Manly P Hall

"The ancients warned man long ago that each individual
had to develop a center of integrity. He had to develop a
basic philosophy of life, a pattern of realities that could
not be shaken by opinion. He had to have some real and
great conviction, a conviction arising in some truth
 superior to his own thinking.
It was only when he was able to discipline his own mind
and emotions that he could prevent the shadows from
gathering...
The disciplined person will not demand the impossible, 
therefore he will not see the impossible reflected back 
upon him as a possibility. He will not expect the 
unreasonable. He will not populate space with false forms, 
or life with false values. Because his own core is not 
deceived, he will never deceive himself."

Excerpted from "Unseen Forces that Affect our Lives"
© 1992 The Philosophical Research Society