As A Man Thinketh
Assessment By Vivian Brandespim.

1. What Ideas were personally most important for you in this book?

The most important ideas for me in this book are:

* A man is literally what he thinks, his character being the complete sum of all his thoughts. If you think in a positive way, good things will happen for you. In other wise, you will keep in the same life.

* Man is made or unmade by himself. In the armory of thought he forges the weapons by which he destroys himself. He also fashions the tools with which he builds for himself heavenly mansions of joy and strength and peace. By the right choice and true application of thought, man ascends to the divine perfection. We are responsible for our acts. Everything that happens in our life, we made something to get it, even we adimit it or not. So we have to build our way with joy, strengh and peace.

* His wishes and prayers are only gratified and answered when they harmonize with his thoughts and actions. When someone says that he prays a lot, has faith but nothing happens in life and believe that God is responsible for it, the person is commiting a mistake. Of course praying and wishing is really important, but man also needs to work hard to make his dreams true.

* Anxiety quickly demoralizes the whole body, and lays it open to the entrance of disease; while impure thoughts, even if not physically indulged, will sooner shatter the nervous system. It is necessary to have serenity all the time, even in hard situations of life. If you are a calm person, it is certain that you are a healthy person. Anxiety, bad thoughts, only give us disease and disorganizes our nervous system.

* The dreamers are the saviors of the world. As the visible world is sustained by the invisible, so men, through all their trials and sins and sordid vocations, are nourished by the beautiful visions of their solitary dreamers. Humanity cannot forget its dreamers; it cannot let their ideals fade and die; it lives in them; it knows them as the realities which it shall one day see and know. We are made by dreams. We need an ideology to live, one reason to keep our lives. These thoughts help our world to be better, create a good and protective atmosphere to everybody. So, it is really important to dream.

* The calm man, having learned how to govern himself, knows how to adapt himself to others. And they, in turn reverence his spiritual strength. They feel that they can learn from him and rely upon him. The more tranquil a man becomes, the greater is his success, his influence, his power for good. We have to control our feelings all the time. If something wrong is happening, not think in a negative way. People who can control themselves, are calm have more success in whatever they do.

2. Can you relate the ideas or concepts in this book to your personal circumstances in life such as your relationships, your beliefs, your goals, your values, etc?

When the book shows that: ” A man is literally what he thinks, his character being the complete sum of all his thoughts.” I could remember when I did not pass in two Vestibulars and I thought study never more. I started to find a job, but like I was thinking in a negative way, so it was very hard to work. So, at the time I forgot what happened and came back to study, everything in my life changed, even I found a job.

“His wishes and prayers are only gratified and answered when they harmonize with his thoughts and actions.” This part of the book reminds me when I wanted to get the Italian citizenship. I did not do so many things to obtain it, only had faith. So, only thinking we can not get one objective. We have to work hard for that. Nowadays, I can see that if I want this thing, I have to do everything to get it, not only wish it.

“Anxiety quickly demoralizes the whole body, and lays it open to the entrance of disease; while impure thoughts, even if not physically indulged, will sooner shatter the nervous system.” When I read these sentences I could remembered what happen with me last year. I started to have problems with my intestine and when these problems got worse, I got nervous and thought like that. After that, I tried to control myself and everything got better. At this time I also started do not like my job, think it was very far from my house and my College, so I had problems with my nervous system. Now, I am better and controlling my emotions.

“The dreamers are the saviors of the world. As the visible world is sustained by the invisible, so men, through all their trials and sins and sordid vocations, are nourished by the beautiful visions of their solitary dreamers. Humanity cannot forget its dreamers; it cannot let their ideals fade and die; it lives in them; it knows them as the realities which it shall one day see and know.” This part reminds me when I came back to study. I had lost my dreams for some months, but when I decided to study again and enter to university, good things happenned with me. I enjoyed my job a lot, I only thought of how to make my way of teaching better and go to school to learn how more I can. My students liked the classes, and took high grades at school and the joy made part of my day by day. Even when I entered to university I liked a lot Literature, work hard with an article about Mrs. Dalloway, took only ten in this subject. As I said, when we dream with something and think that everything will happen positively, we get success.

“The calm man, having learned how to govern himself, knows how to adapt himself to others. And they, in turn reverence his spiritual strength. They feel that they can learn from him and rely upon him. The more tranquil a man becomes, the greater is his success, his influence, his power for good.” I think like this. We are responsible for everything that happens with us. So the best way to have a very good life is being calm, tranquil. Who does like that ,has more success and it gives us a very great power to face our problems and solve them in the best way. We have the cure inside us. The secret is to find it, so we can use this power at the necessary moment. As we can see in this part of the book: “Man is made or unmade by himself. In the armory of thought he forges the weapons by which he destroys himself. He also fashions the tools with which he builds for himself heavenly mansions of joy and strength and peace. By the right choice and true application of thought, man ascends to the divine perfection.”

