THE NATURE OF THOUGHT 

This paper is titled ‘The Nature of Thought’. I have tackled the topic from a purely theosophical standpoint, and have ignored an enormous amount of valuable information on the subject available from other perspectives. I have done this because I believe theosophy delivers an essential alternative insight into the nature of thought, I have not found elsewhere. I have borrowed substantially from our own literature and thrown in a few ideas and observations of my own.  

We think from the moment we rise, and if we are conscious enough;we can be conscious of our thoughts in our sleeping hours. We can see the various kinds of thought as different aspects of our being coming into play and influencing the mind. I remember spending a whole day once simply watching my own thoughts as they entered my mind. What a boring and long day it was! So many thoughts rushing where only fools dare, and where angels fear to tread! I won’t be doing that again in a hurry!! However, this exercise of observing our thoughts appears essential, and many systems encourage us to undertake it. The Upanishads for example, say the mind is the enslaver and the liberator. Here are some thoughts by some of the greats. It’s all food for thought! 

Schiller says “Intellect is brain force”. 

The Buddha says “All that we are is the result of what we have thought… If a man acts with pure thoughts, happiness follows him like a shadow that never leaves him”. Emerson says “Thoughts rule the world”. 

Chinese proverb “The mind is the emperor of the body”. Sivanandra says “Thought moulds your character and shapes your destiny. Therefore centre your thoughts on God and sublime truths”. 

From an unknown source “Thought is a tremendous living force, thought gains strength through repetition”. 

The state of our mind and the thoughts we entertain profoundly influence our health. Positive healthy thoughts about ourselves and others I believe, make us much happier and healthier. Also, do you notice that we can project our thoughts into a situation and change the way we see it even though the situation is unchanged? Remember the example of the person who calls the glass of water half empty and the other person who calls the glass of water half full. If we can project positive thoughts, the rest of our world usually reciprocates. Smile and the whole world smiles with you. 

What are thoughts? Can we control our thoughts? What would our thoughts look like if we could see them? Where do thoughts come from? What form do the thoughts of the gods take? Whose big idea is the universe? What responsibility do we have for our thoughts? What is the impact of our thoughts on our future selves? 

The chief message of this paper is to suggest that thoughts are actuallybeings. That’s right, beings, on a very basic level as far as their experience goes, with their own will and their own divine inner selves. The Mahatma Letters describe thoughts as things – “they have tenacity, coherence, life, - …they are real entities…” 

This is an interesting thought. The idea here is that each thought has alife of its own, and is a ‘learning being’. The thoughts we produce are an energy or an individual form of consciousness in themselves. A thought or ‘elemental’ is surrounded by its own thought form or body. We create these elemental beings all the time just by thinking. 

So our thoughts, as evolving human beings, are living entities, embryosouls developing and moving forward on the pathway of evolutionary growth, their divine aspect is a product of our thinking. So in this simple act we are godlike – we create life. Thus, it is important to try and control and guard our thinking processes. But how can this be achieved and what are some of the practical aspects of all of this? 

Thoughts can grow stronger every time we have them, and even moreso if there is some force behind them. Examples of these powerful thoughts are anger, jealousy, compassion, etc. “When a thought has left the mind it is impossible to withdraw the energy with which we charged it, for then it is already an elemental being, beginning its upward journey. If neutralising thoughts are sent forth immediately, the two coalesce, the effects of the evil ones are made harmless”…“When we mix the mind with animal passions we create vices – our aim should be if possible to control the mind and not be controlled by it. It is after all a tool of the inner self or higher ego or our more material aspects. It’s our choice. The mind is discoloured by whatever the mind focuses on. Also to be avoided, are the influences coming from the presence of others, from our training and education and our desires. The best thought or ‘correct’ thought comes from the higher ego or our spiritual being”. 

Habits are thoughts or beings that hunger for nourishment, to stayalive, that is why the more energy we put into a habit the more difficult it is to break it. After long enough the, ‘habit becomes the person and the person becomes the habit’. 

‘If we are having problems with thoughts we can do without, think ofthe opposite of the thought that is annoying us – this strengthens the will, clears the vision, refines the emotions, stimulates the heart’s forces and the general strength and nobility of character.’ 

Let’s turn to the Buddha, for some more practical advice: “When eviland unworthy thoughts arise in the mind, images of lust, hatred and infatuation; the disciple must win from these thoughts other and worthy images. When he thus induces other and worthy images in his mind, the unworthy thoughts, the images of lust, hatred, infatuation, cease; and because he has overcome them, his inner heart is made firm, tranquil, unified and strong”. 

If we now move to a larger perspective, do you realise that everyhuman being is the thought of their own inner god? An imperfect reflection of an inner splendour, nevertheless a child of the thoughts of the divinity within. 

This is all worth a great deal of reflection as it explains our origins – your inner god is the result of the thought of another self conscious being. In the far distant past you were thought into being, just like we think our own thoughts into being. Can you see the profound relationships working here? 

Extend this thinking to a cosmic scale and we have the creation ofgalaxies. Highly evolved beings or consciousnesses or gods, created this universe in an apparent organised matrix of matter and consciousness by thinking it into being. To borrow a thought, I imagine the more complex the galaxy the more complex the thinking and experience behind the consciousness or being that created it. 

I am glad that I am not a member of a galaxy that was a result of someGod’s hangover! If the big bang is a correct approximation of the creation of this universe, then don’t let’s be around when that consciousness loses its temper! 

Once in a while I think it pays to confront our thinking habits. Whatdrives us? What are our aspirations? Ever stopped to wonder why our aspirations are what they are? Or perhaps you have asked who you are? Recently I realised much of the person I am now is the person I created from the child I once was, no-one else did this, although some people were glad to help in their own way. 

I would like to end this paper on a positive note. “Man is indeed a 

mystery: under the surface and behind the veil there is the mystery of selfhood, individuality, a career stretching into distant eternities”. Man is essentially a godlike energy enshrouded by veils. 

The person we are to become is like an unopened bud, waiting for usto create the right conditions for it to blossom. This is self directed evolution. This is what our thoughts also do, they create our future circumstances, our future karma. This is because they precede all our actions. Our thoughts therefore create our future selves just as our current self is the result of our past thoughts and action. 

“If we can try every moment to be selfless, we shall forget our personalwants, and eventually free the spirit from the crippling bonds of self-centredness, and eventually merge into universal consciousness. By understanding the power of thought we can transform our entire being and move towards a more intimate union with the cosmic divinity at the centre of our solar system. When we lose personality, we release the hold the unprogressed elements have upon our real being. The importance of understanding the power of thought, does not only mean understanding the force of thought or the power of thought in a mechanical sense. It also includes the understanding of the nature of thought. And this understanding is what I have tried to convey in giving this paper. 

Evolution is simply the unwrapping of the layers surrounding the entitybe it god, human, or thought. We human beings were elementals in some far bygone cosmic ‘Manvantara’ [cosmic lifetime] and we have evolved at present the first faint light of spirituality. However imperfectly it may be, we are beginning to sense the working of the divine flame within, which is the influence of the inner god.”  Just one final thought about thought – “thought in all its forms is themost fleeting and uncontrolled action of all.” But it is something we eventually must understand, and something we will need to eventually control.

The above is the text of a lecture delivered to the Theosophical Society Pasadena in Melbourne Australia. The views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of the Theosophical Society Pasadena.

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