The Way of Peace (Annotated)

By James Allen

• This edition includes the following editor's introduction: James Allen, the philosopher who pioneered the self-help genre

Originally published in 1907, "The Way of Peace" is a New Thought book written by British philosophical writer James Allen, one of the bestselling and respected self-help authors ever.
Although Allen is more widely known for his "As a Man Thinketh," it is the lesser known "The Way of Peace" which reflects more accurately his New Thought Movement affiliations, referencing as it does Christianity, Buddhism and Hinduism.

"The Way of Peace" is essentially a treatise on the importance of meditation as a 'pathway to divinity'. Whatever we meditate upon, Allen explains, we become. If you meditate upon ' that which is selfish and debasing, you will ultimately become selfish and debased'. Whereas if you meditate upon 'that which is pure and unselfish you will surely become pure and unselfish'.

"The Way of Peace" is your guide to the power of meditation; self and truth; the acquirement of spiritual power; the realization of selfless love; entering into the infinite; saints, sages, and saviours; the law of service; and the realization of perfect peace.

• Language: English
• Publisher: ePembaBooks
• Release date: Nov 17, 2022
• ISBN: 9791222003054

James Allen

James Allen was born in Leicester, England, in 1864. He took his first job at age 15 to support his family, after his father was murdered while looking for work in America. Allen was employed as a factory knitter and a private secretary until the early 1900s, when he became increasingly known for his motivational writing. His 1903 work As a Man Thinketh earned him worldwide fame as a prophet of inspirational thinking and influenced a who's-who of self-help writers, including Napoleon Hill.

Book preview

James Allen

The Way of Peace

Table of contents

James Allen, the philosopher who pioneered the self-help genre

THE WAY OF PEACE

The Power Of Meditation

The Two Masters, Self And Truth

The Acquirement Of Spiritual Power

The Realization Of Selfless Love

Entering Into The Infinite

Saints, Sages, And Saviors: The Law Of Service

The Realization Of Perfect Peace

James Allen, the philosopher who pioneered the self-help genre

James Allen was a British poet and writer, known for his highly philosophical and practical books and for being the forerunner of the self-help genre.

Allen's works are eminently practical and he never wrote theories. According to his wife Lily, Allen only wrote when he had a message and that message was only conveyed when he had lived it in his own life and knew it was good. This is how he wrote, about facts that had been proven in practice.

Another fundamental trait of Allen's was that he believed in the use of the faculty of thought to increase personal capacities and to achieve fame, fortune and happiness. Allen insisted on the power of the individual to shape his own character and create his own happiness; so he shows us how to turn our dreams into realities. He gives us a message of hope even in the midst of turmoil and argues that we become spiritually rich when we discover the adventure within, are aware of the unity of all life, know the power of meditation and experience our kinship with nature.

His most famous work, As a Man Thinketh (1903), is considered one of the pioneering, classic and best-selling self-help books. Its premise is that noble thoughts make a person noble, while miserable thoughts make a person miserable. Today we are where our thoughts have led us and we are the architects - for better or worse - of our future. This book is part of the New Thought movement, a philosophical movement that emerged in the mid-19th century in the United States. A movement that became increasingly important, spreading throughout the world and producing great writers throughout the 20th century, such as Thomas Troward, William Walker Atkinson, Ralph Waldo Trine, Napoleon Hill, Emmet Fox, Joseph Murphy, Louise H. Hay, Deepak Chopra and Gary Zukav, among others. James Allen has been a source of inspiration for other authors of self-help books.

The literary life of James Allen

As a young man, Allen worked for several years in various British manufacturing companies and moved first to London and then to South Wales.

In 1898 Allen found an occupation in which he could display his spiritual and social interests as a writer for the magazine The Herald of the Golden Age. At this time, Allen entered a creative period in which he published the first of his many books, From Poverty to Power (1901). In 1902 Allen began publishing his own spiritual magazine, The Epoch.

It was his third book, As a Man Thinketh (1903), that brought him great popularity and enabled him to devote himself full time to being a writer and publisher. Allen had a truly prolific career. Continuing to publish for the Epoch, Allen produced more than a book a year until his death in 1912. There he wrote for nine years, producing 19 works. Among them are some of his best works: Byways of Blessedness (1904), " The Way of Peace (1907), The Mastery of Destiny (1909), Above Life's Turmoil (1910), Book of Meditations for Every Day in the Year (published posthumously in 1913) and The Divine Companion" (published posthumously in 1919).

James Allen is often referred to as " An unrewarded genius", as he did not receive the recognition he deserved during his lifetime.

The Editor, P.C. 2022

THE WAY OF PEACE

James Allen

The Power Of Meditation

Spiritual meditation is the pathway to Divinity. It is the mystic ladder which reaches from earth to heaven, from error to Truth, from pain to peace. Every saint has climbed it; every sinner must sooner or later come to it, and every weary pilgrim that turns his back upon self and the world, and sets his face resolutely toward the Father's Home, must plant his feet upon its golden rounds. Without its aid you cannot grow into the divine state, the divine likeness, the divine peace, and the fadeless glories and unpolluting joys of Truth will remain hidden from you.

Meditation is the intense dwelling, in thought, upon an idea or theme, with the object of thoroughly comprehending it, and whatsoever you constantly meditate upon you will not only come to understand, but will grow more and more into its likeness, for it will become incorporated into your very being, will become, in fact, your very self. If, therefore, you constantly dwell upon that which is selfish and debasing, you will ultimately become selfish and debased; if you ceaselessly think upon that which is pure and unselfish you will surely become pure and unselfish.

Tell me what that is upon which you most frequently and intensely think, that to which, in your silent hours, your soul most naturally turns, and I will tell you to what place of pain or peace you are traveling, and whether you are growing into the likeness of