The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1916-02-21
Mastering Our Thoughts.
BY JOHN -. BARRY,

Mastering Our Thoughts.
BY JOHN u. BARRY.
What arc We to do II our thoughts OF evil master
us? How to escape?
Can we possibly get away from the things that
have become part of ourselves, that have. in a
sense actually become ourselves?
For to every one of us it is plain that the
philosophers are right in saying, "As we think,
we arc" From daily experience every one Of US
verhes the truth Of that saying.
Moreover, as we are. think.
There is continual action between our think
ing and our being.
"Oh, if l could only get away from my
thoughtsw one sometimes hears people exclam.
1t is just as if they were to say, ooh, 1t could
only get away from my mind"
They really mean whether they are aware or
not aware "Oh, if l could only get away from
mysefp
Can we get away from ourselves?
The philosophers say that can. And they
saw that escape is easy. 1t is achieved simply by
thinking.
But already our sickness results from thinking.
Our sickness actually is thinking. How can more
$1,000
thinking, but less thinking, no thinking at all.
The philosophers, however, say that unwholc-
some thinking can be made into wholesome think
ing simply by our realizing the nature OF thinking
All we have to do is to take new point OF
view.
You must often have noticed how different
things NAV seem when viewed from different
angles. From one angle thing may seem ugly
and from another angle it may seem beautiful.
And vet VIC say that the uglincss and the beauty
| lie in the things themselves.
| They really lie in us, in our way OF looking
We see. for instance two people in exactly the
same circumstances subject to the same influences
| One will be serene perhaps happy the other VIII
| he disconnected perhaps miserable. Zach may
,h;,L that the explanation lies in things outside
But we know that such cannot be the case For
the same things could not result so differently.
TIL. real explanation lies OF course, in the
minds Of the two, in the thoughts, in the point OF
view.
| There are those who go far as to say there
-. M such things in the world things. What
we cal, material is. according to their theory, only
the creation of consciousness.
Suppose they arc right. Then the importance
of keenina our minds wholesome becomes para
mount. There is no getting away from It,
| But even if the theory is unsound does 1t moi
realIy find certain justification in practice.
| Rat there are those who consider this theory
;ntolersblc, the intensely practical people They
know that some things are bad and some things
are good, and that there are good people and bac
,.onIe Their realization Of goodness and badness
thew EXPRESS with feeling. The thought of good
ness ;nfuses in them good feeling The thought o
badness infuses in them bad feeling. So even they
must admit that they are influenced by what the,
think, and they must know that if they could only
have good thoughts all the time, rather thoughts
Of goodness. they would feel very much better.
! Here they may be inclined to develop more il
feeling the i'll feeling that accompanies censurt
and resentment B
1--WE are not in any way to blame If there Il
! badness in the world" they may say.
! Is if true that they are not in any way te
blame?
i There is no doubt that resentment and censur,
with all the accompanying i'll feeling work fearful
/ damage. They surely create more resentment ant
! more censure. They among the most disturb
/ ing factors in life. They maintain the undercur
| rent of turmoil
Incidentally, they doubtless do some good
They check many things that we regard as evil.
! But is it not possible that by another method
/ the method OF encouraging goodness by having
| good thoughts, all the wholesome consequence
| might be achieved, together with great man,
more consequences now lost making for the deep
4 ening OF goodness and for the spread of good