3. What are the most important new ideas or concepts you learned from this book? Explain them:

The most important concepts I learned from this book are:

* A man is literally what he thinks, his character being the complete sum of all his thoughts.

* Man is made or unmade by himself. In the armory of thought he forges the weapons by which he destroys himself. He also fashions the tools with which he builds for himself heavenly mansions of joy and strength and peace. By the right choice and true application of thought, man ascends to the divine perfection.

* His wishes and prayers are only gratified and answered when they harmonize with his thoughts and actions.

* Anxiety quickly demoralizes the whole body, and lays it open to the entrance of disease; while impure thoughts, even if not physically indulged, will sooner shatter the nervous system.

* The dreamers are the saviors of the world. As the visible world is sustained by the invisible, so men, through all their trials and sins and sordid vocations, are nourished by the beautiful visions of their solitary dreamers. Humanity cannot forget its dreamers; it cannot let their ideals fade and die; it lives in them; it knows them as the realities which it shall one day see and know.

* The calm man, having learned how to govern himself, knows how to adapt himself to others. And they, in turn reverence his spiritual strength . They feel that they can learn from him and rely upon him. The more tranquil a man becomes, the greater is his success, his influence, his power for good. So, what is really important to our lives is to be calm, tranquil, control our emotions in other to do not have nervous system problems, do not forget our dreams because they are the reason o four life.

4. Has this book challenged or changed your thinking in any way? If so, explain how:

Of course this book changed my thinking in many ways. Now I know the importance of having dreams, being calm and control my feelings. These are the keys for my success.

5. Are there ideas in the book that you totally disagree with? If so, why?

I do not disagree with anything. This book is just perfect.

6. What did you find most helpful and least helpful in this book?

I found most helpfulin this book believe in our dreams and be calm. Nothing was least helpful.

7. In 50 words or less, please describe the main idea the whole book is trying to convey.

The main idea the whole book is trying to convey is believe in our dreams, be calm and tranquil, control our emotions.

Please rate the following questions on a scale from 1 to 10. Ten is good and one is poor.

A. How interesting was it to read? 9
B. How helpful were the contents? 10
C. How easy was it to understand? 10
D. Would you recommend it to others? 9
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 10


Comments - We have to believe God, first of all, and after us, do not care with problems. That is what I could conclude, after read it.

Jonathan Livingston Seagull
Assessment By Vivian Brandespim

1. What Ideas were personally most important for you in this book?

The most important idea from 'Jonathan Livingston Seagull ' is to believe you, in your abilities, not only having faith, but trying hard to make your dreams become true. Everybody can find excelence, inteligence and skill inside them. At the moment we dicover those things we become happier and live better. We can see these ideas through Jonathan, the seagull. Despite his dificults to fly higher, he believed him, he thought he was free, so he could learn how to fly as he wanted.

Another important thing is that when we get what we want it is necessary to be humble, not to be leader.

This book also shows that there is not a pattern of being. Most part of people prefer living in their limitations and disagree who thinks different from the others. Who is trying to change the limitations, to get something that is good, but is not common, the others citicizes this person. Even when someone has a different idea that changes this pattern of being, it is not well accepted. We can see it when Jonathan wanted to show to his flock how high he was flying.

One thing I liked was that we have to focus on what we really love to do, believe our capacity of doing it, and work hard to be good, but work on love. It is the key to the success.

Despite of our limitations it is important to try hard and hard to get our objective. Even it takes a long time, one day we can remember everything done to make our dream true and we will be really happy because of it. There is not better than get something after a hard work.

We also have to break our fears of doing something. It is not good to think that we want to get something but, we do not have the skills for that. Of course everyone has capacity for everything. They need only to think in a positive way. So we get all our objectives. The book shows it to us when Jonathan said: Break the chains of your thought, and you break the chains of your body, too . . “ "We're free to go where we wish and to be what we are.”
There is none better than us, that is gifted or divine. When we try to make what we want better and better, we can see that it is possible to get our objective without mystery. We can see when Jonathan said to his students: "Look at Fletcher! Lowell! Charles-Roland! Are they also special and gifted and divine? No more than you are, no more than I am. The only difference, the very only one, is that they have begun to understand what they really are and have begun to practise it." So there is no mystery for the success. The only thing is to think in positive way and work hard always.

