James Allen's philosophy became possible when liberal Protestantism discarded the stern dogma that man is sinful by nature. It substituted for that dogma an optimistic belief in man's innate goodness and divine rationality.

This reversal of doctrine was, as William James said, the greatest revolution of the 19th Century. It was part of a move toward a reconciliation of science and religion following Darwin's publication The Origin of Species.

Charles Darwin himself hinted at the change in belief in The Descent of Man. In that book he wrote, the highest possible stage in moral culture is when we recognize that we ought to control our thoughts.

Allen's work embodies the influence of Protestant liberalism on the one hand and of Buddhist thought on the other. For example, the Buddha teaches, All that we are is the result of what we have thought. Allen's Biblical text says, As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.

Allen insists upon the power of the individual to form his own character and to create his own happiness. Thought and character are one, he says, and as character can only manifest and discover itself through environment and circumstance, the outer conditions of a person's life will always be found to be harmoniously related to his inner state. This does not mean that a man's circumstances at any given time are an indication of his entire character, but that those circumstances are so intimately connected with some vital thought element within him that, for the time being, they are indispensable to his development.

Allen starts us thinking - even when we would rather be doing something else. He tells us how thought leads to action. He shows us how to turn our dreams into realities...... His is a philosophy that has brought success to millions. It is the philosophy of Norman Vincent Peale's The Power of Positive Thinking and of Joshua Liebman's Peace of Mind.

We become spiritually rich, Allen writes, when we discover the adventure within; when we are conscious of the oneness of all life; when we know the power of meditation; when we experience kinship with nature.

Allen's message is one of hope even in the midst of confusion. Yes, he says, humanity surges with uncontrolled passion, is tumultuous with ungoverned grief, is blown about by anxiety and doubt. Only the wise man, only he whose thoughts are controlled and purified, makes the winds and the storms of the soul obey him.

Tempest-tossed souls, Allen continues, wherever you may be, under whatsoever conditions you may life, know this - in the ocean of life the isles of blessedness are smiling and the sunny shore of your ideal awaits your coming.

And thus Allen teaches two essential truths: today we are where our thoughts have taken us, and we are the architects - for better or worse - of our futures.

The works of James Allen are eminently practical. He never wrote theories, or for the sake of writing, or to add another to the existing books. According to his wife, Allen wrote when he had a message, and it became a message only when he had lived it in his own life, and knew that it was good. Thus he wrote facts, which he had proven by practice.