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As a Man Thinketh X Out from the Heart
Spine #40
Author
James Allen
Translator
First Edition
1903, 1904
Heathen Edition
June 5, 2025
Refreshed
Pages
108
Heathen Genera
Soul Fuel
Paperback ISBN
978-1-948316-40-8
Hardcover ISBN
978-1-963228-40-3
A man should conceive of a legitimate purpose in his heart, and set out to accomplish it. He should make this purpose the centralizing point of his thoughts. It may take the form of a spiritual ideal, or it may be a worldly object, according to his nature at the time being; but whichever it is, he should steadily focus his thought-forces upon the object, which he has set before him. He should make this purpose his supreme duty, and should devote himself to its attainment, not allowing his thoughts to wander away into ephemeral fancies, longings, and imaginings. This is the royal road to self-control and true concentration of thought. Even if he fails again and again to accomplish his purpose (as he necessarily must until weakness is overcome), the strength of character gained will be the measure of his true success, and this will form a new starting-point for future power and triumph.
James Allen (1864–1912) was an English philosophical writer and pioneer of the self-help movement known for his inspirational books and poetry. In 1903, he published his best-known book, As a Man Thinketh, a work inspired by the biblical passage Proverbs 23:7, “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he,” which reveals a fundamental truth of human nature: A man is literally what he thinks. In 1904, he published its sequel, Out from the Heart. Combined here in one volume, these two transcendent books, with their concise, forthright ideas and deceptively simple principles, offer a revolutionary outlook of empowerment that has touched hearts and inspired millions around the world to reshape and redefine their destinies for the better — and have consecrated James Allen as one of the founding fathers and most widely-loved figures of modern inspirational thought.
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“A book which will prove helpful to everyone who reads it.”
The Daily Nonpareil
Heathenry
Contents
Praise
Details
Heathenry
As I craft this “Heathenry,” there currently exists over 2500 different editions of As a Man Thinketh as a standalone title, and, by my count, nearly a dozen editions that collect As a Man Thinketh and Out from the Heart together into a single volume. However, I could be wrong, there may exist more . . . I mean, for books well over a century old, and in this epoch of on-demand printing, does anyone anywhere have a truly accurate tally of all the editions ever and currently printed? Regardless, based on the many offerings of these two titles, both past and present, what is it that makes me think we Heathens can offer anything different? Can we really do anything with these titles that hasn’t been done before? Can we actually offer something new?
Yes—yes, I believe, we can—surprisingly.
First, though, let’s talk James Allen. Who was he, exactly? Much biographical information can be found in the 1916 Murdo Carruthers article James Allen: A Prophet of Meditation, which we have included as an afterword, and which reads mostly as an obituary (even though it was published four years after Allen’s death). It presents a sympathetic sketch of Allen’s life and teachings, drawing special attention to Allen’s insistence of the necessity for meditation. And since Mr. Carruthers covers those aspects of James Allen fairly well, however briefly, we won’t repeat any of that info here.
Also, before we get to my thoughts, let’s revisit what Allen had to say about As a Man Thinketh within the pages of his magazine The Light of Reason when
Thinketh was first published in July 1903:
“In the pages of the present issue will be found particulars of my new book entitled, As a Man Thinketh. It deals with the power of thought, and particularly with the use and application of thought to happy and beautiful issues. I have tried to make the book simple, so that all can easily grasp and follow its teaching, and put into practice the methods which it advises. It shows how, in his own thought-world, each man holds the key to every condition, good or bad, that enters into his life, and that, by working patiently and intelligently upon his thoughts, he may remake his life, and transform his circumstances.”
Then, in the January 1904 issue, on the eve of the publication of Out from the Heart, Allen wrote:
“About the 1st of February will appear a new book by the Editor entitled Out from the Heart. It will form a sequel to As a Man Thinketh . . . As a Man Thinketh deals with the power and application of thought in and to the practical issues of life in a broad and general way, but Out from the Heart will deal with details and particulars, showing how and by what practice the thoughts are to be strengthened and the mind purified, beginning with the lower steps before attempting the higher. Readers of the former book (the first edition of which is already nearly exhausted) will find in the latter complementary information and instruction, and all who are seeking the Right Path in life should not fail to secure these twin volumes.”
Now, my thoughts . . . This little book has become something of a passion project for me as it has been shuffled in and out of our publishing queue several times since we first launched in December 2017.
I initially began work on it in January 2018, which means it was one of the first books I worked on after we published Heathen Edition #1: The King in Yellow and decided to keep doing this Heathen-thing, but I could never work out an exactly right combination of art and fonts that pleased me, so I’d tinker and tinker and tinker, then scrap all of my work and start over.
