Corrective Thinking
By Lucille Cedercrans
Lesson 3
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.