Bringing Out The Best ~ Paramahansa

Paramahansa Yogananda


Excerpts from his book
"Where There Is Light"

Bringing Out the Best Within You

We are what we think we are. The habitual inclination of our thoughts determines our talents and abilities, and our personality. Thus, some think they are writers or artists, industrious or lazy, and so on. What if you want to be other than what you presently think you are? You may argue that others have been born with the special talent you lack but desire to have. This is true. But they had to cultivate the habit of that ability some time – if not in this life, then in a previous one. So whatever you want to be, start to develop that pattern now. You can instill any trend in your consciousness right now, provided you inject a strong thought in your mind; then your actions and whole being will obey that thought.

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One must never give up hope of becoming better. A person is old only when he refuses to make the effort to change. That stagnant state is the only “old age” I recognize. When a person says again and again, “I cant change; this is the way I am,” then I have to say, “All right, stay that way, since you have made up your mind to be like that.”

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No matter what his present stae, man can change for the better through self-control, discipline, and following proper diet and health laws. Why do you think you cannot change? Mental laziness is the secret cause of all weakness.

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Everyone has self-limiting idiosyncrasies. These were not put into your nature by God, but were created by you. These are what you must change – by remembering that these habits, peculiar to your nature, are nothing but manifestations of your own thoughts.

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In the ultimate sense, all things are made of pure consciousness; their finite appearance is the result of the relativity of consciousness. Therefore, if you want to change anything in yourself, you must change the process of thought that occasions the materialization of consciousness into different forms of matter and action. That is the way, the only way, to remould your life.

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Fortunately, we can start practicing any time and any place, concentration upon developing those good qualities in which we are defective. If we are lacking in will power, let us concentrate upon that, and thorough conscious effort we shall be able to create strong will power in ourselves. If we want to relieve ourselves of fear, we should meditate upon courage, and in due time we shall be freed from the bondage of fear.

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Very simply, all you have to do is to think away the thoughts you want to destroy, by replacing them with constructive thoughts. This is the key to heaven; it is in your hands.