What you now hold in your hands see is the third major inside-out revamp of this book, and definitely maybe the 928,675,412,304th version of the dotted map line on the cover. Then, I certainly complicated matters by having what I thought was the “genius idea” to work that dotted map line throughout the entire book, but only because that’s what the two books when presented together feel like: a treasure quest, underscored by a notion from Allen in As a Man Thinketh:
“Only by much searching and mining are gold and diamonds obtained, and man can find every truth connected with his being if he will dig deep into the mine of his soul . . . ”
It was on my third reading of the text that the treasure map idea came to me as I thought about the relation of the two book titles as looping puzzle pieces of instruction: we must “thinketh,” but we must do so from the heart, but not from the heart alone because thought begins in the mind, but all kinds of craziness happens up there in the mind, so those thoughts must be tempered, moderated, refined, improved, made loving by flowing “out from the heart” so that the location of the treasure of self-improvement that we seek truly lies somewhere between the brain and the heart—somewhere between thought and love—and X marks that spot.
(See it, now, on the cover?)
And this notion was very much on my mind as I recently found myself, while steeped in Heathen research, suddenly learning about the cardiocentric hypothesis, the supposition that the heart is the primary location of human emotions, cognition, and awareness, which is a belief that can be traced back to the ancient Egyptians and Greeks. The great Aristotle even contributed his two cents to the idea by surmising the heart to be the center of both emotions and intellect.
However, before Aristotle, it was Pythagoras who introduced the opposing cephalocentric hypothesis that presumes the brain to command the dominant role in controlling the body. He argued that the soul resides in the brain and is immortal.
So, who’s right?
Perhaps, they both are?
(Is now a good time to invite quantum theory to join the conversation?)
Cardiocentric means heart-centered, and cephalocentric means brain-centered, and I believe they are both correct (in their own way), so something like cephalocardiocentrism captures the idea that both the brain and heart work as equals.
Alternatively, we could opt for something a bit more concise: using neuro for brain and card for heart could deliver us neurocardism or cardioneurism.
Although, seeing as Aristotle and Pythagoras were both Greek, it makes far more sense to take an ancient Greek-inspired approach—using psyche for the soul and mind, cardio for the heart, and neural for the brain—to render the beautiful term psychocardioneuralism.
So, I guess that makes me a psychocardioneuralist?
And that brings me back to the beginning: Can we really do anything with these titles that hasn’t been done before? Can we actually offer something new?
Yes—yes, I believe, we can . . .
We can package these two titles within a graphic design so [tongue mostly but firmly planted in cheek here] original and inspired that it required a new word just to describe it: psychocardioneuralcentric.
Also, it probably doesn’t hurt that we’ve modernized the text utilizing American spellings instead of Allen’s original British, and we’ve added nearly 90 footnotes to provide clarity, context, commentary, and definitions where necessary. Based on my research, I do not believe there is another edition currently available that is as researched as ours—the footnotes prove it, full stop.
Finally, upon conclusion of reading this legendary self-help duo, I hope you’ll join me in subscribing to locating the old-yet-new psychocardioneuralism.
Remember: X marks the spot.
Sheridan Cleland
Co-Heathen
Contents
Heathenry: Thoughts on the Text
As a Man Thinketh
Out from the Heart
James Allen: A Prophet of Meditation
As a Man Thinketh
Out from the Heart
James Allen: A Prophet of Meditation
Praise
“A wonderful little classic.” —Elizabeth R. Hogan, The Power of Words in Your Life
“The full impact of As a Man Thinketh can best be seen in the successive generations of everyday readers who embraced its aphoristic lessons directing one’s thoughts to higher aims, and to understand success as the outer manifestation of inner development.” —Mitch Horowitz, One Simple Idea
“Years ago, I read a little book that had a lasting and profound effect on my life. It was called As a Man Thinketh by James Allen.” —Dale Carnegie
“The reading of these books brings contentment, peace, courage, kindness, joy, and love. These strengthen the will, expand the heart, enrich the blood, stimulate diges- tion, and fill the being with vitality, power, and poise.” —The Business Philosopher
“A little book of quiet thought and sound thinking.” —The Fort Worth Record and Register
“Every man and woman who thinks should have a copy. It is a reasonable appeal to reasonable people who are beginning to find out that they are themselves the makers of their whole lives, by the thoughts which they continually think.” —Unity
“One of the most stimulating and inspiring little books of all time.” —Lilian Eichler Watson, Light From Many Lamps
“Reasonable, sane, and clear enough in its context for the simplest mind to grasp, while brief enough for none who reads to grow weary . . . a book which will prove helpful to everyone who reads it, and it is one which should widely circulate and be read, not once but many times.” —The Daily Nonpareil
Details
As a Man Thinketh X Out from the Heart
Heathen Edition #40Published: June 5, 2025 Format: Paperback
Interior: Black & White on Cream Paper
Pages: 108 (+2 POD)
Language: English
Annotations: 89 Footnotes
Illustrations: 6
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