Do thoughts have power?
Yes. And no.
Thoughts emerge from the one field of Awareness, and it’s that field behind them which fills them with power. That field is the only power which exists.
Thoughts are imbued with power. But thoughts have no power in and of themselves.
There is only one Power in the universe, and when we align our thoughts, words, and actions with It our lives become transformed. We rise to a higher level of being. And we lift others up with us.
This elevation takes place because we are extensions of that one Power. Power flows to where our awareness goes. We can direct it toward positive thoughts and actions, or we can get it caught up in ideas of lack and insecurity. We can learn to direct it inward toward peace and stillness, or allow it to become enmeshed in anxiety and frustration.
The choice is ours. We are spiritual beings with the ability to choose the direction of our lives. We have freewill. But it’s only when we merge our personal sense of will with the will of our higher Self that we become fulfilled.
Nothing New Here
Even if you are a beginner on the spiritual path, you’ve likely heard these concepts before. In fact, there’s probably nothing original within this entire article. And I’m fine with that. The reason I’m writing it, and the reason you may wish to read it, is that neither of us can hear these truths often enough.
Society has conditioned us to perceive the world in a particular way. And if we are to break free of the limited sense of identity that way of perceiving creates, we must learn to consciously redirect our attention to the power within. Over and over and over again.
Reading and writing about deeper truths helps us shift our focus from the limited, contracted state of the ego, to the limitless expanse of our higher Self. Again, not because the words themselves have power, but because they remind us to direct our attention toward the infinite Source of power.
The idea then, is not to become more educated. It’s not to fill our minds with theory. It’s to go beyond the words and concepts toward the Truth to which they point.
We can learn to draw nourishment and inspiration from the written word, from what some have referred to as Truth literature. Not because the words themselves contain nourishment, but because of the field they connect us to. Like anything this side of the manifest field, thoughts and words are vibrations of Awareness.
When a writer is in a surrendered state, those vibrations ripple through her. And if the reader is open enough, they can tune into the same energy field the writer was in when she put her words to page.
What About Affirmations? Do They Work?
Yes. And no.
If you were to drop a pebble into a turbulent body of water, would you expect it to impact that water in any significant way? Most people who use affirmations are doing the same thing. They are dropping a tiny thought into the rough waters of their mind and expecting it to alter the entire dynamic.
So, in most cases, affirmations have little to no lasting effect. The pebble is swallowed by the sea.
On the other hand, when the mind is calm, that single pebble sends coherent ripples out in every direction.
To live from a place of intent is only possible when the mental and emotional fields are clear and calm. Otherwise that intention has to battle against countless other waves.
This is the reason meditation is so important. It calms the mind and emotions. It strengthens and refines the prana. And it clears the path through which higher creative energy can flow.
So, we begin with meditation, and once the body and mind are calm and relaxed, we can use affirmations with great effect.
From Stillness, Power
Thoughts are energy. Emotions are energy. If we want our lives to be filled with purpose and meaning, we have to learn to channel all of that energy toward our highest desires.
In Rudra Meditation, we do this by taking a conscious breath and opening inside. We drop our mind into manipura, the navel chakra, our fire center.
We stoke that fire with our lower thoughts and emotions — all of our stress, discomforts, fears, and selfish ambitions. And that energy transforms into something more refined, something which can rise. We convert fear into confidence, stress into peace, anger into loving kindness.
This alchemy occurs when we center the mind deep enough in manipura that it becomes still and calm. It’s from that place of stillness that higher intent is born. What rises comes from a desire to grow, express and create.
The flipside of this is to live from the contracted state of the ego. The will of the ego will always bring us stress, complications, drama and suffering. The ego is what creates the turbulent sea that swallows our attempts to change and grow.
What we want is coherence. We want an unobstructed energy flow. We want to create and express freely. This becomes possible when we are centered in stillness.
Instead of affirming something from a contracted state of mind, we can rest in stillness and allow our true desires to arise. We experience them as thoughts and feelings, and then we move into the actions which bring them to fruition.
This is surrendering our self-will to the will of our Self. In that surrendered state, true Power flows.
