AAMT: Lesson 1 - As a Man Thinketh

One of the courses I took a few years ago to get my Bachelor's Degree was called "Changing Self-Defeating Emotions and Behaviors Through Rational Self-Counseling. The text for the course was As a Man Thinketh, by James Allen, which is a very short book and can be downloaded free at http://www.asamanthinketh.net/.

The course changed me, and therefore changed my life. I learned that I have almost complete and total control over my own emotions because my emotions are the result of my thinking and I have almost complete and total control over my thoughts. Anyway, from time to time I've thought about sharing what I learned, and today I am finally going to start. It will take some time to type, so be patient.

From the course introduction:

Rational self-counseling is a method that generally requires a rather brief period to learn, but it can have long-lasting benefits. Its principles are based upon medical and scientific laws which, when understood will probably cause you to wonder, "Why didn't I think of that?"

Rational self-counseling is a method or technique that you can apply immediately, wherever you may be, with immediate results. However, the more you apply it, the less often you will need to apply it because you will form new emotional habits - habits of crating the emotions that are more rational - the emotions you prefer. Thus, the emphasis in this course is on applying what you learn.

So here is the start of Lesson #1: (The first reading assignment is pages 11-24 of AaMT.)

Many years ago, Solomon said, "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he" Prov 23:7. Of course, in our day of medical and scientific enlightenment we know that the function of the heart is that of pumping blood, not thinking. Thinking is done in the portion of the brain known as the neocortex. We don't fully understand how it is accomplished; we only have a general idea of where it is done. In Solomon's day, however, the heart was thought to be the center of intellect, a notion that still influences modern man, in spite of medical and psychological knowledge. Perhaps the belief that thinking occurred in the heart was not difficult to accept in Solomon's day because they had substantial evidence all that was necessary to stop the thought processes in people was to run a spear or sword through their hearts!

Nevertheless, the basic principle taught by Solomon has been confirmed as far as emotions are concerned. If one simply states, "as a man thinketh, so is he," he will be correct. We will talk more about the role of the heart as it pertains to the experience of human emotions later in this course. This lesson, however, will introduce you to the role of thinking in the creation of feelings and will help you understand "rational" means.

To any and all reading this, let me know if you're interested in learning more so I know if it's worth typing. FYI, I assure you it's worth it!