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Thoughts
connect spirit and body
Neuroscience refers to thoughts as nothing more than measurable brain waves. Common parlance has a much broader picture of thoughts, because they are considered as something that exists, that has an effect beyond the human body. We think, have thoughts, send well wishes to fellow human beings. There are light and heavy thoughts, pure and impure. Thoughts have an effect on us, they can depress or inspire us.
These descriptions are not imaginations, but can be explained logically. Thoughts have a much more important mode of action than the materially measurable brain waves suggest. Let’s start our considerations with the origin of the thoughts:
Spirit – Body
Very broadly speaking, a human being consists of body and spirit and perceives earthly life with the help of their sensory organs. These impressions are processed in the brain and partly used directly to control bodily functions, for example pulling back your hand if you burn yourself. This does not require the formation of thoughts. Other, more complex sensory impressions are transformed by the thoughts and thereby the spirit is given the possibility to experience something on earth. This also involves the memories stored in the brain.
For example, if I receive a letter from a friend, my thoughts link the words and past memories and give my mind the opportunity to experience them. Only a few words or hints in the letter may cause a strong experience, which is related to earlier events. Without thoughts I, meaning the spirit, can’t experience anything on earth.
This is a very important, but still only a partial task of our thoughts. They also give the spirit the possibility to make decisions through earthly experience. The resulting will of the spirit, its sensations, take the opposite way back to the brain, where thoughts are created again. Depending on the willingness of the spirit, thoughts can also cause the muscles of my body to write the friend right back or call him.
Thoughts perform two processes. On the one hand, they enable the spirit to be able to use events on earth as experiences. On the other hand, the will of the spirit, with help of thoughts, prompts my body to speak and act.
The flow of information between spirit and body is only made possible by thoughts.
But only make it possible, because if the spirit is inert and does not want to participate, the brain can also make decisions, generate thoughts, words and actions without instructions from the spirit. Unfortunately, this is usually the case these days. When I think about what really touched me internally that day in the evening, I often can’t think of anything at all. Everyday life proceeded on its own, my intellect handled everything. Even my moods were determined externally. I was annoyed by certain everyday things, although I had firmly intended to be level-headed. Everything was superficial, none of my thoughts touched me in my innermost being, none of the real desires of my spirit were realized through thoughts.
“I am always speaking here only of real thoughts, which carry within them the vital power of the psychic intuition. Not of the power wasted by the brain-substance entrusted to you as a tool, which forms but fleeting thoughts that only manifest in a wild medley as shadowy phantoms, and fortunately very soon fade away. Such thoughts merely waste your time and energy, and thereby you fritter away a gift entrusted to you.”
From the work:
„In the Light of Truth“
Lecture: Silence
Real thoughts consequently carry soulful sensation. In everyday life we mostly deal with factual material things. Rarely do we really speak to the soul, rarely are we truly inwardly deeply touched by a conversation. But this is due to ourselves, the spirit, which is too inert to break through the thick material layer of everyday life. It could rejoice at the sight of the beauty of a flower, beam into the eyes of a fellow soul, and try to talk to a real person. Thoughts are the tool to bring these subtle but strong spiritual soul forces into earthly life. These real thoughts, which contain spiritual feeling, have great effects:
- Watch your thoughts, for they become your words!
- Watch your words, for they become your deeds!
- Watch your actions, for they become your habits!
- Watch your habits, for they become your character!
- Pay attention to your character, for it becomes your destiny! (Jewish Talmud)
Thoughts, originated and filled with strong mental feeling are able to influence our destiny. For example, what difference may lie in the simple question: -“How are you?” The thoughts that triggered these words could have been understandably superficial. Then, we usually don’t even listen to the answer properly and continue on with everyday life.
Thoughts that triggered the question: “How are you?” could also contain heartfelt care, love for the other person, genuine sympathy for their condition. The triggering and inherent feeling of these thoughts and words make the big difference and are therefore of crucial importance.
Thought centers, lower or noble intuitive perceptions
Our spirit can direct the neutral creative power by its intention, for example into noble or lower sensations. The noble ones cause noble thoughts, which have a thin, bright, light cover. Lower sensations, on the other hand, form dense, heavy dark covers. This creates light and heavy thoughts, which our soul can clearly distinguish. Who has not experienced how burdensome heavy thoughts can be? This is not an illusion, but real perception of our soul. Thoughts have a subtle weight depending on their nature, whether noble or low. Once the burdensome thoughts lift like a weight off your shoulders, you feel relieved again.
But the nature of our thoughts has other important consequences.
The forces directed through the lower thought channels attract each other and gather into command centers according to their special nature, e.g. vanity, hatred and the desire for power.
But even noble forces create command centers, for example loyalty, charity and gratitude. Through our thoughts we keep connections with these centers of our choice. However, the connecting strands work in both directions. We send and receive thoughts of the same kind retroactively. This results in a lively exchange of giving and receiving.
The repercussions of these centers produce the seemingly unwanted thoughts that suddenly arise in us. It is easy to see that the nature of our thoughts sent out is similar to that of those received. For better or for worse, our thoughts become stronger in the chosen direction. This is also called the carousel of thoughts in which we are spinning. In the worst case, it can increase to the point of addiction, for example a gambling addiction, which is expressed in thoughts. The formation of our character is strongly influenced by our thoughts. Following the law of cause and effect, the resulting words and deeds then also have an effect on our future destiny. Stimulated by our spirit, thoughts are decisive for our development. Ascent or decline, our thoughts will bring it about according to our spiritual desires.
From a purely practical point of view, the question how you can turn off unwanted thoughts in you may arise. As mentioned before, the spirit is the powerful origin of real thoughts. The brain with the intellect have the task to form this desire into thoughts. This is the starting point of a sustainable change:
“It is not difficult, indeed much easier than the other attempts, once you become unassuming, whereby intellectual conceit about your own abilities and your own power cannot arise. Empty yourselves of thoughts, and set free within you the urge for what is noble and good. Then you will have that foundation for thinking which comes from the volition of your spirit; and whatever arises from that you can then safely leave to the work of your intellect to carry out in the Realm of Densest Gross Matter. Nothing wrong can ever develop.”
From the work:
„In the Light of Truth“
Lecture: The first Step
This urge for the noble, or what can be called a longing for the pure, is the key. This is how we can guide the creative power into paths of noble thoughts that lead upward.
These days, we often read about other starting points to transform our thoughts, to create our own future, to manifest our desires. We could set a goal, always think about it strongly, believe irrevocably that it will come true. However, this is usually the work of our intellect, our brain, through which success can be achieved in sports, learning or other intellectually oriented areas. But this will not change the basic orientation of man and his destiny in the long term. The sensation of our spirit is decisive, not what the intellect thinks.
As an example, let´s consider the processes of lying and cheating. The spirit directs the power of creation to lower sensations and strives for material advantages at all costs. This is the source of creation, the power currents of which the intellect transforms into thoughts. In doing so, it can skillfully choose words and deeds that present a false image to its victims. It may even achieve earthly success, prestige and fame.
As long as there is no change in the spiritually lower basic orientation, deliberate good thoughts, words and deeds will only change the earthly appearance, nothing more.
“The foundation for the upbuilding of a new humanity, which you cannot and must not evade, rests in the one sentence: Keep the hearth of your thoughts pure!”
