show kindness. Learn it. It gets difficult to show love after we have gone through so much hardship, but you can always learn and learn again how to show love.
vii. Do not let the words of others get to you.
Never let the accolades get to your head either. Jonathan accepted the praises other seagulls gave to him but only for a minute. Then he moved on and continued to practice.
He believed so much in practice making perfect. Jonathan didn’t want to be eulogized as a god but instead wanted others to know he was an ordinary gull who made things happen, giving them hope that they too could make things happen and find more meaning and freedom in their life. When people don’t understand you, they either call you a devil or a god. But your duty is to keep showing up and being better than your previous self.
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?
These ideas will help me to be determined in life nothing comes easily we have to sacrifice and move out of comfort zone
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.
“It’s all so pointless, he thought, deliberately dropping a hard-won anchovy to a hungry old gull chasing him. I could be spending all this time learning to fly. There’s so much to learn!”
“Unlike the other seagulls, Jonathan is not content with a purely physical existence centered on fighting for small pieces of fish. Although he tries to obey his parents and fit in with the Flock, he’s unable to suppress his urge to fly, which is itself symbolic of his desire to learn and grow beyond his prior limits.”
“Why, Jon, why? his mother asked. ‘Why is it so hard to be like the rest of the flock, Jon? Why can’t you leave low flying to the pelicans, the albatross? Why don’t you eat? Son, you’re bone and feathers!”
“The Flock values conformity to such an extent that even Jonathan’s own mother chastises him for his love of flying, outright asking him to “be like the rest” of the seagulls. Her remark that Jonathan is “bone and feathers” is especially noteworthy. In context, it seems to be a comment about Jonathan’s weight Jonathan, she implies, has neglected eating to pursue flying but it’s also a broader statement about the nature of the self. To Jonathan’s mother (and likely the rest of the Flock), seagulls are physical beings made of “bone and feathers.”
This is an idea Bach challenges in Parts 2 and 3, suggesting that the self is essentially spiritual and not limited by the physical body.
“He spoke of very simple things that it is right for a gull to fly, that freedom is the very nature of his being, that whatever stands against that freedom must be set aside, be it ritual or superstition or limitation in any form.”
“Do you have any idea how many lives we must have gone through before we even got the first idea that there is more to life than eating, or fighting, or power in the Flock? A thousand lives, Jon, ten thousand!”
“You don’t love hatred and evil, of course. You have to practice and see the real gull, the good in every one of them, and to help them see it in themselves. That’s what I mean by love.”
“Sully,for shame! and don’t be foolish! What are we trying to practice everyday? If our friendship depends on things like space and time, we’ve destroyed our own brotherhood! But overcome space, and all we have left is Here. Overcome time, and all we have left is Now. And in the middle of Here and Now, don’t you think that we might see each other once or twice?”
“Instead of our drab slogging forth and back to the fishing boats, there’s reason to live!
We can lift ourselves out of ignorance, we can find ourselves as creatures of excellence and intelligence and skill. We can learn to be free! We can learn to fly!”
“A moment later Jonathan’s body wavered in the air, shimmering, and began to go transparent. “Don’t let them spread silly rumors about me, or make me a god. O.K., Fletch? I’m a seagull. I like to fly, maybe.”
“Why is it,” Jonathan puzzled, “that the hardest thing in the world is to convince a bird that he is free, and that he can prove it for himself if he’d just spend a little time practicing? Why should that be so hard?”
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?
This is a nice book and easy to understand direct to the point.
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?
The book contains exercises that are in our lifetime to be focused no matter what we are undergoing or what others are talking about us.
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.
The book is well articulated.
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? 9
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? 9