The aphorism, "As a woman thinketh in her heart so is she," not only embraces the whole of a woman's being, but is so comprehensive as to reach out to every condition and circumstance of her life.
A woman is literally what she thinks, her character being the complete sum of all her thoughts. As the plant springs from, and could not be without, the seed, so every act of a woman springs from the hidden seeds of thought, and could not have appeared without them. This applies equally to those acts called "spontaneous" and "unpremeditated" as to those which are deliberately executed. Act is the blossom of thought, and joy and suffering are its fruits; thus does a woman garner in the sweet and bitter fruitage of her own husbandry. Woman is a growth by law, and not a creation by artifice, and cause and effect is as absolute and undeviating in the hidden realm of thought as in the world of visible and material things. A noble and Godlike character is not a thing of favor or chance, but is the natural result of continued effort in right thinking, the effect of long cherished association with Godlike thoughts. An ignoble and bestial character, by the same process, is the result of the continued harboring of groveling thoughts. A woman is made or unmade by herself; in the armory of thought she forges the weapons by which she destroys herself; she also fashions the tools with which she builds for herself heavenly mansions of joy and strength and peace. By the right choice and true application of thought, a woman ascends to the Divine Perfection; by the abuse and wrong application of thought, she descends below the level of the beast. Between these two extremes are all the grades of character, and woman is their maker and master. Of all the beautiful truths pertaining to the soul which have been restored and brought to light in this age, none is more gladdening or fruitful of divine promise and confidence than this - that a woman is the master of thought, the molder of character, and maker and shaper of condition, environment, and destiny. As a being of Power, Intelligence, and Love, and the Lord of her own thoughts, a woman holds the key to every situation, and contains within herself that transforming and regenerative agency by which she may make herself what she wills. A woman is always the master, even in her weakest and most abandoned state; but in her weakness and degradation she is the foolish master who misgoverns her household. When she begins to reflect upon her condition, and to search diligently for the Law upon which her being is established, she then becomes the wise master, directing her energies with intelligence, and fashioning her thoughts to fruitful issues. Such is the conscious master, and woman can only thus become by discovering within herself the laws of thought; which discovery is totally a matter of application, self-analysis, and experience. Only by much searching and mining are gold and diamonds obtained, and a woman can find every truth connected with her being if she will dig deep into the mine of her soul; and that she is the maker of her character, the molder of her life, and the builder of her destiny, she may unerringly prove, if she will watch, control, and alter her thoughts, tracing their effects upon herself, upon others, and upon her life and circumstances, linking cause and effect by patient practice and investigation, and utilizing her every experience, even to the most trivial, everyday occurrence, as a means of obtaining that knowledge of herself which is Understanding, Wisdom, Power. In this direction, as in no other, is the law absolute that "She that seeketh findeth; and to her that knocketh it shall be opened"; for only by patience, practice, and ceaseless importunity can a woman enter the Door of the Temple of Knowledge. |
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