“Isn’t this emphasis on the power of positive thinking wrong?”
No, it is still valid as far as it goes. You will develop more and have a greater impact for good if you trust in Me and believe in yourself—not in your ego, your will, but in your spirit and your destiny.
“Destiny?”
Yes, there is a goal for you (for a person)—an individual path of evolution—that I want to help you along. Believing that you can progress and trust in Me to help you is very helpful in achieving that goal.
An ego rush always broke my connection with God. So I tried to keep a cold watch on this ego of mine.
When I was still in Washington, D.C., a matter came up about which I needed the assistance of an eminent intellectual with whom I had a limited acquaintance. He was completely forthcoming, and I felt flattered by his response.
“Lord, how should I take this? Is it wrong for me to feel flattered?”
No, it is not. This is joy, the joy of being yourself, which is proper to (appropriate for) human beings. I want you to be happy, to feel the fullness of your own being, its bounty. I blessed you with certain gifts. Of course, you recognize them as gifts, as benefits, as talents. That is okay. It is not the same as ego.
Ego is destructive, separatist, defiant of My will, self-satisfied and self-lustful. A proper appreciation of yourself opens your heart, binds you to Me, to those you love.