# The Mastery of Destiny

Layout 2
[Advertisements]
Works by James Allen
* Byways of Blessedness.
* From Poverty to Power; or, The Realisation of Prosperity And Peace.
* All These Things Added.
* The Life Triumphant.
* The Mastery of Destiny.
* Poems of Peace.
* As a Man Thinketh.
* Out from the Heart.
* Through the Gate of Good; or, Christ and Conduct.
The Mastery of Destiny
By
James Allen
Author of
“From Poverty to Power,” “All These Things Added,” “As a Man Thinketh,” etc.
New York and London G. P. Putnam’s Sons The Knickerbocker Press
Copyright, 1909
by
JAMES ALLEN
PREFACE
The discovery of the law of Evolution in the material world has prepared men for a knowledge of the law of cause and effect in the mental world. Thought is not less orderly and progressive than the material forms which embody thought; and not alone cells and atoms, but thoughts and deeds are charged with a cumulative and selective energy. In the realm of thought and deed, the good survives, for it is “fittest”; the evil ultimately perishes. To know that the “perfect law” of Causation is as all-embracing in mind as in matter, is to be relieved from all anxiety concerning ​the ultimate destiny of individuals and of humanity—
   “For man is man and master of his fate”—
and the will in man which is conquering the knowledge of natural law will conquer the knowledge of spiritual law; the will which, in ignorance, chooses evil, will, as wisdom evolves and emerges, choose good. In a universe of law, the final mastery of evil by man is assured. His lesser destinies of separation and sorrow, defeat and death, are but disciplinary steps leading to the Great Destiny of triumphal mastery. The himself is unconsciously building, albeit with lacerated hands and labour-bowed form, the Temple of Glory which is to afford him an eternal habitation of peace.
In this volume I have tried to set ​down some words indicative of this Law and this Destiny, and the manner of its working and its building; and have so arranged the subject-matter as to make the book a companion volume to The Life Triumphant. The first six, and the last, chapters first appeared in Bibby’s Quarterly and Bibby’s Annual, and it is by kind permission of the Editor, Mr. Joseph Bibby, that they are now brought together and published in volume form, the other three chapters having been added to make the book consecutive and complete.
James Allen.
Bryngoleu, Ilfracombe, England, April, 1909.
CONTENTS
* PAGE
* Deeds, Character, and Destiny................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................1
* The Science of Self-Control................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................20
* Cause and Effect in Human Conduct................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................39
* Training of the Will................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................50
* Thoroughness................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................59
* Mind-Building and Life-Building................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................67
* Cultivation of Concentration................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................80
* Practice of Meditation................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................96
* The Power of Purpose................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................109
* The Joy of Accomplishment................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................115
The Mastery of Destiny
[Advertisements]
A Selection from the Catalogue of
G. P. PUTNAM’S SONS
Complete Catalogues sent on application
The Philosophy of Self=Help
An Application of Practical Psychology to Daily Life
By Stanton Davis Kirkham
Author of “The Ministry of Beauty,” “Where Dwells the Soul Serene,” “In the Open,” etc.
Crown 8vo. $1.25 net. By mail, $1.40
This volume is designed to show how, by a training and use of the mind, it is possible for everyone to secure at least a large measure of mental health and physical well-being. Mr. Kirkham’s work distances its competitors in the field by combining certain qualities which are the condition of excellence and practical serviceableness in the chosen sphere of this book; it is firmly founded upon a rock of philosophy; the author’s sanity and common-sense banish all extreme and fantastic claims that fly in the face of reason and experience; the thought is reduced to the simplest form, and is free from technical terms; the ideas are easily grasped and put into practice; and there is an extraordinary lucidity, directness, and vigor in style, structure, and manner of presentation.
G. P. Putnam’s Sons
By Lyman P. Powell
Christian Science The Faith and Its Founder
Crown 8vo. $1.25 net. Postage, 10 cents
A marshalling of the evidence pro and con.
A summing up and an impartial judgment.
“It is scientific, accurate, clear, cogent, unanswerable, and satisfying to the last degree. I am delighted with it. The whole Christian world will thank you for it. I am going to use it unblushingly in a course of sermons later on.”—Cyrus Townsend Brady.
The Art of Natural Sleep
With Definite Directions for the Wholesome Cure of Sleeplessness
Illustrated by Cases from Clinics in Northampton and Elsewhere
Crown 8vo. Net 90 cents. Postage, 10 cents
“Its unassuming style and clear, discriminating thought pronounce it the work of one who knows. It will commend itself to a multitude who are in bondage to insomnia. The book is lucid, sane, and practical.” Rev. L. Ward Brigham, All Souls’ Church, Brooklyn
The Emmanuel Movement In a New England Town
A Systematic Account of Experiments and Reflections Designed to Determine the Proper Relationship between the Minister and the
Doctor in the Light of Modern Needs
With Illustrations
Crown 8vo. $1.25 net. Postage, 10 cents
“Valuable because of its sane and reasonable treatment and its moderate and yet strong claims.”
The Bishop of Connecticut.
Send for descriptive circular