"Man lives his life in sleep, and in sleep he dies."

Gurdjieff (1866? – 1949) claimed that people cannot perceive reality in their current state because they do not possess consciousness but rather live in a state of a hypnotic "waking sleep".
As a result of this condition each person perceives things from a completely subjective perspective. Gurdjieff stated that maleficent events such as wars and so on could not possibly take place if people were more awake. He asserted that people in their typical state function as unconscious automatons, but that one can "wake up" and become a different sort of human being altogether.

Seven Steps in Demonstration

Mildred Mann ( 1904 - 1971 ) was active in the New Thought Movement and taught metaphysics in New York City .
Her book Become What You Believe remains influential among non-denominational New Thought pratitioners and adherents, especially the section in which she defines the "Seven Steps in Demonstration":

• Desire. Get a strong enthusiasm for that which you want in your life, a real longing for something which is not there now.
• Decision. Know definitely what it is that you want, what it is that you want to do or have, and be willing to pay in spiritual values.
• Ask. [When sure and enthusiastic] ask for it in simple, concise language. . . .
• Believe. Believe in the accomplishment with strong faith, consciously and subconsciously.
  Work. Work at it. . . a few minutes daily, seeing yourself in the finished picture. Never outline details, but rather see yourself enjoying the particular thing . .
• Feel gratitude. Always remember to say, "Thank you, God," and begin to feel the gratitude in your heart. The most powerful prayer we can ever make is those three words, provided we really feel it.
• Feel expectancy. Train yourself to live in a state of happy expectancy. . . . Act it until it becomes part of you, as it must and will.

These are the seven steps. Follow them and they will bring you whatever it is that you need. She summarizes: Drop the problem, turn to God, and ask and claim your good. Stay turned in that direction , and you will have the secret of effective prayer. She concludes the book with several "points to remember and think about":

YOU are Divine Spirit.
YOU are a child of God.
YOU have been given complete dominion over your life.
With God all things are possible.
You are never alone, for God is always with you.
Be positive in thought and word and deed.
Live up to the highest you know in all things.
See the Presence of God in your fellow man, particularly when you do not like him.
Give something of yourself in everything you do and to everyone you meet, particularly when you do not feel like it.
Meditate daily.
"In quietness and in confidence shall be your strength."Isaiah 30:15

Mildred Mann - at NewThoughtLibrary.com
Positive Thinking Timeline

New Thought Simplified by Henry Wood

New Thought Simplified by Henry Wood

Henry Wood's Biography - New Thought Library

I AM

The student of what is known as the "New Thought" finds himself surrounded with a mass of literature, much of which consists of froth and bubbles. Grains of thought are there, but are surrounded by bushels of verbal chaff. The searcher for ideas receives - words, words, and words. The works on the subject, which are really worth the time and trouble of reading, are few, and the student, alas, knows not where to find them Practical. Understandable works on this subject are being demanded by many minds and following the invariable rule, which causes the production of the thing which is earnestly demanded, works of this kind are sure to appear. Speed the day.

To the student I would say, do not be deluded by "isms" or leaders; you possess within you the real Truth, and it will manifest itself to you, in time developing gradually and naturally, as the flower. The recognition of the I AM will bring its reward. The small flame within will throw light on all subjects and illuminate them.
William Walker Atkinson
Thought Force In Business and Everyday Life(1900)
William Walker Atkinson - free at NewThoughtLibrary.com

'No people is better than any other'

Two Brazilian Indians from the Raposa-Serra do Sol indigenous area talk about their lands and lives.=> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4wvWeXc06A

150 million tribal people live in more than 60 countries across the world Although their land ownership rights are recognized in international law, they are not properly respected anywhere.
http://www.survivalinternational.org/tribes

Experiments in mesmerism.

I will relate an experiment that I performed with my subject, Lucius, in mesmerism. I asked any person in the room to give me a name of an individual written on a slip of paper. I would send the boy to find the person dead or alive, which he would do, bringing him into the room and describing him to the audience. On one occasion a name was handed to me which I gave as usual to the boy. He said this was a man who had a wife and three children, that he left his chest of tools in a barn and had gone direct to Boston. I told him to follow the man. So he went and said he had found him in Ohio in a cooper's shop, that he had died. Still I told him to find him. Finally he said he had found him and I told him to bring him before the people and describe him. Said he, "Can't you see him? He stands here." I told the boy that he was in a mesmeric state. (He could never understand this but admitted it because I said so. To him there was no change; he had all his faculties and his identity was as perfect as when awake. He expressed fear and joy at what he saw as much as though he had been in a waking state.) I said, "Describe him." He commenced giving a general description and I stopped him, saying if there was any peculiar trait or feature about him mention it. "Well," said he, "I should think anyone might know this man by his hare lip." I asked the person who gave me the name if this description was correct and he said it was in every particular. Here was a clear case of spiritualism. The subject would read sealed letters, he would go to a distant place and ask a person a question and get an answer, and yet the person would not be aware of answering any question.