2. Can you relate the ideas or concepts in this book to your personal circumstances in life such as your relationships, your beliefs, your goals, your values, etc?

I can relate the ideas in this book to my personal circumstances in life. When the author said: “We can list ourselves out of ignorance, we can find ourselves as creatures of excellence and intelligence and skill. We can be free! We can learn to fly!”, I remember when I spent one year that I stop studying and tried to find a job. It was difficult to work because I did not have experience before, I felt sad because I did Vestibular at UNB and I did not get succeed in the exams. So it was a very hard year. I could not find a solution. However, I could find a hope inside me that make me feel a person with excelence, inteligence and skill. After that, through positives thoughts I had the opportunity to teach at Skill, the school I had learnt English, and I came back to school to prepare for UFG exams and I got succeed in it.

I can also associate this part of 'Jonathan Livingston Seagull: "You can go to any place and to any time that you wish to go," "Jonathan," he said, and these were the last words that he spoke, "keep working on love” with being a diplomat. When I decided to be a teacher of English, I started doing Letters at UFG, thinking that I really would work in this area. However, some years before, I had a dream of study International Relations at UNB and became a diplomat, doing the Rio Branco Institute exams but I did not succeed in Vestibular as I told before. So, when I start to study Letters, I had more experience of being a teacher, I could see that I did not like this kind of job for all my life, and I discovered that I was doing a very good course at university to prepare for the exams to be a diplomat. So, what I really wanted I could dream again with that. I changed plans. I left my job but keep in the same course at university and I started to prepare for what I really want and think that we can get what we wish, it does not matter if it is hard or not. The secret is focus in what we really wish, work on love and hard for that. So the life will help you on that.

"Look at Fletcher! Lowell! Charles-Roland! Are they also special and gifted and divine? No more than you are, no more than I am. The only difference, the very only one, is that they have begun to understand what they really are and have begun to practise it." This part of the book can be related when someone asks me: “ How can you speak three languages and you are learning one more? Are you special, gifted or divine?” . So I answer that everybody can get what they want, even speak many languages. It is not hard. Like Jonathan said: “we have begun to understand what they really are and have begun to practise it."

3. What are the most important new ideas or concepts you learned from this book? Explain them:

The most important concepts I learnd from this book are:

There's a reason to life! We can list ourselves out of ignorance, we can find ourselves as creatures of excellence and intelligence and skill. I have no wish to be leader. I want only to share what I've found, to show those horizons out ahead for us all.

The most important thing in living was to reach out and touch perfection in that which they most loved to do.

"You can go to any place and to any time that you wish to go," "keep working on love."

Break the chains of your thought, and you break the chains of your body, too . . ." "We're free to go where we wish and to be what we are."

"Look at Fletcher! Lowell! Charles-Roland! Are they also special and gifted and divine? No more than you are, no more than I am. The only difference, the very only one, is that they have begun to understand what they really are and have begun to practise it."

So it is important to find a reason to live, a dream to make it real through hard work, love what we are doing, do not think we are not much better than the others and the others are not also much better than us because we are humans, so we are the same, break all the chains that do not permit you go on in your objective. It is also necessary to share our experiences with people, make them to understand what they really are, motivating them. In this way we are helping to make one more winner and a happy person.

4. Has this book challenged or changed your thinking in any way? If so, explain how:

Of course this book changed my thinking in many ways. I can believe more that I have potential to get my dream that is being a diplomat, I could discover that breaking all the chains we can go to where we want, think of help people, motivate them to change their lives.

5. Are there ideas in the book that you totally disagree with? If so, why?

There is no idea I disagree. All of them are perfect.

6. What did you find most helpful and least helpful in this book?

What I found most helpful is to find a reason to live, work hard for that , thinking I have all the “ingredients” to get succeed.
There is no point least helpful for me. Everything is worderful.

7. In 50 words or less, please describe the main idea the whole book is trying to convey.

The main idea the whole book is trying to convey is we have to believe us, in our potentials, our dreams to live better. There are no chains for the person who really want something.

Please rate the following questions on a scale from 1 to 10. Ten is good and one is poor.

A. How interesting was it to read? 10
B. How helpful were the contents? 10
C. How easy was it to understand? 10
D. Would you recommend it to others? 9
E. What is the overall rating you would give it? 9

Comments : It is good reading books that motivates you to get more success in life and this one could show an interesting example of a seagull, despite of his limitations, he tried to win and win. So we have to follow this teaching.