Can our Thoughts Connect us to Something Higher?

We have spoken of energy and of the fact that it follows thought.

We’ve spoken briefly of those flashes of Light which are so personal, and yet impersonal at the same time; they come, as it were, from sources unknown and bring deeper meaning and purpose to our lives.

We’ve considered also the general condition of our collective consciousness as in a state of sleep, psychological sleep, yet fully immersed in the forces that dominate the three worlds of human endeavour – the physical, emotional and mental worlds.

Let us now give consideration to the idea that maybe, just maybe, as a race embodying human consciousness, we are perhaps just one veritable link in a long chain of innumerable consciousnesses.
Linger for a while and reflect on this thought.

When attempting to consider the abstract it becomes a very real challenge if the mind is steeped in the habit of plagiarism. Have you ever noticed how often we claim an idea as our own, particularly if we wholeheartedly believe in it, and refuse to look at other points of view? We grasp a concept from a book, for instance, or acquire it during a discussion with someone we trust and admire and immediately it is claimed by the consciousness to become a part of our life paradigm; should someone disagree with ‘our idea’ or point out a more reasonable alternative, we tend to argue the point to keep our claim alive. When our ideas are exposed in some way or other, there is something within us that is threatened in the process, it is that part of us which builds itself up from the borrowed things of this world. Indeed, some of us would willingly die for a cherished idea or destroy other people’s lives if pet theories are opposed or discredited. There are many fanatics in the world today, and if we look honestly at our own reactions to those who oppose us vehemently in thought, word and deed, we too will see a tendency to fanaticism aroused within our own beings.

Why are we then so attached to some thoughts and not to others, identifying wholeheartedly with some while discarding others that strike not a note of harmony within us? Are we in control of our thoughts or do they control us? These are fundamental questions which should engage all reflective souls on the planet, for it is these selective thoughts which rule the course of our lives. The truth of the old maxim: ‘Energy follows thought’ is clear for everyone to see if we would stand back and watch the cause and effect processes in our lives.

I remember the very moment I first realised the power of thought, or rather the power of attachment to plagiarised thoughts. We hold on to these thought-forms as if our very lives depended on them. Is this not a very curious thing? Indeed, we are much like the blind following the blind. The ability to think for oneself, to unravel the complexities of conflicting thought through close observation by the five senses and through the practical use of common sense (the basic gift of the concrete mind), and to apply the power of reason through the use of a trained intellectual mind, these are the tools we have at our disposal, tools that are to be developed through right effort.

Have you ever considered carefully the entire realm of thought and thinking? What are these powerful thought-forms that rule our lives for good or evil? Where do they come from and how are they actually manifesting in our individual and collective consciousness? Perhaps the thoughts that arise in the mind are derived from ‘ideas’ which come forth from higher planes of consciousness and are perceived accurately by the mind in moments of stillness and focus, in those moments when mind is attentive and free from the petty concerns of daily occupation. The essential truth of ‘ideas’ is realised in a state of mental clarity, but it is often misconstrued and misunderstood by minds that are cluttered and distracted. The resulting thought-forms which are then built up in the mind do not reflect the essential unity which underlies all true ideas.

Thoughts are things just as words are things, possessing FORM, SOUL and LIFE. They are not physical things and cannot be seen in the same way, but they have power to move the physical and to make things happen. The thoughts we cling to in our daily living shape and create each of our lives according to their degree of clarity and power. They can be used to open a door to new realisations and inspiration, if we wish, or close the door shut to higher impressions and progressive change. We should always bear this in mind as we go about our daily affairs.

Many of the existing thought-forms are ancient in origin while others appear relatively new in comparison. This melee of differentiated substance is held on the mental plane in the form of thoughts and are ever ready for our picking; the more refined the thought the more defined are the forms they take and access to them requires a similar refinement of the individual mental body. ‘As a man thinketh, so he is’. There are many created thought-forms of every degree hovering in the realm of mind and they are used in our political, religious, economic, social and educational systems according to the nature and point of development of each group – be it a nation, a race, or a group of people working together in some particular way. They are chosen by us individually according to our nature and point of conscious development. A scientist, for example, will choose thoughts mainly that are related to science, while a religious person will chose those thoughts related to religion, and so on. But the aim and purpose of all thought is acquisition, it is the gaining of something desired through the power of thought. We all use thought, each of us in our own way, to acquire whatever it is we desire. Clearly defined thought has direction and it often has the power to influence. Two opposing thoughts can and do often create opposition on the physical plane, and sometimes to dire effect if it is selfish and unreasonable thought.

Perhaps the next step forward in the collective human endeavour is for us to realise the essential unity that lies within all these diversified systems of thought that had arisen at some point in time from ‘seed ideas’. In our heart of hearts, in that part of us which lies beyond thought, we know that there is one ultimate truth and that each system of human endeavour is, at its core, a journey embarked upon throughout the long course of history, for the purpose of discovery. Imagine a day when this unity of purpose is realised by mankind and becomes a working hypothesis in our daily experience.

Using the creative imagination, try transmitting the idea of unity; send it out as a living thoughtform into the great stream of mental substance which is ever playing upon the human consciousness. Think the idea through mentally, emotionally, and practically, sending it outwards into the world of thought.