by Lucille Cedercrans
In this lesson we are going to discover where thoughts come from. We know that we have a mind and a brain; but to most people, the mind and brain are something pretty vague and hard to understand. The mind is a body of mental energy, interpenetrating every cell of the physical body; therefore, we call it the mental body. It is dual in nature, having two main functions and a third which evolves out of the two. The mental body is like a radio. It is a receiving and sending set capable of picking up electrical impulse, translating it into thought and sending it out again to a desired destination. These two main functions, receiving and sending, can be combined in a way to cause the mind to be creative. All people are creative to a degree, but they are usually unconscious of the fact and have not fully developed their creative potential.The brain is the instrument of the mind and the physical body. The mind impresses the brain with the thoughts it has picked up. The five senses, which have their mental counterparts, impress the brain with that which they pick up in the physical body and environment. The mind translates the impulse carried by the five senses into meaning and impresses the brain with that meaning. It can be seen then, that the brain does not think at all. It is an instrument of the mind and the personality consciousness. The mind impresses the brain with thought and the personality consciousness absorbs the thought out of the brain.
The consciousness is the acting, thinking incarnating entity. It is that which interprets thought and utilizes it in its everyday living.
The quality of the consciousness is determined by its emotions and the thoughts picked up by the mind are determined by that quality. A man who truly loves will pick up from the world of mind constructive thoughts of a high order, while the man who hates picks up destructive thoughts of a low order.
The emotions then, are the tuning device of the mind. They tune the mind into the different frequency ranges of thought.
Actually our consciousness lives in three worlds at once. It lives in the world of thought, in the world of emotion or feeling and in the world of physical plane activity. The world of emotion or feeling coordinates the world of mind with the world of the physical body, bringing the two together. Because of the emotions, thought takes material form.
We know now that what we feel determines the quality of thought we think. We also know that we are what we think.
Now to get back to our original intention in this lesson, to discover where our thoughts come from. All about us are thoughts continually streaming by in the world of mind. They are the so-called good and bad thoughts, idle thoughts, constructive and destructive thoughts that people think all of the time. There are also thoughts in this world that have never been received by man and given material form. When the creative potentials are developed, man receives these thoughts and gives them material form. Thus we have inventors, composers, authors, painters, etc.
A particular environment will manifest a certain type of condition according to the quality of its emotions. All of the people who make up the environment contribute to the general condition according to their emotions and thoughts. Man is a creature of habit and tends to think what he has been influenced to think by those around him. He doesn't usually think for himself; but because he responds to the emotions of others, he picks up their thoughts and accepts them as his own. As he gives house within his own mind to these thoughts, they manifest in his life and affairs and so he becomes a victim of circumstances.
If you want to change anything in your life, change your thinking about it. To do this you must discover first what you are thinking, why you think it and where it comes from. You would be surprised to discover how many thoughts flit momentarily into your mind that you aren't consciously aware of. They have become habit that is automatic and require no effort on your part.
Take heed to your thoughts. Several times daily listen to your thinking. When you discover what it is you are thinking, you may be surprised and wonder why. Then is the time to look into your emotions. What has been your state of feeling? That is the why, remember, of what you have thought.
To discover where these thoughts come from, cast your mind into the environment. Look at the emotions of those about you; reflect back to their words and realize what they are thinking. Is there a similarity in your emotions and thoughts to theirs? In this manner you will discover if you are being unduly influenced in your thinking.
It is also possible that your thoughts will be contradictory to others but if the quality of emotion is characterized by resentment, etc., you will know you are still influenced because you are reacting.
In the next lesson I will tell you how it is possible for you to be an influence for good in your environment. Until then, discover what you think, why you think it and where the thought comes from.
