The Mastery of Destiny

James Allen (1864-1912) was a philosopher and pioneer of the New Thought movement. A prolific author, his works have become a fundamental source for many of the concepts used today in motivational and self-help programs. The Mastery of Destiny is Allen's treatise on the apparent conflict between fate and free will. He states that there is a method by which these opposing forces can be reconciled, "Between apparently conflicting extremes there is always a 'middle way' of balance, justice, or compensation which, while it includes both extremes, cannot be said to be either one or the other, and which brings both into harmony; and this middle way is the point of contact between two extremes." Allen's method, if it can be described as such, involves the continual monitoring of one's thoughts and attitudes to develop the awareness that all changes in personal circumstances are generated from internal rather than external forces. As he states in the foreword to his most famous book, As a Man