From James Allen to You 17

From poverty to power; or, the realization of prosperity and peace.
Part 1: The path to prosperity
The world a reflex of mental states 7

Where the naturalist,
his mind stored with the knowledge of natural facts,
saw beauty, harmony, and hidden glory,
the mind unenlightened upon those things saw only an offensive mud-puddle.

The wild flower which the casual wayfarer thoughtlessly tramples upon is,
to the spiritual eye of the poet,
an angelic messenger from the invisible.

To the many,
the ocean is but a dreary expanse of water
on which ships sail and are sometimes wrecked;
to the soul of the musician it is a living thing, and he hears,
in all its changing moods, divine harmonies.

Where the ordinary mind sees disaster and confusion,
the mind of the philosopher sees the most perfect sequence of cause and effect,
and where the materialist sees nothing but endless death,
the mystic sees pulsating and eternal life.

And as we clothe both events and objects with our own thoughts,
so likewise do we clothe the souls of others in the garments of our thoughts.

naturalist = a person who studies and knows a lot about plants and animals
glory = praise and thanks
unenlightened = not showing understanding or knowledge
puddle = a small pool of liquid on the ground, especially from rain
wayfarer = someone who travels on foot
thoughtlessly = in a way that does not consider how your actions or words may upset someone
to consider = to spend time thinking about a possibility
possibility = a chance that something may happen or be true
to trample = to step heavily on something, causing damage
invisible = impossible to see
dreary = boring and making you feel unhappy
wrecked = very badly damaged
divine = connected with a god
harmony = a pleasant musical sound made by different notes being played
ordinary = not different or special in any way
disaster = an event that results in great harm, damage, or death
confusion = a situation in which people do not understand what is happening, what they should do
materialist = someone who believes that only physical matter exists and the spiritual world does not
mystic = someone who attempts to be united with God through prayer
pulsating = very interesting and exciting
eternal = lasting forever
object = a thing that you can see or touch but that is not usually a living animal, plant, or person
garment = a piece of clothing