Text of the meditation
The world of things is the other half of the world of thoughts. The inner informs the outer. The greater embraces the lesser. Matter is the counterpart of mind. Events are streams of thoughts. Circumstances are combinations of thought, and the outer conditions and actions of others in which each person is involved are intimately related to their own mental needs and development.
A person is a part of their surroundings. They are not separate from their fellows, but are bound closely to them by the peculiar intimacy and interaction of deeds, and by those fundamental laws of thought that are the roots of human society. One cannot alter external things to suit one's passing whims and wishes, but one can set aside those whims and wishes; one can so alter one's attitude of mind toward externals that they will assume a different aspect.
One cannot mould the actions of others toward oneself, but one can rightly fashion one's actions toward them. Things follow thoughts. Alter your thoughts, and things will receive a new adjustment.
James Allen (1864–1912), Book of Meditations for Every Day in the Year (1913) – public-domain text, gently modernised.
The original 1913 text is in the public domain.