P.P.Quimby 1863 http://www.ppquimby.com/concord/concord.htm

If you can make the reader believe anything no matter how absurd it is,

he will prove it to be true by his experiments. This proves that our beliefs make us act and our acts are directed by our belief, for the wisdom or knowledge is in the belief. People are not aware of this; ...

Make man responsible for his belief and he will be as cautious what he believes as he is in what he says and does, for he will see that just as he measures out to another just so it will be measured out to him.

P.P. Quimby 1863 http://www.ppquimby.com/concord/concord.htm

Marcus Aurelius

[Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus] (121 – 180) was Roman Emperor from 161 to 180. Marcus Aurelius' work Meditations, written in Greek while on campaign between 170 and 180, is still revered as a literary monument to a government of service and duty. It serves as an example of how Aurelius approached the Platonic ideal of a philosopher-king and how he symbolized much of what was best about Roman civilization. Marcus Aurelius took on the reputation of a philosopher king within his lifetime, and the title would remain his after death; both Cassius Dio called him "the philosopher".


Every morning we should say to ourselves, "today I welcome this arrogant person...and this dishonest person...and this angry person." For regardless of their attitudes, these people are our brothers. They are not evil, for they act out of ignorance.

And no one – however persuasive they may be – can force us to be angry or upset.

If I attack a brother, I am attacking all my brothers.

To be angry with a brother is to be angry with myself.

This moment may be your last on earth; remember this, and choose every thought and act carefully. Remember, too, that to leave the earth is nothing to be afraid of, for the nature of the Universe is eternal and good.

Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.

We must learn to train our minds, to avoid useless and painful lines of thought. We must learn to focus our minds on thoughts which bring us joy. A person with such a mind is a light to the community, and one who is using his gifts aright. Such a person understands that he is kin to all others. He knows that his role is to care for his neighbors without seeking their good opinion. He is neither shaken by praise nor blame.

You have power over your mind – not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength. It is in your power to return to life.

Leave the wrong where the wrong was done.

Today I freed myself of all troublesome events – for I learned that trouble is not outside my mind, but inside, in my interpretations.

Look at this man’s actions – does he act out of ignorance or out of purpose? Either way, remember that his soul and yours are one and the same.

When someone’s rudeness shocks you, immediately ask yourself, "Is it is possible for rudeness to vanish from the world?" It is not – so meet such rudeness with forgiveness and patience. Have the same thing ready for every troublemaker, every liar, and every wrongdoer. Remember too what virtue God gave to balance this mistake, and make this virtue part of you.

A man separates himself from another when he attacks or condemns. He does not realize that, in doing this, he has broken himself off from the whole.

The goal in life is to see all things as they are; to act with the heart, and to speak the truth. When this is done, what remains except to enjoy life, joining one good day to another so that there is no gap in between?

Hermes Trismegistus

"That which is Below corresponds to that which is Above,

and that which is Above corresponds to that which is Below,

to accomplish the miracle of the One Thing".

O son, how many bodies we have to pass through,

how many bands of demons,

through how many series of repetitions and cycles of the stars,

before we hasten to the One alone?

Hermes Trismegistus

Brother Lawrence

was a monk who lived in France during the seventeenth century. His spiritual counsel was simple: throughout every day, keep an ongoing conversation with God.

"I make it my business to rest in His holy presence," he said, "which I keep myself in by a a habitual, silent, and secret conversation with God. This often causes in me joys and raptures inwardly, and sometimes also outwardly, so great that I am forced to use means to moderate them, and prevent their appearance to others."

Brother Lawrence's thoughts have been collected in a text titled The Practice of the Presence of God, which is comprised of a series of "Conversations" and "Letters." The Practice of the Presence of God is a text compiled by Father Joseph de Beaufort, later vicar general to the Archbishop of Paris, of the wisdom and teachings of Brother Lawrence, a 17th century Carmelite monk.