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Civilized Thinking In modem society the causative
nature of thought is not taught or culturally passed on. Most modern people
believe that when they feel a lack, or are upset because of someone else, the
solution is to obtain something to fill the lack, or to change the other
person. Few people consider looking within to see if the problem lies in
their own thinking processes. Few people consider Socrates’ maxim—”Know Thyself.” Most people don’t
know that when they cease thinking along certain lines, the problems caused
by that thinking disappears. This is why, if we have a normal emotional
growth pattern, each age of our life presents a different set of problems.
The adolescent doesn’t have the problems of a child;
the adult doesn’t have the problems of the adolescent. As we grow emotionally we change our thinking in light of our
increased understanding. Our new thoughts create a new set of outer
conditions. In “As A Man Thinketh” James Allen said:
“Man is buffeted by circumstances so long as he believes himself to be the
creature of outside conditions, but when he realizes that he is a creative
power, and that he may command the hidden soil and seeds of his being out of
which circumstances row, he then becomes the rightful master of himself.” The key words here are “rightful master
of himself:’ When man learns to carefully choose each thought that flits
through his mind, rejecting the useless ones and retaining the beneficial ones,
then he becomes rider of his environment and himself. If he never tries to
control his thinking, then he is actually a slave to whatever thought grabs
and holds him. This thought might spring from a conditioned response to a
situation, from a painful remembrance, from an emotional reaction, etc.; they
might even be induced by an outside entity. But no matter which way the thought comes into our consciousness
it is our master if we follow it. This is not to say that we should never
have a negative thought. We may have a resentful thought towards someone, let’s say, but having that thought does not mean we are
out of control. It’s what we do with that thought
that is important. If we are in control, we will realize that it is a useless
thought and turn it out of our consciousness I once had it explained to me
this way: it is like we are in a great railroad center and it is our duty to
control all the different trains that come thundering in each day. From our
control tower we see each train coming. If a train
comes which we do not wish to enter the yard we simply pull a switch and
steer it down a track leading away from us. It is important to note that control of
one’s thoughts does not preclude spontaneity; in fact, it fosters it. How
often has a sudden good mood or creative idea come upon us only to be drowned by some negative thought that creeps into our
mind? Those who control their thoughts are joyous and creative of fresh,
stimulating ideas. Charles Darwin once pointed out that
civilization reaches its So, our task in
creating an advanced civilization is clear. We must turn our thinking around.
Instead of placing blame on circumstances or other people, we will have to
look inside and correct ourselves. This is the only way we can learn to
control our environment. |
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