Please provide the following information:
When the ego first entered into possession of its vehicles in the Lemurian Epoch, it possessed neither a brain nor a larynx. To supply this deficiency, one-half of the creative sex force, which formerly had been used solely for propagation, was then turned upward for the purpose of building these organs through which thought and reason might be produced and thought might be communicated to others. Thus we see that thought is creative, because it was derived through the instrumentality of the creative force. Likewise, the voice is creative; that is, the spoken word has the power to create for the same reason, namely, that it had its origin in the creative force. From this it may be deduced that if the creative sex force is conserved, we shall have a correspondingly greater amount of power available for the processes of reasoning, and our minds will become much more forceful than in the case of the person who wastes the creative force. However, this force must be used up in constructive mental or physical work or transmuted in the service of the race, otherwise it will cause trouble. If merely bottled up, it will eventually produce mental, emotional, or nervous disturbances and ailments.
Thinking is a very complicated process, which involves not only the use of the physical brain but also the etheric brain, the desire body, and the mind or mental body. The process is as follows: We as egos function in that part of the Region of Abstract Thought which we have specialized within our auras. From here we observe the impressions made by the outer world upon the vital body through our chain of vehicles and their faculties which we call our senses. These impressions, together with the feelings and emotions generated by them within the desire body, are then imaged within the mind. From these mental images we form our conclusions regarding the things observed; these conclusions are ideas. By power of will, we as egos project an idea through the mind, where it takes concrete shape as a thought-form by drawing mind stuff around itself from the Region of Concrete Thought. Thought is the power we use in making images and thought-forms, according to ideas from within. The thought-form then ordinarily clothes itself in desire stuff obtained from the desire body, which gives it added life. This composite thought form is then able to act upon the etheric brain and propel the vital force through the necessary brain centers and nerves to the voluntary muscles which produce action. Thus thought is the mainspring of human activity.
The effect of thoughts of fear and worry upon the desire body is very detrimental to the development of the soul. Worry is a condition in which the desire currents do not sweep in long curved lines as they do under normal conditions, but which causes this vehicle to be full of eddies--nothing but eddies in extreme cases. This latter condition often prevents the person from taking any action which might correct the condition which is causing him to worry and fret. It may be likened to the state of water which is about to congeal under a lowering temperature. Fear which expresses itself as skepticism, cynicism, and pessimism may be likened to that same water when it is frozen, for the desire bodies of people habitually harboring these thoughts are almost motionless, and nothing one can do or say seems to have the power to alter their condition.
Every time one of these thoughts is indulged in, it helps to congeal the material of the desire body, and to build a steel-blue shell, in which the person who habitually fosters fear and worry will some time find himself shut off from the love, sympathy, and help of all the world. Therefore it is important that we should strive to be cheerful and optimistic, even under adverse circumstances, or we may find ourselves in a serious condition here and hereafter.
The subconscious mind is a very important factor in man's development. With every breath which we take, the air we inspire carries with it an accurate detailed picture of our surroundings. The slightest thought, feeling, or emotion is transmitted to the lungs, where it is injected into the blood. The blood is the highest product of the vital body. The pictures it contains are impressed upon the negative atoms of the vital body to serve as arbiters of man's destiny in the post-mortem state. If a person creates a thought form, whether of a constructive or destructive nature, and projects it out into the world, when its work has been accomplished, or its energy expended in vain attempts to achieve its object, it gravitates back to its creator, bearing with it the indelible record of the journey. Its success or failure is imprinted on the negative atoms of the reflecting ether, and forms part of the record of the thinker's life and action which is sometimes called the subconscious mind.
Thought breaks down tissue in the dense body, and it is well known to science that negative, destructive thoughts such as those of fear, anger, sex, and sensuality break down the power of resistance of the body and thereby lay it open to disease. The person of a jovial good nature, or one who is devoutly religious and has faith and trust in divine providence, does not often create negative thoughts, and as a result he has greater vitality and better health than those who worry. Through thoughts of love, benevolence, and kindness we call out similar qualities in others, and attract people to us who have these qualities. This subtle and potent thought power may also be used in healing the sick. Moreover, it is through abstract thought that man is enabled to lift himself above the material world and come into contact with God.
If we think thoughts of optimism, of kindness, of benevolence, of helpfulness and service, then these thoughts gradually color our atmosphere in a manner which is accurately expressive of all these qualities and virtues. And as our bodies are built by the ego or spirit, they become an expression of our mental attitudes; our thoughts react upon our physical bodies, also upon our environment, bringing to us health and material well-being. This illustrates the creative power of thought. It is merely one way of proving the truth of the saying of Christ, that if we seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, all other things will be added.
[Note: If you prefer to work offline, you are welcome to e-mail your answers and/or comments to us. Please be sure to include your e-mail address, full name, course name and lesson number in your e-mail to us.]
Please study the preceding lesson carefully; then without consulting it answer fully but concisely the following questions, and send the answers to us. Upon receipt of them we will send you the next lesson.
1] How was the power of thought obtained by man?
2] What is the result of conserving the creative sex force, and why?
3] Describe the technical process of thinking.
4] What are the effects of fear and worry upon the desire body?
5] What are the effects of fear and anger upon the physical body?
6] How are the records of the subconscious mind made?
7] How do thoughts of optimism, benevolence and service react upon our environment?
Note: Please do not fail to read and reread the pages in which you find the answers to these questions. After carefully studying the subject matter, strive to condense your answer as much as possible, taking into consideration the principal points.
