WHAT ARE YOU THINKING????? by Stephen Thomson

What Are You Thinking?
By Stephen Thomson

"All that you are is the result of what you have thought; it is founded in your thoughts, it is made up of your thoughts." — Gautama Buddha

Several years ago, I had this quote printed by calligrapher, framed and hung on the wall of my bathroom wall, near the mirror. As I began each day, I read and reread these words. I know that if I am going to grow and become the spiritual man I aspire to be, my thoughts are the key to opening the door to higher-consciousness. It is also is evident that in order for me to develop a new consciousness, the path is hidden and restricted by the contents of my current way of thinking. After all the study and meditation, it is clear to me that this single issue is the most important key to progressing on my spiritual journey. In my thoughts are all the information I need to understand the direction my life is moving and what I can expect. And in turn, what I cannot expect. On the continuous path of unfolding, which brings expanded awareness and new sensibility to life, I know I am not a puppet merely reacting to a series of random events. The recurring thoughts in my mind create energy on the earth plane. In effect, with each thought, I am. In turn, I create a magnetizing energy by my thoughts that result in the invisible becoming manifest. This is the content of my everyday life.

Some years ago I heard a man speak about the spiritual path. He began by saying, "You have everything you want in life." He repeated the phrase several times. His message was all about the impact of our thinking. I remember saying to myself how wrong he was and made a quick list in my mind of all the things going on in my life that I felt I "didn't want." After I calmed the ranting and raving in my mind, including several unkind thoughts directed at the speaker, I realized what he said was true. I am what I think. And everything I have is what I think. Looking at my life, I really can't say there was anything happening for any reason other than my repetitive thinking. Furthermore, as I thought that day about my life and the parts I wanted to change, for the first time I witnessed the contradiction in my thinking. On one side was the belief that what was going on was necessary. But the voice within (the one I trust) said that all of the issues I was thinking about were "thought" choices. Those choices were based on thinking for example, that my life has to hold the frustration and chaos I experience, as a normal part of living. "Change our thoughts, change our lives," he went on to say.

Each of us has thoughts locked away in corners of our minds. They comprise the laws we create in our subconscious. These laws continue to operate without our even needing to create a related thought form. In other words, we don't even need to think. The laws just automatically operate and create action in our lives everyday. As we go through the day, our minds unconsciously follow these paths. The important laws are the thought laws, which continue to urge us forward in our own personal growth toward being a more fully evolved spiritual person. The action comes from our deepest thoughts, the ones we cherish and reflect the Divine nature within us. Yet, there is also an opposite affect. This comes from those thoughts locked so far away and rooted in fear. These thoughts keep us on the same treadmill, repeating our lives in less positive ways.

Here is another issue to understand with regard to the power of our thinking. This one is a little more abstract. As we continue our spiritual unfolding, our thoughts begin to create different energy in our selves and our lives. This energy begins to magnetize new information to us. In other words, through our thoughts we build energy, which accumulates in our bodies and then opens the door to the next step of our unfolding path. A change in our thinking represents the next step in our process. That doesn't always mean we are ready to take the step. This is a time when we just need to mull something over, before we begin to take action or incorporate the new way of thinking into the action of our daily life. The wisdom in this moment of new thought, in some cases, is to do nothing. When the time is right and we have fully integrated the new way of thinking into our self, we can move forward. To take a step without completely thinking something out, can end in frustration and loss of hope and belief.

A good place to begin affecting thought change in our lives is with techniques of creative visualization. Through creating a different picture in our minds, we affect a new way of thinking. In this way, some of our thought patterns are disposed of easily and replaced by newer representations of the person we wish to become. Eventually, through a continuous process of rethinking our lives, we find ourselves face-to-face with our core thinking, which continues to create the underlying thought themes of our lives. This is the root cause in our lives. This core of our thinking is made up of a combination of past life influences, the affect of our upbringing, and the environment in which we live our lives. What is important to know is that some ways of thinking will be with us throughout our lives and are the pathway of our journey.

Eventually, our goal is to develop to a point where we are in direct contact with the creative energy of the Universe. Thinking plays a major role in this becoming a reality. There are many words used to describe this, some being Cosmic Consciousness, Universal Consciousness or Christ Consciousness. This happens when we blend our consciousness with that of the universe and there are no longer any barriers created by our individual thinking. Here we can clearly experience though our thinking the pure, creative, loving energy of the Divine. In time and with the unfolding of our intuition, we can eventually experience a connection to the creative thinking of the Divine mind. In these brief flashes of contact, we experience first-hand knowing of the laws that operate in our universe. When this happens there is no doubt or even emotional response within us. Our thinking is filled with clarity of what can be termed "right thought." Since we know ourselves and the world around us through our thinking, the influx of cosmic information is distinct from our regular thinking. This is the thinking we aspire to experience as spiritual people. By becoming hyper-conscious of our thinking, more and more of the universe in which we live will be an active part of our thinking.

Here are some questions to think about, journal on and meditate:

Create a list of your recurring thoughts.

Do any of these represent a contradiction to your core values or ways of thinking?

As you review your life, what are you thinking now that you have been thinking for as long as you can remember?

What are you willing to change in your way of thinking?