As A Man Thinketh

That phrase is not only the title of a very popular self-growth book, but it is also an often quoted scripture from the Bible ( Proverbs 23:7).

James Allen, a writer and philosopher in the early 1900’s wrote a whole book based on this phrase. Of course the idea being that man is literally what he thinks and his character a sum total of  all his thoughts.

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Our thoughts are like our children. They are Our own and very real because we are the ones that gave them birth, we are the ones that pay attention to them by nurturing them.  (The way they grow & take on a life of their own is a direct reflection of this….sort of an interesting metaphor isn’t it!)

And pondering our own precious children we dumbfoundedly ask ourselves the question….Why don’t I nurture and  ”raise” more happy and joyful thoughts more of the time?

And there’s probably a hundred reasons…… from our habitual thinking to our unconsciousness of controlling those thoughts. But maybe we could at least try to increase our awareness of what thoughts are capable of by taking a look at the research and scientific proof that is showing us the unbelievable power they have for either production or destruction in our lives.

Check out this unbelievable (or believable) research:

1. Dr Emoto, president of Water For Life Foundation, has done amazing studies of the affect of the power of thought on water.Basically, what Dr Emoto did was to take a number of samples of water from the same water source and then treat them each to a different thought stimulus. The various stimulus he used included:
   • a spoken word
   • a word taped to a bottle of water
   • a piece of music played to a container of water
   • a silent prayer offered to water

    Now this sounds rather absurd to some people … talking to water!?! (Yes, and I will admit that I laughed out loud when I heard about a silly guy talking to water) It reminded me of the good old days when talking to plants was the newest rage (but I never did it….and yes, my plants all died!  ) The interesting thing is….. Emoto found that water was LISTENING!  It seems to react or reflect what was given to it. Which I guess we shouldn’t be so surprised because we can go to a still pool of water and look in and it reflects our image back. The really exciting thing is, Emoto found a way to measure and record this reaction.

   Once the water samples were treated with the stimulus by Emotos team, he would place them into a freezer and the water would create crystals, like snowflakes. He would then photograph these crystals under microscopic conditions. These images show vast differences in symmetry, depending on the ‘thoughts’ they were given. For example:

   • dirty water from a dam in Japan looks simply like a frozen blob
   • water from the same dam in Japan, after treated to a silent prayer, looks like a beautiful symmetrical crystal

    Other researchers have since confirmed Emoto’s findings, through doing double and triple blind studies. Basically this means that they organized the experiments to ensure that Emoto’s results had not been found by mere chance, or through biased testing conditions. The same results happened over and over. The researchers agree that it appears that water has it’s own understanding of human words, thoughts, and emotions, and water has a memory.  (WHAT THE HECK!!)

   Remember learning in health that your body is made up of 70% water?? So that makes you stop and think…. What effect are my thoughts having on my body??

   Request your free copy of The Message From Water e-book by Masaru Emoto,
   by emailing
   Inspired Personal Development 

2. A group of researchers at University of Maryland have been investigating the affect of thoughts on our physiology by studying the ‘placebo effect’. The placebo effect is basically when an inert or dummy pill is given to patients and they are told that it is going to create a beneficial affect, cure, or stop their pain. This creates the thought of ‘expectation’ in the recipients. It’s been found that these thoughts of expectation actually have physical effects on our health. Previously the positive result recorded from the placebo effect was believed to be a purely ‘psychological’ occurrence.Scientists are now gathering the first direct evidence that the placebo effect actually creates a physical response. The mere thought of expecting a benefit is now recognized as being able to trigger the same neurological pathways of healing as real medication does.”Our brain really is on drugs when we get a placebo,” says co-researcher Christian Stohler… drugs we create for ourselves through our thoughts.
3. The HeartMath Institute have been doing fascinating work over the past number of years. They have found strong relationships between ‘as a man thinketh’ and corresponding outcomes in various areas of our lives. Their study findings include correlations of thoughts and feelings of love, compassion and gratitude, with: 
   • an increase in aspects of general intelligence
   • improved intuition
   • strengthening of our immune systems

Ok….so it’s just research, but it really makes you stop and THINK!  (There’s that word again!)  It helps me realize that my ability to improve my own life and live happier lies directly within my own thoughts.  So I’m committed to making my thoughts a little more elevated!! I’m happy that I fill at least 30 minutes of each morning with my own positive self talk!!

*Acknowledgement to Inspired Personal Development for the research in this article.  Check them out here: 

Now that you more fully understand the ramifications of “as a man thinketh, so he is”……how will this affect your own personal thoughts today?

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